WallDockDeck
North Bay Village · Miami-Dade County

How big a dock can I build in North Bay Village?

50 ft from the seawallperpendicular, max; 7.5 ft side setback

North Bay Village caps docks, piers, piles and boat lifts at 50 ft perpendicular from the seawall or shoreline, not counting rip-rap, with a 7.5 ft setback from each side lot line. Lifts and mooring piles may sit beyond 50 ft only at an existing dock that already reaches that far. Anything more needs a coastal construction variance from the Village Commission.

Source: North Bay Village Unified Land Development Code Sec. 9.12 (through Ord. 2024-004, 3-12-24); 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

ProjectionNo dock, pier, dolphin, wharf, piling, boat lift or similar structure more than 50 ft perpendicular from the seawall or shoreline (not including rip-rap) - Unified Land Development Code 9.12(B)(1)
Side setbackAt least 7.5 ft from the lot line on each side - 9.12(B)(2)
Beyond 50 ftBoat lifts and mooring piles may be built beyond 50 ft at existing docks if neither they nor a lifted or moored boat extend farther than the existing dock already allows - 9.12(B)(5)
Safety lightA light on the outermost part of the structure from half an hour before sunset to half an hour after sunrise - 9.12(B)(6)
RepairsExisting structures may be repaired or rebuilt in the same footprint regardless of the dimensional limits - 9.12(B)(7)
PermitA building permit from the Village Building Department, with detailed plans, for any dock, pier, piling, lift, seawall, filling or dredging - 9.12(B)(3)-(4)
VarianceA coastal construction variance goes to a Planning and Zoning Board hearing, then the Village Commission; criteria include consent letters from, or objections by, adjoining riparian owners; it expires after two years without substantial construction - 9.12(G)
RS-1 and RS-2No living aboard and no renting of docks, moorings or boats; one boat may have utility hook-ups from a private dock - 9.12(D)(1)-(2)
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)

Your city's height sheet

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The county rule behind this

What applies across Miami-Dade County, and where each city departs from it.

Miami-Dade CountySeawall requirements county-wide

The same question, nearby

The rule changes at the city line, not the county line.

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Twelve signs a seawall is failing

What to look for, where to look for it, and what it means when you find it. Walk your wall in twenty minutes.

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