Seawall & Bulkhead Services in Palm Coast, FL
The City describes Palm Coast as situated on 70 miles of saltwater and freshwater canals and the Intracoastal Waterway. Its Technical Manual, dated 2009 with a January 2010 revision, sets unusually specific seawall standards. Here is what they say, what owners are responsible for, and how a permit moves.
Northeast Florida: Duval, St. Johns, Nassau, Clay, Flagler, Putnam counties.
Who is responsible for seawalls in Palm Coast, and what rules apply?
Palm Coast property owners are responsible for their own seawalls: the City's Technical Manual says it has no obligation to maintain any canal or seawall. The manual allows vertical walls only on saltwater canals, in gray reinforced concrete, vinyl or aluminum, with a concrete cap at 2.5 ft NAVD88 or matching neighbors. Barefoot Marine Construction serves Palm Coast and Flagler County directly.
How service works in Palm Coast
Barefoot Marine Construction, the owner and operator of Florida Bulk Head, works directly with waterfront property owners in this region.
Call (904) 821-5744 or send your project details and photos. Barefoot Marine Construction reviews every Northeast Florida request itself and follows up to schedule a site visit when one is needed.
Palm Coast's Seawall Rulebook
Most Florida cities leave seawall design to the engineer and the building code. Palm Coast goes further. Section 1100 of the City's Technical Manual (Section V Engineering, dated October 1, 2009 and revised January 2010) sets out where walls may go, what they are made of, how high the cap sits and how docks attach.
The manual is old, so is it still in use? Plan-review notes on 2025 and 2026 seawall permits, which we read in the City's online permit records, still tell applicants that Section 1100.09 and the Unified Land Development Code, Chapter 4, Section 4.01.06, control where they conflict with a design. That is a good sign, but it does not settle the question, so confirm with the Building Department that you are working from the current standard before design starts.
| Topic | What the Manual Says | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | The City has no obligation to maintain any canal, seawall, deadman anchor, cap or revetment | 1100.02 |
| Where walls are allowed | Vertical seawalls and bulkheads only on saltwater canals | 1100.09 C |
| Cap | Reinforced concrete, top at 2.5 ft NAVD88 or matching abutting caps | 1100.09 D, E |
| Wall material | Reinforced concrete, vinyl or aluminum, gray in color | 1100.09 F |
| End returns | Minimum 10 ft unless an abutting bulkhead exists; half-inch expansion joint at tie-ins | Drawing 1100.G |
| Dredging | Maintenance only, under USACE Permit 198600824; caution beyond 4 ft below the cap | 1100.08 |
| Permit submittals | Topographic survey locating index trees 6 in or larger, plus a seawall grading plan | 1100.10 |
The review notes add practical detail. They ask for turbidity barriers installed before any part of the old wall is disturbed and never anchored to a seawall, old panels and deadmen removed from the City right-of-way, the new wall placed on private property in line with its neighbors, and a cap no higher than 2.5 ft NAVD88 except for a short transition into a higher bulkhead at the end of a canal.
Who Owns and Maintains the Wall
In Palm Coast the answer is the property owner. Section 1100.01 also requires owners of lots within 25 ft of a waterbody to keep bank protection and soil cover in good repair at their own expense, and not to excavate, alter grades or change any shore treatment without permits. Owners may not tunnel under, alter or damage a seawall, deadman anchor or cap, and may not attach cleats, poles or other devices to a seawall or cap without written consent from the City.
Some canal frontage is still owned by the City. A January 13, 2026 Council workshop item reported three pending requests from residents to take over City-owned bulkheads next to their lots, and Council approved Resolution 2026-12 setting the transfer process on January 20, 2026. Under the process described in that workshop item, the resident must permit and build a seawall within two years of transfer or the property reverts to the City, and the City keeps a 20 ft easement. If you are considering a transfer, plan the seawall design and permit timeline before you apply.
City Drainage Pipes Run Through Some Walls
In a 2022 release, the City listed 154 pipes through seawalls among the drainage features its Stormwater Division maintains. If a stormwater outfall passes through your wall, coordinate repair or replacement around it with the City before construction.
Saltwater Canals Versus Freshwater Canals
Palm Coast has two very different canal systems, and the rules follow the water. The saltwater canals have boating access to the Intracoastal Waterway. The freshwater canals carry stormwater and are maintained by the City as part of a drainage system that, in its 2022 count, also included 13 freshwater lakes and 14 control structures.
| Question | Saltwater Canals | Freshwater Canals |
|---|---|---|
| Vertical seawall or bulkhead | Allowed, to the 1100.09 standards | Not allowed; the manual limits vertical walls to saltwater canals |
| Dock projection | Up to 12 ft (16 ft if the canal is 100 ft or wider) | No more than 8 ft from the shoreline at normal water level |
| Dock size | No more than 65% of the shared shoreline | No structure larger than 10 ft deep by 12 ft wide |
| Other limits | Floating docks up to 20 ft, one per property | At least 1 ft above normal water; must not block stormwater flow |
| Boating | Slow speed, minimum wake; idle speed from Palm Harbor Parkway Bridge to the Intracoastal | No internal combustion engines where there is no Intracoastal access |
Small Tides, Shallow Canals and the 4 ft Dredge Caution
Tides are modest here. NOAA's Bings Landing station on the Matanzas River has a mean range of 1.47 ft. The City's datum table puts approximate mean high water at 0.0 ft NAVD88 and mean low water at -2.0 ft NAVD88. NOAA's own figures at Bings Landing are about 0.5 ft and -0.95 ft NAVD88, so treat the City table as a rounded planning reference; your engineer will set elevations from a survey.
| Reference | Elevation (ft NAVD88) |
|---|---|
| Seawall or bulkhead cap | 2.5 |
| Approximate mean high water | 0.0 |
| Approximate mean sea level | -1.0 |
| Approximate mean low water | -2.0 |
| Canal bottom at seawall base | -1.5 |
| Siltation limit at canal centerline | -7.0 |
| Permitted dredging limit at canal centerline | -9.0 |
Read together, the table and the dredging section explain the City's warning. On the typical section, the canal bottom at the wall sits about 4 ft below the cap. If a panel the manual describes as “only 8' deep” runs down from the cap, roughly half of it is below the canal bottom, so dredging or scour that removes soil below that line takes away the support the wall depends on. Your wall may differ, which is why embedment should be confirmed before any dredging or deepening.
Shoaling is the other side of the problem. The City's 2023 saltwater canal study, presented with Taylor Engineering, found most canals in good condition but some shoaling, with around 13 miles of canals less than 6 ft deep at the centerline, and an aerial survey flagged more than 200 points of interest for possible shoreline erosion. The City reported that the next phase was unfunded for fiscal year 2024, so check with the City for the current status of any canal dredging work.
Rain, Storms and Canal Walls
Palm Coast's canal walls sit inland of the beach, and the most recent major storm record points to rain as much as surge. In its Hurricane Ian (2022) report, the National Hurricane Center wrote that flooding of inland neighborhoods and intracoastal communities in Flagler and Volusia counties was largely the result of heavy rainfall. For canal walls, long periods of saturated backfill and runoff over the cap are worth planning for in grading and swale design.
A Wall Is Not a Flood Barrier
The City's cap standard sets a consistent height along the canals. It does not mean a seawall will keep storm or rain flooding off a lot. After any major storm, look for new storm damage, soil loss and cap movement.
Permitting a Seawall in Palm Coast
Seawall permits are issued by the City's Building Department through its online portal. The City says a seawall permit remains active for six months from issuance, and a new permit is needed if it expires without the required inspections. Work in the water can also need state authorization or an exemption: section 403.813(1), F.S. (opens in a new tab) exempts certain seawall restorations within 18 inches waterward of the old location and certain seawalls in artificially created waterways, each with conditions.
The Intracoastal frontage is a different case from the canals. DEP's Pellicer Creek Aquatic Preserve page (opens in a new tab) describes the Matanzas River as a coastal lagoon, and section 373.414(5), F.S. (opens in a new tab) limits new vertical seawalls in estuaries and lagoons and generally calls for riprap facing when one is repaired or replaced, unless an exception applies, such as an existing manmade canal already lined with vertical walls. Whether it applies to a given lot is the agency's call, so raise it with DEP's Northeast District early for any Intracoastal wall.
City Submittals for a Residential Seawall Permit
- Permit application generated in the online portal
- Signed and sealed drawings
- Survey or site plan with the proposed structure, dimensions and the width of the canal
- Proof of property ownership
- Construction lien law affidavit
- Recorded notice of commencement where required, before inspections
Working With Barefoot in Palm Coast
Flagler County is one of the six counties Barefoot Marine Construction serves directly from Jacksonville, so a Palm Coast request goes to the company itself. The usual steps are Request a Quote, Site Assessment, Plan & Permit, Build or Repair, and Protect Your Property; here, Plan & Permit means drawings that meet Section 1100 and whatever the City's reviewers currently ask for. When you call (904) 821-5744 or send photos and project details, say whether the lot is on a saltwater canal, a freshwater canal or the Intracoastal, include photos of the cap and the canal side at low water, and mention if the bulkhead next to your lot is still City-owned.
Shorelines and waterways in Palm Coast
Saltwater Canals
Dead-end residential canals with boating access to the Intracoastal Waterway, first installed in the 1960s and 1970s. The City's consultant found original design documents showing a canal depth of 8.77 ft. The Technical Manual allows vertical seawalls and bulkheads only on these canals.
Freshwater Canals
A 2022 City release counted 58 miles of freshwater canals in the drainage system maintained by the Stormwater Division. Structures here are limited in size and must not block stormwater flow, and the manual does not allow vertical bulkheads on them.
Intracoastal Waterway (Matanzas River)
NOAA's Bings Landing station on the Matanzas River has a mean tide range of 1.47 ft. DEP describes the Matanzas River as a coastal lagoon, and the City's manual includes a typical riprap revetment profile for this frontage and says Intracoastal docks need a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit.
Local construction considerations
Cap Height: Manual and Recent Reviews
The manual sets the top of cap at 2.5 ft NAVD88 or matching abutting existing caps. In 2025 and 2026 seawall plan reviews, City staff asked for a plan note treating 2.5 ft NAVD88 as the maximum, with a limited step up where a new wall must tie into a higher bulkhead at the end of a canal.
Materials and Color Are Specified
Vertical bulkheads must be reinforced concrete, vinyl or aluminum and gray in color. Choosing among those is an engineering and budget decision. See vinyl seawalls and concrete seawalls.
End Returns and Tie-Ins
The end-return detail calls for returns of at least 10 ft unless a bulkhead already abuts, a half-inch expansion joint where a new wall butts an existing one, and a cap extended to meet the neighbor's ground line.
Dredging Near the Wall
The manual warns that “most seawall panels are only 8' deep” and that dredging more than 4 ft below the cap along a wall may cause catastrophic failure. Maintenance dredging must follow USACE Permit 198600824.
Where the Wall Sits
The manual says seawalls generally sit at about 0.5 ft below mean sea level (feet wet), often on the property line of older lots, while bulkheads sit above mean high water (feet dry). Recent review notes ask that a new wall sit entirely on private property, in line with neighboring walls, with no more than half the cap over the City right-of-way.
Clearing Limits on Vacant Lots
The Building Department says a seawall can be built on a vacant lot, but only part of the lot may be cleared and a pre-clearing inspection is required. The manual sets side buffers, a 15 ft access limit and tree-protection barricades.
Common seawall concerns
- Soil loss through joints or under the toe, often first seen as depressions or sinkholes behind the cap
- Shoaling in parts of the saltwater canal system, documented in the City's 2023 canal study
- Undermining risk where digging or dredging goes below the panel embedment the manual describes
- Erosion on unimproved canal banks, which the City cited when it set up its bulkhead transfer process
- Cracked caps and leaning panels on canal walls built decades ago
Regional cost factors
- The required wall materials (reinforced concrete, vinyl or aluminum, gray) and a reinforced concrete cap
- End returns of at least 10 ft where no neighboring wall exists, plus tie-ins to adjacent caps
- Floating turbidity barriers, which the manual requires for work at or below mean high water
- Signed and sealed drawings, a survey and the canal width required for the City permit
- Site access, clearing limits and tree protection, especially on vacant lots
- Canal depth and shoaling, which affect how equipment reaches the wall on dead-end canals
Permitting agencies and local rules
- City of Palm Coast: The City “does not now undertake nor has it undertaken any obligation” to maintain any canal, seawall, bulkhead, deadman anchor, cap or revetment (Technical Manual 1100.02). Official source
- City of Palm Coast: Vertical seawalls and bulkheads are allowed only on saltwater canals, need a reinforced concrete cap at 2.5 ft NAVD88 or matching abutting caps, must be reinforced concrete, vinyl or aluminum in gray, and need 10 ft minimum end returns unless a bulkhead abuts (1100.09). Official source
- City of Palm Coast: Dredging is allowed only for maintenance under USACE Permit 198600824, and owners are cautioned against dredging deeper than 4 ft below the cap along a wall (1100.08). Official source
- City of Palm Coast: Saltwater canal docks may extend no more than 12 ft into the canal (16 ft where the canal is 100 ft or wider), need 10 ft side setbacks and may span no more than 65% of the shoreline (1100.12). Official source
- City of Palm Coast: City Council approved Resolution 2026-12 on January 20, 2026, approving a process for transferring City canal bulkheads to adjoining property owners. Official source
- City of Palm Coast Building DepartmentSeawall permit requirements, the online permit portal and inspection scheduling
- Palm Coast Technical Manual, Section V EngineeringDated October 1, 2009, revised January 2010; Section 1100 covers shores, canals, seawalls, revetments and docks
- Florida DEP Northeast DistrictState environmental resource permits and exemptions; Flagler County is in this district
- St. Johns River Water Management District ePermitDistrict permitting portal
Requirements depend on your exact property, waterway and scope. Confirm with each agency. See the Florida seawall permit guide.
More communities in Northeast Florida
Bulkhead and seawall services from Barefoot Marine Construction
Palm Coast seawall and bulkhead questions
Does the City of Palm Coast repair seawalls on the canals?
No. The Technical Manual states that the City has not undertaken any obligation to maintain canals, seawalls, deadman anchors, caps or revetments. Owners are responsible for their own walls and for bank protection within 25 ft of the water. Where a bulkhead is still City-owned, Council approved a transfer process in January 2026.
Can I build a seawall on a freshwater canal in Palm Coast?
The Technical Manual allows vertical seawalls and bulkheads only on saltwater canals. Freshwater canals are part of the City's stormwater system, and structures there are limited in size and must not block flow. Ask the City before planning any shoreline work on a freshwater canal.
How high should my new seawall cap be in Palm Coast?
The manual sets the top of cap at 2.5 ft NAVD88 or matching abutting existing caps. Recent City plan reviews have asked for a plan note treating 2.5 ft NAVD88 as the maximum, with a short transition allowed where a wall ties into a higher bulkhead at the end of a canal. Your engineer shows the elevation on the drawings and the City reviews it.
Can I dredge next to my seawall?
Dredging is allowed only for maintenance under the City's U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit. The City cautions that most panels are only 8 ft deep and that dredging more than 4 ft below the cap along a wall may cause the wall to fail. Have the wall's embedment confirmed before any dredging.
What does the City need for a seawall permit?
The City lists a portal application, signed and sealed drawings, a survey or site plan showing the structure and canal width, proof of ownership and a construction lien law affidavit. A recorded notice of commencement is required before inspections where it applies. The Technical Manual also calls for a topographic survey of index trees and a seawall grading plan.
Is the 2009 Technical Manual still the standard?
The manual on the City's website is dated October 1, 2009, with a January 2010 revision. Plan-review notes on 2025 and 2026 seawall permits still cite its Section 1100.09, together with Section 4.01.06 of the Unified Land Development Code, as controlling. Confirm with the Building Department that nothing newer applies before design is final.
Sources and references
- City of Palm Coast Technical Manual, Section V Engineering Design Standards (Section 1100) — City of Palm Coast. Accessed November 2, 2026. Dated October 1, 2009, revised January 2010; currency confirmed only indirectly through recent plan-review notes
- Seawall permit plan-review notes, February 2026 (online permit records) — City of Palm Coast Building Department. Accessed November 3, 2026. One of several 2025 and 2026 seawall review notes read; others repeat the 2.5 ft NAVD88 cap note
- City Council workshop agenda, January 13, 2026: Process for transfer of City canal bulkheads — City of Palm Coast. Accessed November 2, 2026.
- Results of Palm Coast Saltwater Canal Study Delivered (August 11, 2023) — City of Palm Coast. Accessed November 2, 2026.
- Stormwater Hosts NARFE Palm Coast Chapter Meeting (September 23, 2022) — City of Palm Coast. Accessed November 2, 2026. Drainage system inventory, including 58 miles of freshwater canals and 154 pipes through seawalls
- About Palm Coast — City of Palm Coast. Accessed November 2, 2026.
- Datums for 8720757, Bings Landing, Matanzas River — NOAA Tides and Currents. Accessed November 2, 2026.
- Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Ian (AL092022) — National Hurricane Center. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Regulations, programs and conditions change. Always confirm requirements with the agency that has jurisdiction over your property.