Highlands County, FL Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

310 sets the permitting rules for docks and boathouses on the lakes and canals in unincorporated Highlands County, including Lake Istokpoga, Lake Jackson and Lake Placid. Before Development Services will issue a building permit to erect or alter a boathouse, the applicant has to show that the project has been cleared with the appropriate state and federal authorities, such as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, or document that such approval is not required for the specific project. Once a permit issues, every dock permit carries a standing condition: red reflective markers, at least three inches in diameter, placed every eight feet along both sides of the dock and across its outer end facing the water body, so the structure is visible to boat traffic at night.

The section also limits where and how a dock can be placed: no dock may extend more than five feet past the waterway line on a waterway 100 feet wide or narrower, and on wider waterways it cannot exceed ten percent of the waterway width or extend beyond 200 feet without a waiver from the development services director. New docks generally must stay 25 feet inside the extended side lot lines of the parcel, with a reduced 15-foot setback for marginal docks on a lake and a zero setback for marginal docks on a canal.

Boathouses in residential districts are capped at 18 feet in height above mean lake level and cannot exceed 36 feet in width or 24 feet in depth. No boat may be used as a residence on any county waterway.