City permitNo waterfront improvement or structure may be constructed, reconstructed or repaired until a permit is obtained from the Building Department - Miami Code Sec. 29-83
County approval firstThe application must include preliminary approval from the county's environmental permitting department (the code still uses its former name, PERA) and, unless shown not to be required, title to bay-bottom lands from the Internal Improvement Fund - Sec. 29-85
PlansOwner-builder or licensed contractor; every job needs signed and sealed plans, a survey under one year old and a cost estimate backed by an executed contract; work of $5,000 or more also needs a top-of-wall survey with elevations no more than 10 ft apart - Sec. 29-84
HeightMinimum 6 ft NAVD88 (Miami River and tributaries: 4 ft NAVD88, built to be raised 2 ft) for new work and substantial improvements - Sec. 29-89(a)(4)
Substantial repairRepairs to 50% or more of the wall length, costing 50% or more of a new wall, or changing elevation along 50% or more of the length must meet current elevation and design standards for the length of the property - Sec. 29-89(a)(5)
FeesA repair permit costs $90 or 10% of the repair cost up to $525, whichever is greater; work done without a permit pays four times the fee - Sec. 29-86(b)
Duty to repairAfter a citation, the owner must start abating within 180 days, begin repairs within 18 months and finish within 24 months (12 and 18 months for walls designed to be raised); meeting the deadlines entitles the owner to full mitigation of fines - Sec. 29-95
HardshipThe city manager's designee may waive some or all city permit fees for an owner required to repair a failing seawall who shows extreme financial hardship - Sec. 29-83
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)