Seawall & Bulkhead Help in Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale's Tidal Waterfront

In parts of Fort Lauderdale, high tides already reach the street. In 2014 the city accepted state funds to install tidal valves in three Southeast Isles neighborhoods, Las Olas Isles, Venice Isle and Rio Vista Isles, because low road elevations let tidal water flow back from the adjacent canals through outfall pipes onto roadways during high tides. A Hendricks Isle resident told CBS News Miami in 2023 that her street has always been impassable during king tides.

The city has also moved to raise some of its own walls. A 2022 city memo approved an agreement to replace about 790 linear feet of public seawall along East Las Olas Boulevard and SE 10th Street, walls identified in the city's 2018 Seawall Masterplan, with corrosion-resistant steel sheet piles and a concrete cap at a top elevation of 5.0 feet NAVD88. On private lots, the 2023 ordinance puts the duty to keep a barrier in good repair on the property owner.

The Tidal Flood Barrier Rule

Ordinance C-23-05, passed on second reading March 23, 2023, created Section 47-19.13 of the city's Unified Land Development Regulations (ULDR), Resiliency Standards for Tidal Flood Protection. It struck the city's 2016 seawall standard, which had set a 3.9-foot NAVD88 minimum, and extended the elevation rule from seawalls to all tidal flood barriers, which the ordinance defines to include banks, berms, green-grey infrastructure, seawalls and seawall caps.

When the Rule Applies to an Existing Wall

Section 47-19.13 applies to new barriers, to substantial repair or rehabilitation of shorelines and shoreline structures, to fixed structures attached to a barrier such as docks, and to existing shorelines that let tidal water through. It does not apply to oceanfront beaches or shorelines seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line. Substantial repair or rehabilitation means:

• Any modification to the shoreline or a shoreline structure along more than 50 percent of the length of the property's shoreline, or
• Any modification of an existing shoreline structure that exceeds 50 percent of its fair market replacement cost. For this test, docks, finger piers, piles and ancillary concrete footers are excluded, but concrete docks poured monolithically with the seawall cap are included.

Once a project crosses that line, the barrier must be built along the property's entire shoreline. Caps added to an existing wall must be at least as wide as the existing cap, and new barriers should adjoin neighboring barriers where practicable to close gaps. Vertical walls built in marine waters where no seawall existed before need natural limerock riprap or other approved habitat enhancement at the waterward face. The rule also covers the Melrose Park and Riverland Road annexed areas.

Repair Deadlines, Citations and Sale Disclosure

Owners must keep tidal flood barriers in good repair. A barrier is presumed in disrepair if tidal water flows unimpeded through it onto adjacent property or the public right-of-way, and failing to maintain it is a citable offense. After a citation, the owner must show progress within 60 days and complete repairs within 365 days. If the repair is substantial, the owner must design, permit, build and pass final inspection of a wall that meets the elevation standard within those 365 days.

A barrier built to the new standard that is still overtopped by tide is not treated as a public nuisance or citable offense. And contracts to sell real estate in tidally influenced areas of the city executed after March 23, 2023 must include a disclosure, in capitalized bold type, that the owner may be required to meet minimum tidal flood barrier elevation standards.

How the City Rule Fits Broward County's Standard

According to the city's 2023 staff memo, the Broward County Commission approved a countywide tidal flood barrier standard on March 31, 2020, and a county land use plan policy (2.21.7) required tidally influenced cities to adopt a consistent top elevation of 5 feet NAVD by February 13, 2022. Fort Lauderdale did not meet that deadline and kept the county informed until it adopted its ordinance. Staff wrote that much of the county ordinance was based on Fort Lauderdale's own 2016 seawall ordinance.

The road to adoption was not smooth. The memo records that the city's Planning and Zoning Board twice voted down motions finding the change consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, in September and November 2022, before the City Commission passed it. The Southeast Florida guide lists the other Broward cities staff named as having adopted the regional standard.

Living Seawall Permit Fee Assistance

On May 5, 2026, the City Commission adopted Resolution 26-78, creating a Living Seawall Permit Fee Assistance Program: a 100 percent discount on the city's base building permit fees for qualifying living seawalls, with an initial $50,000 fund and per-project caps of $3,500 for residential and $7,000 for commercial properties, first come, first served. At least 51 percent of the wall's length must carry permanent habitat-enhancing features on the waterward face, and the entire wall must be raised to the elevation required by Section 47-19.13. The discount does not cover Broward County or state fees, and the staff memo said the application would be posted on the city website on June 1, 2026.

Questions to Settle Before You Hire

No participating contractor is confirmed in Fort Lauderdale yet. Florida Bulk Head accepts project inquiries here and connects owners with a qualified participating contractor when one is available, subject to availability. Barefoot Marine Construction does not perform work in this region.