Austin, TX Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

9 feet above mean sea level, Lady Bird Lake below 435 feet, and Lake Walter E. Long, plus any access built to reach those areas, per Sec. 25-2-1171. Before building or modifying a dock, bulkhead, or shoreline access, an owner must obtain a site plan, unless a site plan exemption applies, and a building permit with fees paid under Sec. 25-2-1173; building without a permit first triggers an increased fee on top of the permit cost, and the permit must stay posted at the site until final inspection.

Sec. 25-2-1176 then sets the physical envelope for a residential dock: it may extend up to 30 feet from the shoreline, cannot cross more than 20 percent of a channel's width, must sit at least 10 feet from the side property line regardless of the normal side-yard setback, cannot exceed 30 feet in height above normal pool elevation, and its footprint, including any storage closet or roof overhang, is capped at 1,200 square feet. A dock may hold at most two motorboats, with a personal watercraft counting as half a motorboat toward that cap.

Structural requirements in Sec. 25-2-1174 require docks to meet the Building Code and Fire Code, resist wind and water pressure, and, if floating, use solid nonferrous-coated flotation. Docks extending more than eight feet from shore must carry amber navigation lighting between sunset and sunrise under Sec. 25-2-1175(B), with additional light stations required as the dock's length or shoreline frontage increases. Construction of a new boat ramp is banned outright under Sec. 25-2-1176(D) unless it sits on public land dedicated for public use.