Town permitUnlawful to construct or erect any bulkhead, sea wall or other shore protection work without a permit from the town manager or designee; applies on Indian Creek, Biscayne Bay, Point Lake and its north and south canals - Surfside Code Secs. 90-60.2(1), 90-60.3
Wall rulesMust stay within the bulkhead line, be precast or reinforced concrete, with top at or above FEMA base flood elevation - Sec. 90-60.2(2)(c)
HeightMinimum FEMA base flood elevation, maximum the town design flood elevation, built so it can be raised 2 ft - Sec. 90-63.4 (Ord. 23-1734)
When height appliesNew walls, repairs costing over 50% of a new wall, new homes, and home renovations over 50% of market value - Sec. 90-63.4(c)
Plan approvalAll plans need approval of the town manager or designee before a permit is issued - Sec. 14-28(a)
Small repairsNo permit for maintenance or repairs of $500 or less in labour and materials that do not change the structure's use or outside appearance - Sec. 14-28(b)
Sign-offOwner and contractor certify to the town manager that the wall was built to the permit - Sec. 90-60.5
Wall strengthPlans must show the wall deep enough to retain all fill on the landward side and heavy enough to withstand hurricanes, windstorms and high tides - Sec. 90-60.2(2)(c)
H30A lotsPermit applications must include a certified survey showing where the Indian Creek or other regulated seawall line meets the side and street lot lines, with an engineer's or surveyor's certificate that all the work complies - Sec. 90-60.4
County Class I permitMiami-Dade DERM must issue a Class I permit before any work in, on, over or upon tidal waters anywhere in the county, including inside cities - County Code Sec. 24-48(1)(d) and 24-48.1(1)(a)
Short formRebuilding or repairing a seawall at the mean high water line or no more than 18 inches waterward of the existing wall qualifies for a short-form application. It also qualifies where existing primary support piles stick out no more than 14 inches, if the new wall is no more than 18 inches waterward of those piles - Sec. 24-48.2(I)(A)(1)
Who decidesA short-form application limited to seawalls is decided by the Department with no County Commission hearing. Most standard-form applications are now decided by the Director, apart from listed exceptions such as variances - Sec. 24-48.2(I)(B)(1)(iii)-(iv) and (II)(C)(1), as amended by Ord. 25-73 (1 July 2025)
County clockOrd. 25-73 Sec. 8 directs the County to issue a Completeness Summary within 10 calendar days of submission and a final decision on short-form seawall applications within 90 calendar days after that summary. The applicant may waive these limits in writing. The County Mayor reported the timeframes apply from 1 Dec 2025 (report to the Commission dated 17 Apr 2026)
No Class I neededSealing cracks and spalls on the cap or face, repairing pilasters, backfilling behind the wall, and limited riprap or sand-cement bags at the toe (no more than 2 ft out) - Sec. 24-48(3)(b)-(f)
Quick approval insteadRepairing or replacing the cap or the tieback system gets a written expedited administrative authorization, answered within 10 business days, if the contractor submits structurally approved plans from the building authority - Sec. 24-48(4)(f)-(g)
Not a substituteA county permit does not relieve the applicant from obtaining all required federal, state and local permits - Sec. 24-48.5(1)
State (FDEP)No state environmental permit is needed to restore a seawall at its previous location, upland of it, or within 18 inches waterward of it - Fla. Stat. 403.813(1)(e). The exemption does not cover permission to use state-owned submerged lands or local requirements - 403.813(1)
State-owned bottomWork over sovereign submerged lands still needs Board of Trustees permission even when the seawall work is exempt - Fla. Stat. 403.813(1)
Federal (Army Corps)A Department of the Army permit is required for structures or work in or affecting navigable waters, either under a nationwide or regional general permit or an individual permit - 33 CFR 322.3(a)