Doral, FL Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Section 83-20 of the subdivision regulations starts from a flat prohibition: no building or structure goes on or in a mapped street except approved underground installations. Two exceptions exist. First, a pumphouse for drip irrigation may encroach into the right-of-way if the public works director finds it will not be contrary to the public interest, weighing motorist and pedestrian passing distance, existing pavement, sight distance, effect on adjacent land uses, and access to the area; the owner must then record a covenant agreeing to remove the pumphouse at their own expense within 60 days of a notice that it has become contrary to the public interest, plus secure a building permit.

Second, a wire fence without barbed wire may go into the right-of-way under the same public works director approval, but only after the applicant submits written consent from every abutting property owner and every owner directly across the street; if consent cannot be obtained, the applicant must instead seek a nonuse variance under Miami-Dade County Code § 33-311. Before deciding, the director must mail notice to owners within 1,000 feet (1,500 feet outside the urban development boundary) and hold the application open for 30 days of public comment.

No fence or wall may be placed closer than ten feet to existing roadway pavement, and masonry walls or wood fences cannot go into the right-of-way at all without a nonuse variance. Appeals of the director's pumphouse or fence decision go to the city's plat division or city manager under § 53-464.