ProjectionPiers and docks may not protrude onto the public waterway more than 20% of the canal width or half the rear property line length, whichever is less - Zoning 265-45(M)(1)
Wide waterwaysOn the Intracoastal or another waterway more than 1,000 ft wide, protrusion of no more than 100 ft may be approved, as shown in Attachment 6:13 - 265-45(M)(1)
WidthNo wider than 5 ft, and not beyond the triangle shown in Attachment 6:12 unless approved by Miami-Dade County's environmental resources manager - 265-45(M)(1)
LocationIn residential and commercial zoning, within the middle one-half of the water frontage, at least 10 ft from each side property line - 265-45(M)(1)
NavigationProtrusions, including boats, may not obstruct navigation or encroach on neighbours' rights - 265-45(M)(1)
ApprovalsDevelopment Services Department, Miami-Dade County Environmental Resources Management, the drainage district and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; if the county and other agencies approve, the City approves the permit - 265-45(M)(1)-(2)
DefinitionsA pier or dock is a fixed platform extending from shore or bulkhead over the water; protrusion is anything beyond the bulkhead line - 265-45(M)(2)
UpkeepThe owner must keep docks in a constant state of repair; a dock improperly constructed or maintained must be removed at the Development Services Department's direction within 15 days of receiving notice - 265-45(M)(1)
Navigation and neighboursProtrusions, including a moored vessel, may not obstruct navigation or encroach upon the riparian rights of adjacent owners - 265-45(M)(1)
WordingThe code spells the waterway 'Intercoastal' and defines protrusion as any formation extending beyond the bulkhead line into the water - 265-45(M)(1)-(2)
Applies toBoth residential and commercial zoning districts - 265-45(M)(2)
DiagramsThe permitted triangle and the 100 ft Intracoastal protrusion are drawn in Attachments 6:12 and 6:13 of the zoning chapter - 265-45(M)(1)
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)