Palm Coast Seawall Height: Surveys & Local Review
Understand cap elevations, survey datums and drainage before raising a Palm Coast seawall. Prepare the questions a surveyor, designer and permit office need.
- Top of the capMeasured from a fixed survey reference.
- WaterlineRises and falls with tides and weather.
- Survey reference (datum)A named reference, such as NAVD88.
Use the survey reference printed beside the elevation.
Which height are you actually measuring?
Keep three things separate: the top of the cap, the changing waterline and the reference datum on the survey. A measurement up from the water on one day is not a fixed survey elevation. Ask the surveyor to reconcile older and newer records before comparing them.
What should the local review establish?
This guide does not assign one unverified height number to every Palm Coast shoreline. Give the city or county the parcel, existing survey, proposed alignment and full work scope. Ask the designer to address support, drainage, retained grades and neighboring transitions together.
Palm Coast seawall checklist · County seawall, dock and boathouse packet
Does oceanfront work add another layer?
An Atlantic beach parcel may fall seaward of the CCCL. Locate that line and ask DEP about the proposed armoring, excavation or reconstruction. A canal-wall example does not settle a beach approval.
Take these questions to the design meeting
- Which datum is used on each elevation?
- Which existing components support the proposed change?
- Where will water go after the cap or grade changes?
- How do the ends meet adjacent structures?
- Which approvals and updated survey records are needed?
Continue with replacement scope · permit path.
Resolve conflicting measurements
- Copy the label exactly
Record what the measurement describes, its units, survey date and datum. Keep cap elevation, exposed wall height, water depth and building-floor elevation in separate fields.
- Ask the surveyor to reconcile the records
If two surveys use different references or describe different points, do not subtract the numbers yourself to infer a required change. Request a comparison that identifies the same feature in a compatible reference.
- Ask the designer what a change affects
Have the proposal address retained grades, drainage, support, dock connections and transitions at both ends. Ask which details need revised approvals and what the final survey must document.
An elevation is not a universal construction rule
Use the example below to recognize survey informationThe sample number shows how a label is read. It does not prescribe a Palm Coast minimum, establish flood protection or authorize raising an existing wall. Ask the relevant office and designer to identify the requirements for your parcel and scope.
Find these two items on your survey.
Find the elevation for the top of the seawall cap and the survey reference used with it. The example below shows what to look for.
Seawall cap elevation
- Top of seawall cap
- 6.00 ft
- Survey reference (datum)
- NAVD88
This example shows 6.00 ft NAVD88. Use the number and reference on your own survey.
Match the value and the reference.
- The elevation: use the number for the top of the wall cap, not a building floor, water depth or the wall’s full height.
- The reference: copy the name beside the elevation, such as NAVD88 or NGVD29. You can compare elevations only when they use the same reference.
- Cannot find both? Choose “No / not sure” in the checker. Ask a surveyor to help find them; measuring from the water will give a different result.
Show sourcesHide sources
- Coastal survey datumsSource reviewed 2026-10-26
- Palm Coast seawall checklistSource reviewed 2026-10-26
- County seawall, dock and boathouse packetSource reviewed 2026-10-26
- Locate the CCCLSource reviewed 2026-10-26
- CCCL application guidanceSource reviewed 2026-10-26
Ask about local requirements
Identify the property and the question to resolve. Keep any available survey with your planning notes.