How the rule changed in 2023
Before 2023, Lighthouse Point limited seawalls to 4.0 feet NAVD, with a tolerance of 3 feet 8 inches to 4 feet 4 inches. A staff study presented in late 2022 found most Broward coastal cities were adopting the county's 5.0 foot standard. On April 25, 2023 the City Commission declared a Zoning in Progress so the Building Department could permit walls up to 5.0 feet while the ordinance was written, and Ordinance 2023-0998 then amended Section 42-381 (ordinance and staff report).
The numbers in Section 42-381
- Minimum cap: 4.0 feet NAVD (5.5 feet NGVD).
- Maximum after raising or capping: 5.0 feet NAVD (6.5 feet NGVD).
- Tolerance: because of construction difficulties and soil settling, a cap from 3 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 4 inches NAVD is treated as conforming.
- Built to go higher: any new wall, and any wall being substantially rehabilitated, replaced, maintained or improved, must be designed to accommodate a 5.0 foot cap. The staff report explains that a wall built below 5.0 feet has to be able to support one more foot later.
- Return walls: if your new wall will be higher than a neighbor's, as determined by a licensed surveyor or engineer, you build return walls on your own property, parallel to the property line, until the grades match.
The code gives both NAVD and NGVD figures because older surveys often use the NGVD datum. The two differ by 1.5 feet in these numbers, so always check which datum a survey or plan is using.
Is there a deadline to raise a Lighthouse Point seawall?
Not in the adopted code. Section 42-381 sets no 2035 or 2050 date and no citation timeline. You may hear those dates because the Planning and Zoning Board recommended conditions in 2022 and 2023 that included 4 feet by 2035 and 5 feet by 2050, but the text the City Commission adopted does not contain them (staff report). For comparison, the Broward County model in Section 39-407 uses the 2035 and 2050 dates and a 60 day and 365 day citation clock (Broward County Code, Ch. 39, Art. XXV). Ask the Building Department how the city handles a wall that lets tide water through.
Old coral rock walls
The staff report notes that many of the city's walls are coral rock and over 50 years old, and that they often cannot hold the weight of building on top of them (staff report). Pouring a taller cap on one of those is often not an option, which is why an inspection comes before any plan to raise.
See Lighthouse Point seawall permits for the city checklist.