Where the rule comes from
Hollywood updated its seawall ordinance on February 2, 2022 (Ordinance O-2022-01), creating Section 150.30 to set construction standards for seawalls and tidal flood barriers that account for projected sea level rise (City of Hollywood). The city adopted it because Broward County's land use Policy 2.21.7 required tidally influenced cities to adopt regionally consistent seawall elevations.
What the height rule covers
- Barriers, not just walls. Seawalls, seawall caps, berms and similar barriers all count when they are new or substantially repaired or rehabilitated.
- Things attached to the wall. Section 150.30 also applies to fixed structures attached to a barrier, such as docks and boat lifts. A dock or lift project can bring your wall into the conversation.
- Not the beach. The rule does not apply to oceanfront beaches or to shorelines seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line, so it is aimed at canal, Intracoastal and lake shorelines (Sec. 150.30).
The number may be revisited in 2034
Hollywood's code says the city will re-evaluate the 5 foot requirement in 2034 or before, using updated sea level rise projections (Sec. 150.30). That review lands just ahead of the January 1, 2035 cutoff for the 4 foot allowance, so an owner planning a rebuild in the early 2030s should ask the Building Division whether anything has changed.
Living shorelines are allowed
The 2022 ordinance makes room for living shorelines, which the city describes as a natural alternative to hard stabilization such as bulkheads, with benefits for water quality, fish habitat and wave buffering (City of Hollywood). Whether one works on your lot depends on space, water depth and boat access, which a marine contractor or engineer can assess.
The city is working on public shorelines too
Hollywood voters approved a General Obligation Bond on March 12, 2019 that includes a tidal flooding mitigation and seawall project. Phase I adds protection where no shoreline protection exists, and Phase II improves existing protection (City of Hollywood). Private walls remain the owner's responsibility.
Checking your own wall
5 feet NAVD88 is a survey elevation, not a height above the water. The only way to know whether your Hollywood wall meets it is a survey or an engineer's measurement, which the permit package needs anyway. See Hollywood seawall permits for what that package includes.