Dauphin Island Bulkhead Permits on the Bay Side and East End

The Town needs a Coastal Use Permit for any lot on a waterbody, in a FEMA floodplain, or with wetlands or dunes. The work must also meet town, state and federal rules. Zoning Ordinance 105, section 7.9.1

1. Apply for the building permit through the Citizenserve portal or at Town Hall. A contract and a materials and labor cost list are required. Town permit page
2. Pay the $100 Coastal Use Permit fee. A Land Disturbance Permit is $35. Town fee schedule, Appendix B
3. Go before the Planning Commission if site plan review applies. It meets the second Tuesday of each month at 5:00 p.m. at 1011 Bienville Boulevard. Town meeting schedule
4. For work below high tide, send the Corps request through its online portal. Copy ADEM and State Lands on the joint application. Corps Mobile District Shoreline plan, permit path

The Town also bills for any engineering or environmental review it needs. Town fee schedule, Appendix B

Call Town Hall at (251) 861-5525 and ask for the building inspector, extension 229. Town Building Department page

Because the Town measures from the wall. In R-1 and the other residential districts, the waterside yard is 25 feet from the bulkhead. Zoning Ordinance 105, setbacks

• If your lot has no bulkhead, the Town draws a line between the bulkheads next door.
• If neither neighbor has one, the 25 feet runs from the mean high tide line. Zoning Ordinance 105, setbacks

Piers, docks, boat houses and lifts are accessory uses allowed by right in R-1 and the Working Waterfront district. Zoning Ordinance 105, accessory structures

Near salt or brackish wetlands, leave an undisturbed 30-foot buffer. Dock access may cross it straight out to the water. Zoning Ordinance 105, wetland buffer

The Gulf-side ban does not apply here. Seawall Ordinance 106 covers only the Gulf-fronting side. Zoning Ordinance 105, section 7.14 The state still sets a high bar.

• ADEM will not permit armor unless it stands at the high-tide mark or higher, inland of wetlands. There can be no fill in marsh or grass beds, and no workable non-structural option. ADEM bulkhead rule
• State Lands lets a replacement wall sit at or up to 2 feet waterward of mean high tide. A brand-new wall must be at or landward of it. State Lands rule
• The Corps' 2026 Alabama program reserves its old bank stabilization permit, ALGP-11. Bulkheads now go under Nationwide Permit 13, and living shorelines under Nationwide Permit 54. Corps general permit program
• ADEM's fee schedule, adopted effective October 15, 2026, sets $1,000 for a wall up to 50 feet long and $1,665 beyond that. ADEM fee schedule
• ADEM's water quality certification starts with a pre-filing request at least 30 days ahead and typically takes 3 to 6 months. Shoreline plan, permit path

Rebuilding after a storm may fall under Nationwide Permit 3, if the wall was authorized originally. Corps maintenance permit

Aloe Bay's living shorelines were finished in April 2025. They use segmented rock breakwaters with marsh and beach fill, and protect 2,000 feet along DeSoto Avenue and the end of El Dorado Street. Town project page

Each of the two sites had lost about 100 feet of shore in 30 years. The grants were $2,211,700 and $2,993,500. Town grant record

• The Aloe Bay Overlay requires site plan review by the Planning Commission and Building Official. Aloe Bay Overlay
• Graveline Bay got about 60 acres of marsh mounds, finished in April 2023, after an estimated 40 percent of its marsh was lost since the 1950s. Town marsh project page Town fact sheet

Only one Town bulkhead bid turned up, and no price was published. The Town advertised about 700 linear feet of marine bulkhead plus an elevated boardwalk on DeSoto Avenue, with bids opened July 30, 2025. Town bid notice The Town's bid page on November 4, 2026 listed no bulkhead or pier bids. Town bid page

At the island's airport, the county bid a stone revetment to replace a concrete bulkhead. County bid notices Little Billy Goat Hole got a repaired riprap jetty, sheet pile and dock work in winter 2022. Town project page

It depends on the storm. Zeta peaked at the Dauphin Island gauge 2.42 feet over mean higher high water, the lowest of the Alabama stations listed, against 6.89 at Bayou La Batre. NWS Zeta report Elena in 1985 put 3.5 feet on the bay side, against 8.4 on the Gulf side. NWS Elena

Sally in 2020 was different. The island gauge read 3.10 feet over mean higher high water, the highest station listed. A 3 to 4 foot surge on the north side badly damaged docks and piers, including the Dauphin Island Marina. NWS Sally

The Town's 2024 East End restoration placed 1,120,000 cubic yards of sand and widened the beach about 400 feet. Town update, November 2024

• The Audubon Bird Sanctuary covers 137 acres on the east end. Town sanctuary page ADEM names it an area of preservation where alterations may not be permissible. ADEM rule
• In May 2025 ALDOT announced a $33.7 million rehabilitation of the 1982 bridge, estimated at 3 to 4 years with some single-lane periods. ALDOT announcement, May 2025
• The Causeway is the island's only evacuation route. Town evacuation page The Town's page schedules phase 3 of the Causeway shoreline project, about 100 acres of tidal marsh, for fall 2026 to spring 2027. Town project page

FEMA maps put the island in zones AE, VE and X. The Town's flood ordinance applies extra standards in AE and VE. Zoning Ordinance 105, flood overlay It adds 2 feet of freeboard above base flood elevation. Zoning Ordinance 105, freeboard

Spending at least half a building's value on repairs or upgrades within five years is substantial damage. Town FAQ FEMA's Community Status Book, retrieved November 4, 2026, lists the Town as CRS Class 6, with a 20 percent flood premium discount effective October 1, 2026. FEMA Community Status Book

The Gulf-front rules are in the west end guide. Across the Sound lie Coden and Heron Bay and Bayou La Batre. For permit contacts, see the Mobile County permit guide. Wall choices are covered in the bulkhead materials guide, and dock work in docks and boat lifts.