WallDockDeck
Palmetto Bay · Miami-Dade County

How big a dock can I build in Palmetto Bay?

No size limit in the codedocks reviewed by staff; none in E-S estates

Palmetto Bay's zoning code sets no dock length, width or setback figures. Docks, davits and boat lifts are exempt from site plan review and are handled by the village's planning department, which coordinates dock reviews with the federal, state and county agencies. In the E-S Estate Suburban district, private boat piers and slips are not allowed at all.

Source: Village of Palmetto Bay Code Ch. 30 (Zoning) Secs. 30-30.3(b)(7), 30-50.5, 30-100.5; 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

ApprovalDocks, davits and boat-lifts are among the improvements exempted from site plan review that the department reviews and acts on, unless they are part of a larger project that needs site plan review - Village Code 30-30.3(b)(7)
E-S districtThe Estate Suburban district allows the E-M district's uses except noncommercial boat piers or slips for private watercraft, which it expressly precludes - 30-50.5
Multi-agency reviewThe village coordinates review of development petitions for docks, shoreline stabilization and dredging with the agencies that hold federal or state jurisdiction over natural resources - 30-100.5
Governing chapterDock rules sit in Village Code Ch. 30 (Zoning); a Municode search of the code found no dock projection, width, height or setback figure
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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