WallDockDeck
West Palm Beach · Palm Beach County

What are the boat lift rules in West Palm Beach?

Allowed; engineer-designed, middle third of lotboatlifts in middle one-third

West Palm Beach requires boat lifts to be designed by a registered professional engineer and installed in the middle one-third of the lot as extended into the waterway, along with the dock, tees, dolphins and pilings. Lifts are one of the few things allowed to stand above a dock. The building permit application needs sealed plans and written DEP, Army Corps and/or SFWMD approval.

Source: City of West Palm Beach Zoning and Land Development Regulations Sec. 94-313 (enCodePlus; Ord. 4935-21); s. 403.813(1)(s), F.S. (2026); 33 CFR 322.3(a) · Verified 2026-10

The detail

DesignBoat lifts must be designed by a registered professional engineer, meet current electrical codes and follow the manufacturer's specifications - Code Sec. 94-313(a)(3)q
PlacementDocks, tees, dolphins, pilings, boatlifts and other mooring facilities within the middle one-third of the lot, extended into the waterway; no boat may extend beyond the principal-structure side setback lines extended - Sec. 94-313(a)(3)h
On the dockExcept security fences, boat lifts and mooring devices, nothing may be built on a dock and no part of the dock may rise above the bulkhead top - Sec. 94-313(a)(3)k
Dock lengthNo longer than the minimum DEP, Army Corps or SFWMD approve, up to 100 feet; 40 feet on the north bank of the West Palm Beach Canal east of Dixie Highway; more only by Class A special use permit - Sec. 94-313(a)(3)i
How manyOne dock per lot - Sec. 94-313(a)(3)f
Permit papersProof of ownership and riparian rights, plans sealed by a Florida professional engineer, architect or landscape architect, a scaled site plan, a cross section showing mean high and low water, and dated written DEP, Army Corps and/or SFWMD approval - Sec. 94-313(a)(2)
ReliefAn owner who cannot meet the standards may apply to the city commission for a Class A special use permit - Sec. 94-313(a)
State and federalFloating boat lifts and floating vessel platforms that meet s. 403.813(1)(s), F.S. (they float at all times, hold the vessel out of the water, and either sit inside a previously permitted slip or total no more than 500 sq ft - 200 sq ft in Outstanding Florida Waters - beside a qualifying dock or bulkhead) need no state permit; a local government may then ask only for a one-time registration unless the platform is attached to a bulkhead with no dock. Structures in navigable waters otherwise need Army Corps authorization unless exempt or under a general permit - 33 CFR 322.3(a).

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