San Luis Obispo County, CA Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

02, before any construction of docks, marinas or similar work. Applicants submit complete working drawings, a plot plan with parking layout, and electrical and mechanical schematics in duplicate, or in triplicate if plumbing facilities are involved. A registered civil engineer must prepare the plans for any floating marina, and for any floating dock exceeding 400 square feet in area or 50 feet in length measured perpendicular to the shoreline. An encroachment permit is separately required for any construction on or connected to county property, and where the Army Corps of Engineers also requires a permit for the marine construction, that federal permit must be secured before the county issues its own.

122 allows alternate designs on approval of the building official, who may demand extra provisions in areas subject to heavy wave action. 128 requires operable firefighting equipment for all commercially operated marinas and docks, domestic water service meeting health department minimums, a minimum five-foot-candle lighting level on commercial piers and floats used for passenger loading, and railings engineered for a 20-pound-per-lineal-foot horizontal load with a minimum height of 42 inches. 130 adds sanitary standards: public floating docks and marinas need at least two restrooms, one for each sex, per 75 mooring spaces, with no berth more than 400 feet from a restroom, and sewage removal approved by the health department at the time construction plans are submitted.

04 separately require board-of-supervisors permission and an annual fee to install a power hoist on a county wharf, and a per-boat mooring license fee for anyone using a county wharf as a mooring place.