Miami Beach plans living seawall panels on 22 projects, drops Bonita Drive pilot

Miami Beach has 12 seawall projects in design that include “living seawall” panels and is about to start designing 10 more, according to a city memo prepared for the Land Use and Sustainability Committee’s Nov. 10 meeting. The memo also says the city gave up on a tile pilot along Bonita Drive near Parkview Island that the committee had suggested.

Living seawalls use textured panels or tiles with crevices that give oysters, barnacles and seaweed a place to grow, while the wall still holds back the water. The city has about 55 miles of seawalls, the memo says.

The projects in design include parts of the Collins Canal, Collins Avenue, Indian Creek Drive, Normandy Shores, Bonita Drive, Palm Island Park, and the areas near the Flamingo Drive and Tatum Waterway pedestrian bridges. The memo does not give costs or construction dates.

A separate pilot will attach habitat tiles to the existing seawall at West 60th Street and Pine Tree Drive, using drawings by the engineering firm Cummins Cederberg. At Bonita Drive, the city found the water too shallow and the riprap along the wall too extensive. The tiles would have sat above the waterline and done nothing for marine life, the memo says.

Help for private owners

The 2025 referral from Commissioners Alex Fernandez and Laura Dominguez also asked about incentives for private property owners. The Building Department has confirmed it can expedite permits for living seawall work, according to the memo, and staff list fee waivers and faster review as other options. Staff recommend a case-by-case approach rather than a requirement, and say any fee waiver would need more study of its cost.

Other items

• Green space: Staff say tougher landscaping and open-space rules for private property would likely run afoul of SB 180, the state law that bars the city from adopting stricter rules, and recommend closing the item.
• Parks: The Environment and Sustainability Department drafted a 59-item “Resilient Parks Checklist” that could be posted on each park’s web page.
• Storefronts: Planning staff say design guidelines could let some storefront changes be approved by staff instead of a board, structured like the railing guidelines adopted this year.

The committee meets Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 3 p.m. in the City Hall commission chamber, 1700 Convention Center Drive, and on Zoom (webinar ID 850 5992 3037). Its recommendations go to the City Commission.