Dock rulesIn residential districts no dock may come closer than 3 ft to an adjacent property line - City Code 11-7(c)(1); in non-residential districts, 5 ft - 11-7(d)(1). Sec. 11-7 contains no dock projection or deck-size number
Mooring pilingsNo more than 25% of the waterway width or 25 ft, whichever is less, from the recorded property line, and at least 3 ft (residential) or 5 ft (non-residential) from contiguous lot lines; nighttime reflectors on any piling more than 5 ft out - 11-7(c)(2)-(3), (d)(2)-(3)
BoatsVessels at private docks or pilings may not extend more than 25% of the waterway width from the recorded property line, and may not cross the neighbour's property line - 11-7(c)(4),(7)
Second boat limitSubsection (g) separately limits boats moored to mooring structures to 30% of the canal width and keeps mooring structures 3 ft (residential) or 5 ft (non-residential) from the projected property line - 11-7(g)
Guide polesAny submersible mooring device needs a vertical guide pole at least 1.5 inches in diameter, 6 ft above high tide, with reflective colour - 11-7(f)
PermitBuilding permit from the Community Development Services Department, approval of every authority regulating navigable waters, and a notarized statement of ownership or the owner's notarized consent - 11-7(b)
RepairsUnsafe mooring structures must be corrected within 30 days of written notice - 11-7(e)
Using someone else's dockNo boat may moor or tie up to a seawall or mooring structure without the owner's permission, except boats or people in distress - 11-7(h)
ConductBoats docked or moored along city waterways must follow the city's health, sanitary, noise and disorderly-conduct ordinances, and the property owner is primarily responsible - 11-7(j)
Broward County licenseWork in the county's regulated aquatic resources, which include canals and tidal waters, needs a Broward County Environmental Resource License - County Code 27-332, 27-333(a)(1). A new dock, floating dock or other over-water structure of 500 sq ft or less, measured from the seawall's wet face at mean high water, with no dredging or filling beyond the pilings, qualifies for a general license issued within 10 days of a complete application - 27-336(a)(1)e. A county ordinance that sets minimum environmental-protection standards prevails over city ordinances - Broward County Charter Sec. 11.01
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)