West Des Moines, IA Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

The Floodway Overlay District (FW), established under City Code section 8-8-4, prohibits placement of any structure, fill, or watercourse alteration unless it is expressly listed as a permitted or conditional use. Section 8-8-5(B) lists 'marinas, boat rentals, docks, piers and wharves' among the conditional uses that involve structures and may be authorized only upon issuance of a conditional use permit by the Board of Adjustment under section 8-8-8(C), and only if the use also meets the Floodway District performance standards in section 8-8-5(C). Those standards bar any use that would raise the base flood elevation, require construction methods and materials resistant to flood damage, and, where structures are permitted at all, restrict them to low flood-damage potential with no human habitation.

Under section 8-8-8(C)(2), a conditional use request for a dock or similar structure is submitted to the Administrator, the Building Official acting in that role, who forwards it to the Board of Adjustment; the Board must hold a public hearing with public notice under section 8-8-8(C)(5) before deciding. In weighing the request the Board considers factors listed in section 8-8-8(C)(5)(b)(1), including danger to life and property from increased flood heights, the availability of alternative non-floodplain locations, and the effect on emergency vehicle access during flooding, and may attach conditions such as operational controls or deed restrictions to any approval it grants.