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North Palm Beach · Palm Beach County

What are the boat lift rules in North Palm Beach?

Allowed with a building permitstructures max 25% of water width

North Palm Beach requires a building permit for boat davits and other boat-lifting devices, and only the adjacent upland owner may build one. Floating boat lifts count as floating vessel platforms and follow dock side setbacks and dolphin-pole reach limits, which vary by waterway. A sun, wind or weather covering over a dock or pier needs its own permit as a canopy.

Source: Village of North Palm Beach Code Ch. 5, Art. III, Div. 4, Secs. 5-81 to 5-85 (Supp. 93); s. 403.813(1)(s), F.S. (2026); 33 CFR 322.3(a) · Verified 2026-10

The detail

PermitBoat davits and other boat-lifting devices require a building permit - Code Sec. 5-82(b)
Who may buildOnly the adjacent upland landowner of a buildable lot, not the upland part of a canal right-of-way - Sec. 5-82(a)
Floating liftsA floating boat lift is a floating vessel platform; outside Lake Worth it keeps dock side setbacks (5 feet on lots with 50 feet or less of frontage, 10 feet above that) and may extend as far as dolphin poles: 20 feet in lagoons, 30 feet in the North Palm Beach Waterway, 25% of the Earman River, 50 feet in West Lake, North Lake and along Teal Way - Secs. 5-81, 5-84(2)-(3), (9)-(12), (15)
Lake WorthFloating platforms use dock side setbacks and the pier reach, a line 50 feet waterside of the rear property line - Sec. 5-85(2), (12)
Overall capNo structure may extend more than 25% of the width of the water - Sec. 5-84(14)
CoversAny sun, wind or weather covering over a dock or pier needs a permit and is classed as a canopy under the building code - Sec. 5-83(a)
SecuringA vessel on a floating platform must also be tied to a fixed dock or seawall - Sec. 5-83(e)(2)
Other agencies firstA permit from any authority with an interest in the waterway is needed before the village permit - Sec. 5-84(1)
State and federalFloating boat lifts and floating vessel platforms that meet s. 403.813(1)(s), F.S. (they float at all times, hold the vessel out of the water, and either sit inside a previously permitted slip or total no more than 500 sq ft - 200 sq ft in Outstanding Florida Waters - beside a qualifying dock or bulkhead) need no state permit; a local government may then ask only for a one-time registration unless the platform is attached to a bulkhead with no dock. Structures in navigable waters otherwise need Army Corps authorization unless exempt or under a general permit - 33 CFR 322.3(a).

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