WallDockDeck
Pompano Beach · Broward County

Do I need a permit to repair a seawall in Pompano Beach?

Yes, plus county licensecity engineering + building permits + county license

Yes. Pompano Beach makes it unlawful to construct or repair a seawall, cap or rip-rap without two city permits: an engineering permit from the City Engineer and a building permit from the City Building Official. Plans must come from a Florida-licensed engineer, and a wall below 5.0 ft NAVD88 that undergoes substantial repair must be raised to at least 5.0 ft (maximum 5 ft 10 in). Broward County also requires its own Environmental Resource License, often a general license for a repair in the same place.

Source: Pompano Beach Code ss. 151.01, 151.02, 151.05 (American Legal, 2026 S-122); Broward County Code Ch. 27 Art. XI Secs. 27-333, 27-336 (Supp. 72); s. 403.813(1)(e), F.S. (2026); 33 CFR 322.3(a) · Verified 2026-10

The detail

CityIt is unlawful to construct, repair, erect or install seawalls, seawall caps, rip-rap or other flood barriers in city waterways without an engineering permit from the City Engineer and a building permit from the City Building Official; the qualified applicant must also seek Broward County, FDEP or SFWMD and Army Corps approvals unless exempt under s. 403.813, F.S. - Code s. 151.02(A). Plans by a Florida-licensed engineer, with as-built drawings and the engineer's completion certification before final acceptance - s. 151.02(C); the engineering permit fee is 4% of construction cost (minimum $100), plus a double fee if work starts before the permit - s. 151.02(D), (H). Substantial repair = work along more than 50% of the property's shoreline, or attached structures costing more than 50% of a barrier or raised cap as determined by the City Engineer - s. 151.01(B); barriers must be at least 5.0 ft and no more than 5 ft 10 in NAVD88, with lime rock rip-rap at the waterward face - s. 151.05(A), (F), (H). Engineering permits lapse if work does not start within 180 days or stops for 90 days; the City Engineer may grant one 180-day extension and no permit lasts over two years; re-inspections cost $30, four times that for repeat failures - s. 151.02(I), (L) If the applicant does not supply detailed cost information, the Building Official values the work from published construction cost data - s. 151.02(F); a permitted wall or other flood barrier destroyed by fire, casualty or force majeure may only be rebuilt to current rules - s. 151.02(A)(2)
Broward CountyConstruction in regulated aquatic resources needs a county Environmental Resource License (ERL) - Broward County Code Sec. 27-333(a)(1). Repairing an existing functional seawall no more than 1 ft waterward of its authorized location, or a new wall within 1 ft of the old wet face with the old wall left in place, qualifies for a general license (Sec. 27-336(a)(1)b.), as do refacing, crack filling, seepage holes and other minor repairs (n.) and raising the cap in the same footprint (o.); the code says a general license is issued within 10 days of a complete application - Sec. 27-336(a)(1)
StateRestoring a seawall at its previous location, upland of it, or within 18 inches waterward is exempt from a state environmental resource permit; the exemption does not replace permission to use state-owned submerged land or county and city requirements, and does not cover chapter 161 coastal permits - s. 403.813(1), (1)(e), F.S.
FederalA U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Department of the Army) authorization is required for structures or work in or affecting navigable waters, unless exempt or covered by a nationwide or regional general permit - 33 CFR 322.3(a) (Rivers and Harbors Act s. 10)

Your city's height sheet

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The county rule behind this

What applies across Broward County, and where each city departs from it.

Broward CountySeawall requirements county-wide

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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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