Dock pilings in Key Largo

Signs a piling needs replacing

Check at low tide.

• Wood worn thin at the waterline (an hourglass shape)
• Deep splits or a piling that moves when you push it
• A dock that sags between pilings

No leaching piles

Every dock piling in unincorporated Monroe County must be non-CCA-leaching, such as recycled plastic or concrete, or be wrapped in an impermeable sleeve at least 30 mil thick from 6 in below the bottom to 2 ft above mean high water. That changes the piling order before a Key Largo job starts.

Piling material and wraps are chosen to meet that rule before the order goes in.[1]

The Sanctuary starts at high water

The shoreward boundary of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is the mean high water mark, so once work steps into Key Largo's water it is inside the Sanctuary. Monroe County lists boating restricted areas under rule 68D-24.144, and County approvals wait on state and federal permits before a Notice to Proceed.

New piles are placed to avoid grass beds.[2][3][1]

Floating lifts and docks need deep water

Floats are allowed in Key Largo only over water at least 4 ft deep at mean low water. Floating lifts and vessel platforms must also stay off benthic resources and out of manatee zones, be secured to a fixed dock, and keep the whole structure within 25% of the navigable width.

Pile driving is in-water work, so the manatee rules set the pace.[1]

What makes Key Largo different

The special exception application asks owners to describe the submerged lands the dock crosses, such as sand, seagrass or coral, and the minimum extra length needed to reach adequate water depth. The site plan must be prepared by a Florida registered architect, engineer or landscape architect and show the mean high water line and shoreline setbacks.[4]

Sanctuary, seagrass and manatees

Projects inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary needed prior Sanctuary approval under SPGP VI. The same permit let boat lifts and minor structures in Monroe County go into existing boat slips without a seagrass survey. All in-water work follows the state manatee conditions.[5][6]

Permits in Key Largo

• Monroe County Planning and Environmental Resources Department: Dock length special exceptions under County Code section 118-12(m)(15).
• Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: The Sanctuary starts at mean high water, so Key Largo canal and bay work is inside it; SPGP VI required its prior approval.
• Florida DEP or South Florida Water Management District: State permit or exemption, which Monroe County needs to see before it issues a Notice to Proceed for docks, seawalls and ramps.
• US Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District: Federal permit, also required before the County's Notice to Proceed.

How pilings go in

Pilings are driven or jetted into the bottom from a barge or the dock. Federal SPGP VI did not authorise impact-hammer installation of metal pipe or metal sheet piles, so steel work takes a different federal route. All in-water work follows the state manatee conditions: work stops if a manatee comes within 50 ft.[5][6]

Frequently asked questions