Montgomery, AL Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

Section 8 of Article VII lists boat docks, slips, piers, wharves, anchorage and moorages for yachts and pleasure boats as the first permitted use in the W-R district, alongside yacht clubs, boat rentals and livery, boat and marine motor sales and repair while vessels are in the water, and retail sale of boating, fishing, diving and bathing supplies. Restaurants, refreshment stands and a seaplane base are also allowed outright. A fishing pier is not a permitted use outright: it is listed as a conditional use, meaning an applicant must obtain approval before building one.

The ordinance also lets the zoning supervisor of the building department approve an unlisted "other use" if it is judged no more objectionable than the enumerated uses, but that discretion cannot be used to allow a use the ordinance already limits to a less restrictive district. The same section prohibits drydocks and shipyards, commercial fishing boats, fish houses (canning, smoking or curing fish), wholesale or retail sale of fish and seafood, marine warehouses or freight terminals, and any dwelling that is not accessory to a permitted use, so a boat dock cannot be paired with a live-aboard residence unless the residence serves a permitted commercial use.

Dimensionally, W-R structures cannot exceed two stories or 35 feet, there is no minimum lot area or width, and only a 20-foot front yard applies where the lot has dedicated street frontage; the ordinance sets no side or rear yard for W-R parcels. Property outside the mapped W-R district falls outside this section entirely.