Eastern Shore and Baldwin County bulkhead permits: Daphne, Spanish Fort, Fairhope and the county

Who permits a lot outside city limits on the Eastern Shore?

Baldwin County does. Its Building Department covers unincorporated land, and also Elberta, Magnolia Springs and Perdido Beach, which are small towns that use the county. A lot inside any other city is permitted by that city. Baldwin County Building Department

That matters on the bay shore, where city lines wander:

• Point Clear and Battles Wharf sit in a census place with no town government. None of these points falls inside Fairhope. Census Bureau boundaries
• Mullet Point and Barnwell fall outside both Point Clear and any city. Census Bureau boundaries
• Montrose is split. Most of it is inside Fairhope, but gaps along the shore are unincorporated. Census Bureau boundaries

Use the Revenue Commission parcel viewer: turn on its city limit and permit area layers to see who covers a parcel. Baldwin County jurisdiction how-to Our guides for these shores are the Point Clear guide, the Mullet Point guide and the Fairhope and Montrose guide.

Do I need a Baldwin County flood permit for a bulkhead?

Only if the work is in a FEMA special flood hazard area. Marine work (piers, docks, boathouses, boat lifts, bulkheads, seawalls) is filed in the county portal as a Marine Accessory flood permit. Baldwin County marine accessory permit Outside a flood zone, the county requires no permit for the work, though other agencies may. Baldwin County marine accessory checklist

• Papers: your Corps authorization and a State Lands notice of intent. Baldwin County marine accessory permit
• Fee: $75 flood permit, plus $15 data and $10 issuance fees. Baldwin County fee schedule
• Timing: complete files take 7 to 10 business days, and work may start only when the status reads Issued. Baldwin County CitizenServe portal
• Flood rules: the county's Floodplain Development Ordinance, in force since February 20, 2024, sets 1 foot of freeboard. Baldwin County Floodplain Development Ordinance
• Insurance: flood policies in unincorporated Baldwin County earn a 15 percent discount (CRS Class 7). FEMA CRS list

The Baldwin map is dated April 19, 2019. FEMA Community Status Book Read the flood zone guide for freeboard by town.

How do Daphne, Spanish Fort and Fairhope handle shoreline work?

Daphne. Article 20 of the land use code covers coastal work. The Environmental Programs Manager reviews applications in the coastal area and tells owners which other permits they need. Daphne LUDO Secs. 20-14 and 20-15 Owners must give the city a copy of each state and federal permit before installing a structure. Daphne LUDO Sec. 20-18(b) See the Daphne guide.

Spanish Fort. The Building Official runs a coastal development permit for land below 10 feet. Applications need an erosion control plan. Spanish Fort Zoning Ordinance Article IX Erosion fixes there must use non-structural methods to the extent practical. Spanish Fort Zoning Ordinance Sec. 9.182 Read the Spanish Fort guide and the Causeway and Delta guide.

Fairhope. The zoning ordinance sets no pier, dock, bulkhead or bluff standards. Fairhope Zoning Ordinance 1253 Floodplain rules come from Ordinance 1643. Fairhope floodplain page In 2024 the city engineer said anchoring hardware had failed on the 50-year-old seawall at the pier, letting sections shift. FOX 10 report, April 2, 2024 See the Fly Creek guide.

How much of the Eastern Shore is armored?

More than half is bulkhead. A 2009 survey mapped about 77,000 feet of bulkhead in about 143,800 feet of shore, roughly 54 percent, against about 35 percent natural. MBNEP Eastern Shore plan, Table 4.11

Sources: MBNEP Eastern Shore plan, Table 4.11; MBNEP Fly Creek and Point Clear Creek data

The lower shore is nearly walled. The Bailey Creek reach is 91 percent bulkhead. MBNEP Eastern Shore plan The Barnwell to Pelican Point reach holds the only mapped living shoreline in the survey. MBNEP Eastern Shore plan

A separate inventory puts Fly Creek at 53 percent hard armor in 2009, against 39 percent for Mobile Bay overall. Living Shorelines Policies Manual See the shoreline erosion guide for what hard armor does to neighbors.

What about Fish River and Weeks Bay?

Fish River and Weeks Bay have no area guide on this site. Their shores sit in no incorporated place, so the county permits them. Census Bureau boundaries Magnolia Springs permits through the county as well. Baldwin County Building Department

The rules there are tighter than on open Mobile Bay:

• Water quality: ADEM rates Weeks Bay an Outstanding National Resource Water. ADEM water use rule
• Reserve rule: uses that alter the natural state of the Weeks Bay reserve may not be permissible. ADEM Rule 335-8-1-.04(3)
• Piers: the Corps adds Weeks Bay limits to its ALGP-05 permit. Piers stop at 300 feet out, with at most two berths a site. Decks, berths and roofs together may total 620 square feet. 2026 ALGP-05
• Armoring: 26 percent of Weeks Bay, 24 percent of Fish River and 17 percent of the Magnolia River was hard armor. Weeks Bay Watershed Plan Weeks Bay Watershed Plan

Flooding is rising there too.

Reserve monitors logged 4 nuisance floods in 2012. In 2022 they logged 12. Weeks Bay reserve draft plan

ADCNR has designed upgrades, including bulkhead repair, at the Pelican Point launch at the mouth of Weeks Bay. FOX 10 reported in March 2026 that the Corps was reviewing the design and no work would start until permits issue. FOX 10, March 10, 2026 Call the county Building Department before you plan a pier here.

How do storms hit the Eastern Shore?

Katrina marks topped 13 feet NAVD88 north of Fairhope and dropped sharply south of town. FEMA Katrina high-water marks Zeta in 2020 flooded the Causeway, destroyed several Eastern Shore piers and damaged the Fairhope Pier seawall. NWS Mobile Zeta page

The low shore from Point Clear to Weeks Bay is most exposed. A 100-year surge with 1 meter of sea level rise could damage upwards of 800 structures there. MBNEP Eastern Shore plan OpenFEMA holds 19,745 claims for Baldwin County. OpenFEMA claims Our storm guide has the details.