Cocoa Beach Dune and Coastal Construction Rules

Cocoa Beach sets its oceanfront building restriction line on the state Coastal Construction Setback Line, and a second seawall line farther east marks where almost all construction must stop (Cocoa Beach City Code Article IIIB).

Section 5-45 says the building restriction line for properties fronting the Atlantic Ocean is coterminous with the Coastal Construction Setback Line set by the State of Florida. The seawall line is measured at stated distances east of the center line of Atlantic Avenue, also known as S.R. A1A, or Ocean Beach Boulevard, as drawn on the official map, and it runs in straight segments between measured points rather than parallel to the road. An editor's note records that Ordinance 390 of February 17, 1972 added both lines to the official map from the center line of State Road 520 south to the city limits (Cocoa Beach City Code Article IIIB).

How the setback is measured matters for decks and balconies. Under Section 5-47, the line of a building is its easternmost porch or balcony, or the front foundation if there is no porch; only eaves of four feet or less are excepted. Where a structure sits east of the platted side lot lines, those lot lines are projected east to set the side setbacks (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 5-47).

Between the two Cocoa Beach lines, Section 5-48 allows boardwalks, promenades, revetments, fences, older public parking and dune protection structures, with the rest stabilized by plants (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 5-48).

The parking exception covers only public parking facilities that existed on September 20, 2001, and any part of the Cocoa Beach strip not used for a listed purpose must be planted with sod or other suitable vegetation (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 5-48).

East of the seawall line the list is shorter. Section 5-48 allows only approved dune crossovers, temporary sun shelters and temporary structures authorized by city franchise agreements, plus a seawall section east of the line when the city engineer finds it necessary to tie into existing seawalls and protect the beach (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 5-48).

Older buildings get specific treatment. For a lawful nonconforming structure east of the building restriction line as of September 20, 2001, the board of adjustment may consider variances for additions, but never for more eastward encroachment beyond the existing foundation. If such a structure is partly or fully destroyed by a storm, the City Commission must approve reconstruction on the owner's application, approval may not be unreasonably withheld, and the rebuild must meet the building codes in force at that time. For this purpose a structure means a permanent principal improvement 30 inches or more in height on a footer, stem wall or piling, not a pool, boardwalk, revetment or fence (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 5-48).

The Cocoa Beach Land Development Code states the rule in its own words. Section 3-26 makes the rear setback for lots on the Atlantic the most currently defined FDEP Coastal Construction General Permit line, also called the Coastal Construction Setback Line, limits construction beyond it to fences, swimming pools, screen enclosures, open decks or dune crossovers, and allows a cantilevered overhang of no more than four feet east of the line only if it needs no foundation support there. Anything else east of the line needs a variance from the board of adjustment, conditioned on FDEP approval, and all construction east of the state Coastal Construction Control Line needs an FDEP permit or written exemption before the city building permit (Cocoa Beach Land Development Code Section 3-26). The City Code list in Section 5-48 and the Land Development Code list in Section 3-26 are not identical, so the Building Division is the office to confirm which items a project may include.

Seawalls and other structures that extended east of the seawall line when the article passed are nonconforming under Section 5-49, apart from listed exceptions such as approved crossovers, temporary sun shelters, sand fences and piers that existed on September 20, 2001. If 50 percent or more of one is destroyed, as determined by the building inspector, the right to replace it ends; the owner must remove the rest within 90 days of the inspector's request, or the City Commission may declare it a hazard and have Public Works remove it (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 5-49).

Yes: Section 5-40 makes it unlawful to build, construct or alter any seawall or revetment along the Atlantic Ocean in Cocoa Beach without a state variance and permit, and the work must be supervised by a registered professional engineer (Cocoa Beach City Code Article IIIA).

The penalty in Section 5-42 is a fine of up to $500.00, up to 60 days in jail, or both. The building and seawall line article carries its own penalty clause, Section 5-49.1, which points to the general penalty in Section 1-8 and was last amended by Ordinance 1692 on September 4, 2024 (Cocoa Beach City Code Articles IIIA and IIIB).

The code text is dated in one respect. Section 5-40 still names the Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Beaches and Shores, as the permitting agency, and Section 5-46 still sends dune and berm excavation to rules of the Department of Natural Resources Division of Marine Resources (Cocoa Beach City Code Sections 5-40 and 5-46). The current state program is the Coastal Construction Control Line Program in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection, which regulates structures and activities that can cause beach erosion or destabilize dunes and whose page lists the 62B-33 F.A.C. rulemaking (FDEP Coastal Construction Control Line Program).

Any Cocoa Beach oceanfront project with more than three living units must build a dune crossover, approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection before the city permit (Cocoa Beach Land Development Code Section 3-29).

The crossover must follow the plans and specifications in the Cocoa Beach Standard Construction Details (Cocoa Beach Land Development Code Section 3-29).

Land Development Code Section 3-29, adopted by Ordinance 1627 on March 7, 2019 and amended by Ordinance 1649 on October 1, 2020, also requires every new or renovated beach access structure to be a dune crossover meeting the section, and encourages shared crossovers between neighboring multiple-family projects (Cocoa Beach Land Development Code Section 3-29). The older City Code Article IX, from Ordinance 573 of July 20, 1978, sets the same more-than-three-unit trigger, requires state approval with no Board of Adjustment approval, and says no building permit fee is charged for a crossover built to comply (Cocoa Beach City Code Article IX).

The two codes set different triggers for upgrading an existing crossover. City Code Section 6-62 requires modification when repair or replacement needs a building permit, while Land Development Code Section 3-29 requires it when repair or replacement goes beyond 50 percent of the current value, as determined by the chief building official (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 6-62, Cocoa Beach Land Development Code Section 3-29). The Building Division can say which test it applies to a given project.

Public crossovers have their own rules. Section 5-58 makes it unlawful to loiter on a public dune crossover in a way that blocks pedestrian or wheelchair travel (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 5-58), and the city FAQ says Public Works handles repairs to crossovers damaged by surf, reported online or at 321-868-3219 (Cocoa Beach city FAQs).

Cutting or trimming Cocoa Beach dune plants needs city or Florida Department of Environmental Protection approval first, and walking on the dune is limited to approved crossovers (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 5-60).

Section 5-60, adopted by Ordinance 1436 on October 5, 2006, lets people cross the dune only on an approved and permitted crossover, for a city-approved activity, for access by abutting private owners, or to maintain and preserve the dune. Storing materials on the dune requires permission from the City Manager or a designee, and any trimming or other maintenance must follow FDEP requirements. Violations can draw a Class III citation, a court summons, a special magistrate case or the general penalty in Section 1-8 (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 5-60).

The permits line up on two levels. The city's Permits menu lists a Dune Trimming and Restoration Permit (Cocoa Beach Permits), and the city FAQ says FDEP issues field permits for trimming beach and dune vegetation, reachable at 321-725-4548 (Cocoa Beach city FAQs). Hauling material off the beach is a separate offense: Section 5-54 bars removing sand, shell, gravel or other earthen material between the ocean bluff and the low water mark of the spring tides, with an exemption for recreational shell collecting (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 5-54).

Construction seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line on Cocoa Beach also needs review under the state CCCL Program, which regulates structures and activities that can cause erosion, destabilize dunes, damage upland property or interfere with public beach access (FDEP Coastal Construction Control Line Program).

For Cocoa Beach owners, the FDEP program page says CCCL permits also protect sea turtles and dune plants, and that the line marks an area where special siting and design criteria apply, possibly stricter than elsewhere in the coastal building zone because of the greater storm forces expected closer to the sea. It offers tools to locate the line, apply for permits, reach permit managers and field inspectors, search permit files and records, and handle emergency permitting, with questions taken at 850-245-8570 (FDEP Coastal Construction Control Line Program).

The statute behind it sets hard limits. Section 161.053 bars FDEP from permitting most structures at a location projected to be seaward of the seasonal high-water line within 30 years of the application, with exceptions for coastal or shore protection structures, minor structures and piers, and it lets FDEP exempt minor activities, such as boat moorings, found not to harm the coastal system (Florida Statutes section 161.053). On the city side, Section 5-45 ties the Cocoa Beach building restriction line to the state setback line, and Land Development Code Section 3-29 requires FDEP approval of a crossover before the city permit (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 5-45, Cocoa Beach Land Development Code Section 3-29).

Cocoa Beach oceanfront projects also face a minimum floor height, lighting limits near the dune and a public right to use the dry sand (Cocoa Beach Land Development Code Chapter III, Cocoa Beach City Code Section 5-61).

Land Development Code Section 3-38 requires the lowest habitable floor of new buildings to sit at least 12 inches above the base flood elevation in a FEMA flood hazard zone, or 18 inches above the crown of the abutting road outside one, and requires a stormwater plan to protect neighboring parcels (Cocoa Beach Land Development Code Section 3-38). Section 3-64 applies to artificial lighting within 300 feet of the beach dune line, citing the Marine Turtle Protection Act: fixtures must not be visible from the beach, bulbs must be turtle friendly amber or red LED approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and temporary construction lighting during nesting season is held to the minimum (Cocoa Beach Land Development Code Section 3-64). The Cocoa Beach sea turtle nesting guide covers the seasonal lighting rules.

Section 5-61, adopted by Ordinance 1624 on June 21, 2018, declares a customary public right to use the dry sand beach from the mean high-water line or erosion control line up to the sea dune, regardless of ownership. On privately owned dry sand the public may walk, sit, sunbathe, picnic, fish, surf and use an umbrella of ten feet square or less, but may not put up tents; owners and their guests are not bound by those limits (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 5-61). City Code Section 6-66 also adopts the state coastal construction code of January 10, 1986 as city ordinance (Cocoa Beach City Code Section 6-66).

Last verified: October 21, 2026, after re-reading Cocoa Beach City Code Chapters 5 and 6, Land Development Code Chapter III, the city Permits menu and FAQs, the FDEP Coastal Construction Control Line Program page and Florida Statutes section 161.053.