Dock, pier and float rules in Lafayette, California
Lafayette's municipal code chapters we reviewed don't regulate docks, piers or floats. Lafayette is an inland city with creeks but no harbor or navigable shoreline.
No dock rules
Lafayette is an inland city. None of the municipal code chapters we reviewed (zoning, creek setbacks and flood damage prevention, hillside development, animals and fire safety) mention docks, piers or floats; the only references to wharves or piers are in flood-hazard definitions of obstructions and foundations.
Building near creeks
Structures near creeks are covered by Lafayette's creek setback rules; see Building Near the Water.
Waterfront elsewhere
State and regional agencies regulate docks on tidelands and navigable waters; see the state rules for details.
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Next steps
- No city dock permit process exists; contact Lafayette Planning & Building (see the city website) with questions about structures near a creek on your lot.
Common questions
- Can I build a private dock in Lafayette, California?
- Lafayette's municipal code chapters we reviewed don't regulate docks, piers or floats.
- Why doesn't Lafayette, California regulate docks?
- Lafayette is an inland city with creeks but no harbor or navigable shoreline.
- Does Lafayette, California have rules for piers or floats?
- No. The code chapters we reviewed don't address them.
California state rules for docks and piers
A private dock or pier often needs several approvals beyond a city building permit.
- State Lands Commission lease: the Commission controls state-owned tidelands and submerged lands and the beds of navigable rivers, lakes and bays (Pub. Res. Code §6301). A private dock or pier on those lands generally needs a lease. The Commission must charge rent for private recreational piers on state lands, based on local fair rental values (§6503.5). In some harbors the Legislature has granted tidelands to a city, county or port district, which manages them instead.
- Coastal development permit: in the coastal zone a dock needs a CDP (§§30106, 30600). On tidelands, submerged lands or public trust lands, the Coastal Commission issues it, even where the city has a certified Local Coastal Program (§30519(b)).
- San Francisco Bay (BCDC): around the Bay you need a permit from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission to place fill. Under the McAteer-Petris Act, "fill" includes pilings, structures on pilings, and floating docks moored for long periods (Gov. Code §66632). BCDC's jurisdiction covers the Bay and a 100-foot shoreline band (§66610). The Coastal Act's coastal zone does not include BCDC's area.
- Streams and lakes: work that changes the bed, bank or channel of a river, stream or lake requires notifying the Department of Fish and Wildlife (Fish & Game Code §1602).
- Federal: structures in navigable waters generally need a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit.
- Local: many harbors and marinas also require a city or harbor-district permit.