Bulkheads in Miami

Who this is for

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

Two seawall heights split by the Rickenbacker Causeway

The City code text that File 7338 set out to replace puts seawall tops at +5.00 ft NGVD north of the Rickenbacker Causeway and +6.00 ft NGVD south of it, so the same job can have a different minimum depending on which side of the causeway the lot sits. The 2020 proposal would have moved every wall east of US-1 to 6 ft NAVD 88, with the Miami River left to its own section of the code.

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

Riprap rules on Miami's bay and river edges

DERM treats limerock boulders on a 2:1 slope no more than 10 ft waterward of mean high water as an expedited job once its staff have inspected the site, with a $170 riprap inspection fee. Riprap tucked under an undercut wall no more than 2 ft out is exempt, which covers many first repairs.

Bulkheads are often paired with riprap at the toe.[2]

The tide at the Miamarina gauge

NOAA's Miami Miamarina station on Biscayne Bay records a mean tidal range of 2.17 ft and a great diurnal range of 2.37 ft, with mean higher high water about 0.26 ft above NAVD 88 (1983 to 2001 tidal epoch). Those numbers set how far a lift has to travel, how far a floating dock rises and falls, and how much freeboard a seawall cap really has.[3]

What makes Miami waterfront work different

Most of Biscayne Bay and its natural tributaries, including the Miami River and Little River, are state-owned submerged lands, so docks over them need the state's consent alongside the DERM permit. The Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve is listed by DERM as a permitting contact, and FDEP's free online dock self-certification is not available in aquatic preserves. The federal seagrass range used in dock design reaches central Biscayne Bay.[2][4][5]

City of Miami seawall height

In 2020 the City considered an ordinance (File 7338) to set a 6 ft NAVD 88 minimum for new and rebuilt seawalls east of US-1, outside the Miami River. We have not confirmed that it was adopted, so for every Miami seawall job we confirm the current height rule with the City before design.[1]

Permits in Miami

• Miami-Dade DERM, Coastal Resources Section: Class I permit for any work in, on or over tidal water, the Miami River included, with exempt, expedited and short-form routes for small jobs. Phone (305) 372-6575.
• City of Miami Building Department: Structural and zoning approval for seawalls, docks and lifts inside city limits.
• Florida DEP or South Florida Water Management District: State permit or exemption, and consent to use the state-owned bottom of Biscayne Bay, the Miami River and Little River, which DERM grants for most of the bay on the state's behalf.
• US Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District: Federal sign-off for work in the bay and the river. SPGP VI, the small-project route, passed its stated 27 July 2026 expiry, so we confirm the current route for each job.

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.[7]

Frequently asked questions