City permitSeawalls are treated as special construction and need DERM approval in addition to a Building permit - Miami Beach Building Dept, Interactive Permit Guide
Applies to repairsThe seawall article applies to building permits for new seawalls and for substantial improvements, including repair or rehabilitation; applicants submit an itemized cost breakdown of the seawall work. It does not apply to oceanfront beaches or shorelines seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line - Code Sec. 54-60
Substantial repairAny improvement or repair to an existing seawall costing $500.00 or more per linear foot - Sec. 54-61 (Ord. 2025-4754, 7-23-25)
HeightNew or substantially improved seawalls 5.7 ft NAVD88 minimum; lesser repairs 4 ft NAVD88 minimum if built to accept 5.7 ft later; limited maintenance such as rip-rap exempt with an engineering report showing the wall is sound - Sec. 54-62(a)
Duty to repairOwners must keep seawalls in good repair; after a notice of violation, show progress within 60 days, apply to the Building Department and DERM within six months, and complete the work within 730 days - Sec. 54-63
Survey and certificationA surveyor's survey of the seawall's NAVD88 elevation at the start of construction and an engineer's certification that the wall meets the article go to the Building and Public Works departments - Sec. 54-64
FinesAfter a first written warning, $250 for a first offense and $500 for later offenses; if tidal flooding is not mitigated, the city may install a temporary flood barrier at the owner's expense - Sec. 54-65(b),(d),(k)
County Class I permitMiami-Dade DERM must issue a Class I permit before any work in, on, over or upon tidal waters anywhere in the county, including inside cities - County Code Sec. 24-48(1)(d) and 24-48.1(1)(a)
Short formRebuilding or repairing a seawall at the mean high water line or no more than 18 inches waterward of the existing wall qualifies for a short-form application. It also qualifies where existing primary support piles stick out no more than 14 inches, if the new wall is no more than 18 inches waterward of those piles - Sec. 24-48.2(I)(A)(1)
Who decidesA short-form application limited to seawalls is decided by the Department with no County Commission hearing. Most standard-form applications are now decided by the Director, apart from listed exceptions such as variances - Sec. 24-48.2(I)(B)(1)(iii)-(iv) and (II)(C)(1), as amended by Ord. 25-73 (1 July 2025)
County clockOrd. 25-73 Sec. 8 directs the County to issue a Completeness Summary within 10 calendar days of submission and a final decision on short-form seawall applications within 90 calendar days after that summary. The applicant may waive these limits in writing. The County Mayor reported the timeframes apply from 1 Dec 2025 (report to the Commission dated 17 Apr 2026)
No Class I neededSealing cracks and spalls on the cap or face, repairing pilasters, backfilling behind the wall, and limited riprap or sand-cement bags at the toe (no more than 2 ft out) - Sec. 24-48(3)(b)-(f)
Quick approval insteadRepairing or replacing the cap or the tieback system gets a written expedited administrative authorization, answered within 10 business days, if the contractor submits structurally approved plans from the building authority - Sec. 24-48(4)(f)-(g)
Not a substituteA county permit does not relieve the applicant from obtaining all required federal, state and local permits - Sec. 24-48.5(1)
State (FDEP)No state environmental permit is needed to restore a seawall at its previous location, upland of it, or within 18 inches waterward of it - Fla. Stat. 403.813(1)(e). The exemption does not cover permission to use state-owned submerged lands or local requirements - 403.813(1)
State-owned bottomWork over sovereign submerged lands still needs Board of Trustees permission even when the seawall work is exempt - Fla. Stat. 403.813(1)
Federal (Army Corps)A Department of the Army permit is required for structures or work in or affecting navigable waters, either under a nationwide or regional general permit or an individual permit - 33 CFR 322.3(a)