Shreveport, LA Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

Section 78-357 governs private water-edge construction on Cross Lake, the reservoir that supplies much of the city's drinking water and borders residential property on its shoreline. Piers, boathouses and docks for the exclusive use of the owner or those with the owner's consent are allowed within the 172-foot contour line only with a city permit. Applications are made on forms available at the permits and inspections office or the Cross Lake Patrol office, and every application must include a sketch showing the location, dimensions and construction plans for the proposed structure.

Before a permit issues, the subdepartment of permits and inspections, the director of water and sewerage, and any other applicable department have to inspect the property, review the plans, and give written approval. Once built, the structure has to match the sketch attached to the permit exactly: section 78-357(f) makes deviation from the approved plans grounds for revoking the permit and demolishing what was built. Anything constructed without a permit in the first place is subject to city demolition too, though the owner gets a chance to remove it himself first.

If the city ends up doing the demolition, the owner is billed the actual cost plus administrative charges; unpaid bills after ten days go out by certified mail, and if that statement goes unpaid for another month, the amount gets added to the property owner's city tax bill. Section 78-359 caps any pier, wharf or similar structure at 300 feet total length from the contour line, and section 78-358 folds maintenance of these structures into the city's property standards code, enforced and punished the same way property standards violations are.