Bulkheads in Fort Lauderdale

Who this is for

Owners and associations with a bulkhead that leaks, leans or sits below the local height standard.

5 ft NAVD88, with a path to 2050

New and substantially repaired tidal barriers in Fort Lauderdale must reach 5 ft NAVD88. A wall permitted before 1 January 2035 may be built at 4 ft NAVD88 if it is designed to be raised to 5 ft by 1 January 2050, which is how many owners spread the cost.

Bulkheads meet the same height rule as seawalls.[1]

King tides and street flooding

The City tells owners to inspect and maintain their seawalls, says walls overtopped by king tides should be raised to the 5 ft standard, and can cite owners whose walls let tidal water reach the street. A low spot or a leaking joint is a code issue here, not only a maintenance one.

Repairing an old bulkhead can trigger the full height rule, so we check first.[2][1]

Cap repairs and cap additions, priced

The same City material priced cap spall repair at $60 per cubic foot of epoxy mortar and adding a 12 in cap to an existing wall at $75 to $125 per linear foot (2016 figures). Whether an old wall can carry a taller cap is an engineering question, so a marine or structural engineer checks it first.[3]

What makes Fort Lauderdale different

The City treats seawalls as tidal barriers. It presumes a wall is in disrepair if it lets upland soil erode, lets material pass through it, or lets tidal water flow unimpeded onto neighbours or the street, and gives owners 60 days to show progress and 365 days to finish. The City also spends $1.5 million a year on its own seawalls.[1][2]

The county layer

Broward County requires a license before any work in, on, over or under its waters, including repairing or replacing a dock or seawall. Broward's regional policy is a consistent top elevation of 5 ft NAVD for seawalls, banks and berms.[4][1]

Permits in Fort Lauderdale

• Broward County environmental licensing: A county license before any work in, on, over or under Broward County waters, including dock and seawall repair.
• City of Fort Lauderdale: Building permits; waivers of the dock and lift projection limit go to the City Commission with a Marine Advisory Board recommendation.
• Florida DEP or South Florida Water Management District: State permit or exemption for docks and walls on the New River and the Intracoastal, on top of the Broward County license.
• US Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District: Federal authorisation for work in the Intracoastal Waterway and other navigable waters.

Where state exemptions stop

Florida exempts restoring a seawall at its previous location or within 18 inches waterward, and allows seawalls in artificial waterways. The exemption does not cover new vertical seawalls in estuaries or lagoons unless they sit inside an existing manmade canal already lined with seawalls.[10]

Frequently asked questions