SEAWALL REVOCABLE PERMIT

AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 82, OF THE CITY CODE, ENTITLED "PUBLIC PROPERTY;" AMENDING DIVISION 2, ENTITLED "REVOCABLE PERMIT;" CREATING A NEW SECTION 82-97, ENTITLED "APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR SEAWALLS ENCROACHING ON CITY SUBMERGED LANDS;" AND FURTHER AMENDING DIVISION 2 TO ENSURE CONSISTENCY AND CLEAN UP OF THE LANGUAGE OF THE CODE; PROVIDING CODIFICATION; REPEALER; SEVERABILITY; AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

Certain canals, which were constructed by the City, are the property of the City of Miami Beach and are considered public lands.

Property owners that front City-owned canals often seek to fix or upgrade their seawalls. One of the options is to completely replace the seawall, which can become costly.  Another less expensive option consists of placing a new seawall in front of the existing one, and backfilling in between the walls. This option, however, may cause for the wall to extend the length of the subject property beyond the property line and encroach into the City’s canal.

The City Administration recommends creating a permit process so that property owners adjacent to City owned canals can reconstruct, in a cost efficient manner, seawalls that are resilient to sea level rise that encroach onto the City’s land.

Chapter 82 of the City Code is being amended to create Section 82-97, entitled “Application requirements for seawalls encroaching on City submerged lands.” This section creates a public hearing process before the City Commission for seawalls that intend to encroach more than four (4) feet into the City’s canals.

The applicant shall be required to provide a 15 day prior written notice to all properties adjacent to the property where the seawall is being replaced.

The seawall location may not, in any circumstance, be built at a location that would interfere with navigability. Should the proposed seawall interfere with navigability of the canal, then the applicant will be required to dredge and replace the existing seawall, rather than encroaching into the City’s submerged lands. The construction of any seawall requires approvals of the County, the State of Florida and the Federal Government, which approvals would need to be granted prior to considering the application process complete.

The application process requires the submittal of a number of technical documents and engineering drawings. Additionally, each applicant shall be required to indemnify the City and hold the City harmless, and provide the City with insurance, naming the City an additional party.

At its September 12, 2018 meeting, the City Commission read the Title of the Ordinance into the record and adopted it on First Reading.  A Second Reading Public Hearing is scheduled on October 17, 2018.