Fort Lauderdale board endorses living-seawall pilot and proposed incentives for private owners

Commissioners and advisory board members on June 5 highlighted a living-seawall pilot at Church by the Sea and told staff they support policies to encourage similar installations across Fort Lauderdale’s waterfront.

Commissioner Ben Sorensen said the city is “full speed ahead” on oyster rope installations and living-seawall trials, noting recent planting and outreach work. He told the board he is drafting an ordinance to incentivize living seawalls—proposed incentives include cutting permitting fees for property owners who install living seawalls instead of traditional concrete caps, and using living seawalls for city-owned seawall projects where feasible.

Public comment and a short video shown at the meeting described a 3D-printed living seawall prototype created by a private company; board members and staff discussed the technology as a complement to other water-quality measures such as a pump-out vessel and expanded bacterial monitoring.

Staff and Commissioner Sorensen described recent community work: 50 mangroves planted at George English Park and a partnership with Miami Waterkeepers to expand water-quality monitoring from 11 sites to 22, including source tracing for bacterial contamination. Sorensen said the city is pursuing a state grant to fund a pump-out vessel to help reduce sewage discharges and create additional on-water outreach capacity.

Board members asked staff to prepare draft ordinance language that would reduce permit costs for living seawalls and to return with cost estimates and implementation steps for expanding living-seawall installations on city-owned property and as part of private projects.