St. Johns County seawall guide.
Buffers, armoring and permits.

Permit offices

• Unincorporated county: St. Johns County Building Department, 4040 Lewis Speedway, 904-827-6800. Most applications are accepted only after a Clearance Sheet, need the parcel ID, and need a recorded notice of commencement over $5,000.
• City of St. Augustine: Planning & Building, 75 King Street, 904-825-1065.
• Oceanfront rights-of-way: bulkheads across county oceanfront rights-of-way go through Growth Management under Section 40.0.

Building Permits – Permit Guidelines & General Information · Staff Directory – Planning & Building · Section 40.0 Oceanfront Right-of-Way Bulkhead Permits

River buffers and where a wall may sit

The county requires a 50-foot natural upland buffer along the St. Johns, Matanzas, Guana and Tolomato rivers and connected tributaries, never less than 25 feet. Older single-family lots of record keep a 25-foot minimum. Lots on pre-existing man-made canals already stabilized under valid permits are treated differently. Seawalls and other shoreline modifications must be at or landward of mean high water, except as Chapter 161 allows, and waterfront yards are measured from the seawall where one exists.

St. Johns County Land Development Code, Sec. 4.01.06 · St. Johns County Land Development Code, Sec. 4.01.02.E · St. Johns County Land Development Code, Sec. 4.01.02.F–G · St. Johns County Land Development Code, Sec. 4.01.11 · St. Johns County Land Development Code, Sec. 6.01.03.G

Coastal flood zones

In coastal high-hazard and Coastal A zones, bulkheads and seawalls are allowed only with agency authorization, detached from buildings, and with a professional analysis showing no harmful diversion of flood water or wave reflection onto neighbors. Check your zone in the county flood viewer; flood questions go to 904-827-6800, option 5.

St. Johns County Land Development Code, Sec. 3.03.10 · Flood Smart brochure

Oceanfront armoring and emergencies

St. Johns County has 42 miles of Atlantic coast, 17.1 of them designated critically eroded. After a declared emergency the county can permit temporary protection, installed within 30 days and removed within 60 days unless extended, limited to wood or cantilever vinyl sheet pile without caps or tiebacks, for homes within 15 feet of the escarpment. Bulkheads across county rights-of-way must be engineer-designed, at least vinyl sheeting with a concrete cap and tiebacks, with a DEP permit.

St. Johns County Set to Begin $38.6 Million Ponte Vedra Beach Restoration Project · Emergency Temporary Coastal Armoring Permit · Section 40.0 Oceanfront Right-of-Way Bulkhead Permits

Recent public shoreline projects

• Ponte Vedra Beach Restoration: $38.6 million, more than two million cubic yards over about nine miles.
• Vilano Beach/South Ponte Vedra fill: 1.1 million cubic yards over 3 miles in 2023, $20 million.
• Porpoise Point armoring: 125 feet of seawall and 50 feet of riprap, about $1 million (2023–2024).
• Summer Haven revetment: $6 million replacement of a 1960s federal revetment, completed 2025.

St. Johns County Set to Begin $38.6 Million Ponte Vedra Beach Restoration Project · 2023 Coastal Management Projects list · Summer Haven Revetment Project Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

Records and discounts

Use the St. Johns County Property Appraiser parcel search for your parcel ID. Unincorporated St. Johns County is CRS class 5 (25% NFIP discount); the City of St. Augustine is class 4 (30%).

St. Johns County Property Appraiser home page · CRS Eligible Communities, October 1, 2026 Effective Date