WallDockDeck
Four counties · four different answers

Does your county set a minimum seawall height?

Only one of the four does. Broward sets a standard every city had to adopt. Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe set none at county level and leave the number to your city. The practical consequence is that a seawall built legally in one city can sit two feet below what another city requires.

The answer, by county

CountySets a standard?The figure that governs
BrowardYes5.0 ft NAVD88 minimum
Miami-DadeNoYour city sets it
Palm BeachNoYour town sets it
MonroeNoOf the Keys cities we have read, only Key Colony Beach sets one

Why this catches people out. Most owners assume the county sets the rule, because that is how flood and building standards usually work here. For three of these four counties that assumption is wrong, and asking the county will get you an answer that does not apply to your property.

What each county actually does

Broward County — YesThe only county of the four with a single standard behind every city. The county's guidance says every municipality had to adopt it locally by 13 February 2022. The minimum is 5 ft NAVD88; an application filed before 1 January 2035 may be permitted at 4 ft NAVD88, but only if the barrier is built to reach 5 ft by 1 January 2050 — an allowance, not an entitlement.

Where it is written: Broward County Code Ch. 39, Art. XXV, Sec. 39-407(a) — Resiliency Standards for Tidal Flood Protection (Ord. No. 2020-11), plus Land Use Plan Policy 2.21.7
Miami-Dade County — NoThe county controls where a wall may go and what it may disturb, not how high it stands. Elevation is entirely municipal, and the cities disagree sharply. What the county does control is how far waterward you may rebuild — and that single measurement decides whether your permit takes weeks or months.

Where it is written: Miami-Dade County Code Ch. 24 governs environmental permitting, not elevation
Palm Beach County — NoWe checked Article 18 directly. It regulates seawalls only as development in Coastal High Hazard Areas, requiring authorisation and proof the wall will not divert floodwater onto someone else. It never says how tall. Each town sets its own figure independently, and two neighbouring towns can differ.

Where it is written: Palm Beach County ULDC Article 18 — Flood Damage Prevention sets no minimum elevation
Monroe County — NoConfirmed by reading every seawall and bulkhead reference in the county’s code, not inferred from silence. Monroe regulates something the other three counties largely do not - whether you may build a vertical wall at all. New seawalls are permitted only to stabilise a severely eroding shoreline, only on manmade canals, and only where vegetation or riprap will not do the job. On open water they are prohibited outright. Key West (Sec. 110-182), Marathon (LDR Sec. 106.36(H)) and Islamorada (Village Code Sec. 30-1545) set no figure either. Key Colony Beach does: 5.5 ft above mean sea level (Code Sec. 5-51). We have not yet read Layton's code.

Where it is written: Monroe County Land Development Code Sec. 118-12(k) sets no elevation and no datum

The spread is real

These are verified figures from cities we have read the code for. They are not estimates.

The low endBoca Raton (Engineering Design Standards Manual 7.7), North Palm Beach (Sec. 5-72) and Tequesta (Sec. 76-33) start at 4 ft NAVD88. In Broward the minimum is 5 ft, but an application filed before 2035 may be permitted at 4 ft if the wall is built to reach 5 ft by 2050 (Broward County Code Sec. 39-407(a)).
The high endThe City of Miami requires 6 ft NAVD88 on tidally influenced and waterfront properties citywide. The Miami River and its tributaries are the exception: 4 ft NAVD88, built so the wall can be raised at least 2 ft (City Code Sec. 29-89(a)(4)). Miami-Dade sets no county floor, so the city chose its own.
Two feet apart, two counties apartA wall built to 4.0 ft NAVD88 can meet the minimum in Boca Raton and be two feet short of the City of Miami's citywide minimum. Neither county rule explains the gap, because neither county sets one.
Several cities cap the topA wall can be too high as well as too low. Pompano Beach caps it at 5 ft 10 in NAVD88 (§ 151.05(A)); Fort Lauderdale at the base flood elevation or 6.0 ft NAVD88, whichever is lower (ULDR 47-19.13.D(12)); Deerfield Beach at 7 ft NAVD88 or the required finished grade, whichever is higher; Hillsboro Beach at the base flood elevation (Sec. 12-268(D)); Boca Raton at 6.0 ft NAVD88; Surfside at the town's design flood elevation (Sec. 90-63.4(a)); and Delray Beach, North Palm Beach and Tequesta by flood zone.

Every city we have verified

Each figure below was read out of that city's own code or published guidance, and carries its section and the month we checked it on its page.

BrowardDania Beach 5.0 ft NAVD88 · Deerfield Beach 5.0 ft NAVD88, and no more than 7.0 · Fort Lauderdale 5.0 ft NAVD88, capped at BFE or 6.0 · Hallandale Beach 5.0 ft NAVD88 · Hillsboro Beach 5.0 ft NAVD88, max BFE (7.0 if BFE is 5.0) · Hollywood 5.0 ft NAVD88 (4.0 if applied for before 2035) · Lauderdale-by-the-Sea 5.0 ft NAVD88 · Oakland Park 5.0 ft NAVD88 · Pompano Beach 5.0 ft NAVD88 minimum · Sea Ranch Lakes 5.0 ft NAVD88
Miami-DadeBay Harbor Islands 5.50 ft MSL (mean sea level); optional up to 6.0 ft MSL on listed bay-facing lots · Coral Gables 6.0 ft NGVD29 - a different datum again · Golden Beach 4.425 ft NAVD88 (single required value: "constructed at an elevation of"; not labelled minimum or maximum) · Miami 6.0 ft NAVD88 (Miami River: 4 ft, built to rise 2 ft) · Miami Beach 5.7 ft NAVD88 · Miami Shores 4.0 ft NAVD88 (5.5 ft NGVD29); recommended foundation for future 5.0 ft NAVD88 · North Bay Village 5.94 ft NAVD88 (7.50 ft NGVD29); design to allow future raise to 8.44 ft NAVD88 · Surfside BFE FEMA base flood elevation, max town DFE
Palm BeachBoca Raton 4.0 – 6.0 ft NAVD88 · Boynton Beach No minimum set in local code · Delray Beach 4.2 ft NAVD88 minimum · Gulf Stream No minimum set in local code · Highland Beach BFE FEMA base flood elevation · Juno Beach No minimum set in local code · Jupiter No minimum set in local code · Lake Worth Beach No minimum set in local code · Lantana No minimum set in local code · Manalapan No minimum set in local code · North Palm Beach 4 ft NAVD88 · Ocean Ridge 5 ft NAVD88 · Palm Beach Gardens No minimum set in local code · Riviera Beach No minimum set in local code · South Palm Beach No minimum set in local code · Tequesta 4 ft NAVD88 · West Palm Beach No minimum set in local code
MonroeIslamorada No minimum set in local code · Key Colony Beach 5.5 ft above mean sea level · Key West No minimum set in local code · Marathon No minimum set in local code

What to ask, and who to ask

  1. Ask your city, not your countyUnless you are in Broward, the county almost certainly does not set your number. Even in Broward, several cities went stricter than the county floor.
  2. Ask for the section, in writing“What is the minimum cap elevation, in which datum, and where is it written?” The last part matters — some towns keep the figure in an engineering standards manual rather than the ordinance, where searching the code finds nothing.
  3. Confirm the datumNAVD88, NGVD29 and mean sea level are different reference points. Coral Gables states its rule in NGVD29 and Key Colony Beach in mean sea level, while most cities state theirs in NAVD88. Comparing the numbers directly will mislead you, and the offset is local.
  4. Ask whether you must build for laterSeveral jurisdictions let you build lower now only if the wall is engineered to be raised. Building to the minimum today does not always close the question.

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