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

Chapter 17, Article IV 'Lakes' covers both Lake Waco, the reservoir on the Bosque River above its confluence with the Brazos, and Lake Brazos, defined in Sec. 17-146 as the Brazos River from the low-water dam upstream, including portions of the Brazos and Bosque Rivers below the Lake Waco Dam, within the city's corporate limits. Sec. 17-170 is the specific construction rule for docks and marinas: any marina or dock built on Lake Brazos must be constructed in accordance with all federal, state, and city requirements, meaning a builder separately has to satisfy US Army Corps of Engineers or Texas Parks and Wildlife/TCEQ permitting along with any city rules, rather than the city setting a standalone dock-permit fee schedule within this one section.

On the zoning side, the citywide use table lists 'Lake, marina, boat dock' as a permitted ('P') use across every zoning district in the city, from the R-E single-family district through the M industrial districts, so a lawful dock or marina does not need a zoning variance or special-use permit based on its use classification alone; it must still clear applicable site-development review under Sec. 28-171 et seq. Article IV also regulates activity around a built dock: any post, pier, float or similar obstruction placed in Lake Waco or Lake Brazos or their tributaries must extend at least one foot above the high-water mark under Sec.

17-151, and Sec. 17-158(a) makes it unlawful to leave a watercraft unattended on those waters unless it is secured to a dock or other stationary object.