WallDockDeck
Miami Shores · Miami-Dade County

How big a dock can I build in Miami Shores?

No size limit in the codePlanning Board site plan review required

Miami Shores' zoning ordinance sets no dock length, width or setback numbers. Instead, docks, davits and boat lifts are on the list of items that need site plan review by the Planning Board before a permit, in single-family, multi-family and other districts alike.

Source: Miami Shores Village Code Appendix A (Zoning) Sec. 411 Schedule of Regulations; Sec. 501(18), (20); Miami-Dade County Code Secs. 24-48.1(1)(a), 24-48.3(1)(j),(3); Fla. Stat. 403.813(1)(b) (2026); 33 CFR 322.3(a) · Verified 2026-10

The detail

ReviewDocks, davits and boat lifts require site plan review by the Planning Board as provided in Article VI of the zoning ordinance, in the residential and other district columns of the schedule of regulations - Zoning Appendix A Sec. 411
Nearby items also reviewedIn residential districts, any permitted accessory structure inside the required 15 ft shoreline setback also goes to site plan review; in other districts, structures within 5 ft (or 15 ft) of the rear or side plot line on shoreline properties - Sec. 411
Governing chapterDock review sits in Appendix A (Zoning Ordinance No. 270), Article IV Sec. 411; a Municode search of the code found no dock projection, width, height or setback figure
Boats on landIn R and A districts, one boat up to 26 ft long (manufacturer's rating) may be kept on a plot, on a trailer, behind the front building line, with only minor repairs and no sleeping aboard - Zoning Appendix A Sec. 501(18)
HouseboatsNo boat, houseboat or vessel may be used as a place of abode - Sec. 501(20)
Miami-Dade County Class I permitAny work in, on, over or upon tidal waters or bay bottom anywhere in Miami-Dade County, cities included, needs a county Class I permit - County Code 24-48.1(1)(a). New boat slips at docks in tidal waters need at least 4 ft of water at mean low water; the depth rule does not apply to docks in bulkheaded artificial canals bordered by uplands on both sides, to lifts, davits and piles in slips at existing permitted docks, or to repair of existing legal docks with at least 3 ft of water - 24-48.3(3). A dock proposed beyond the boundaries in Sec. D-5(03)(2)(a) of the county Public Works Manual gets extra review factors - 24-48.3(1)(j)
State exemptionA private, non-commercial dock on pilings with 1,000 sq ft or less of over-water surface (500 sq ft in Outstanding Florida Waters), and the only exempt dock along 65 ft of shoreline (or one per lot if the lot is narrower), needs no state environmental permit - Fla. Stat. 403.813(1)(b). The exemption does not grant permission to use state-owned submerged lands and does not override city or county rules - 403.813(1)
FederalStructures in navigable waters need a Department of the Army permit, general or individual - 33 CFR 322.3(a)

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Miami-Dade CountySeawall requirements county-wide

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