Gulf-front seawalls in Gulf Shores
the control line, dunes and wildlife

Can you build a seawall on the Gulf side?

In almost every case, no. No new wall can go seaward of the state Coastal Construction Line (CCL). Alabama bars new structures between mean high tide and that line on Gulf beaches, and bars altering the primary dune. ADEM rule 335-8-2-.08

Gulf Shores repeats the ban in its code and its zoning. Its zoning sets a Gulfside Yard from mean high tide to the line. A bulkhead, wall, fence or other structure is barred there. Only sand fencing and dune walkovers are excepted. Gulf Shores Code Sec. 7-122 Gulf Shores zoning Sec. 6-3D

What does a wall behind the line need?

A wall landward of the line must protect a building that exists or already holds a permit. It must be needed for the structure's integrity. No feasible non-structural option, including retreat, may exist. ADEM rule 335-8-2-.08(4)

Who permits Gulf-front work?

Your city or county building office handles Gulf-front permits for ADEM. ADEM delegates permitting, monitoring and enforcement to Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Dauphin Island and the Baldwin County Commission. ADEM coastal permitting page

Sources: Gulf Shores Building Department Coastal Area Program USFWS Daphne office ADEM Coastal Program

Inside Gulf Shores, the city runs Alabama's coastal program. A lot crossed by the line needs a city permit or a consistency determination, plus a stamped survey. Gulf Shores handbook

See the area guides for West Beach, East Beach and Fort Morgan Gulf side. For the county side, read the Baldwin County permit guide.

Where is the Coastal Construction Line?

The line is fixed on paper by coordinates tied to numbered monuments, not by what you see in the sand. In Gulf Shores it runs between ADEM monument B 19 and the city's monuments GS-1 through GS-29. Gulf Shores Code Sec. 7-121

• ADEM's rule fixes the Baldwin County line near monuments BC-0 to BC-19 and BC-20 to BC-48. ADEM rule 335-8-1-.02
• Between BC-19 and BC-20 the line runs 40 feet inland of the most inland point of the dune crest. In Gulf Shores' two older beachfront zones (as mapped July 16, 1984) it runs 5 feet inland. ADEM rule 335-8-1-.02
• An application needs a licensed Alabama surveyor's map. It must plot the line in state plane coordinates and give the distance from your lot to the closest monument. ADEM rule 335-8-2-.08(3)

Order the survey before you call a contractor. It shows at once whether a new wall is even possible. A seawall assessment can cover the existing wall.

What is the 50 percent rule for Gulf-front homes?

The control line also limits how much you can improve a house. Gulf Shores counts a bulkhead, deck, pool or parking lot as a structure. A substantial improvement is an addition that raises height or footprint, or work that reaches half of market value. Gulf Shores Code Sec. 7-121

ADEM uses the same half-value test. A new structure or substantial improvement on a line-crossed parcel needs a permit first. ADEM rule 335-8-2-.08(3)

• Even non-habitable items, such as gazebos and dune walkovers, need authorization. ADEM coastal permitting page
• Condos, hotels and other multi-unit projects add a hazard study and a dune enhancement plan. ADEM rule 335-8-2-.08(3)(d)

Flood rules use a different 50 percent test. See flood zones and elevation.

What can you do instead of a new wall?

Dunes, sand and plants do the work on this coast. Alabama's rule asks applicants to rule out soft choices first: dune, beach and wetland restoration, nourishment and retreat. ADEM rule 335-8-2-.06

• Dune walkovers. ADEM defines a walkover as an open, raised walkway, six feet wide at most, set at least a foot above the dune. ADEM rule 335-8-1-.02 Baldwin County limits a single- or two-family walkover to four feet wide and allows no lighting. County dune walkover standards
• Sand and dune work. Gulf Shores bars removing dune or beach sand without a permit. Permitted sand must go back into the beach and dune system. Gulf Shores Code Sec. 7-122
• Public beach restoration. The 2023 city project rebuilt dunes to about 12 feet, with roughly 500,000 plants and more than 3,000 feet of sand fence. Gulf Shores beach restoration

For calmer shores behind the beach, see the living shoreline guide and bulkhead materials. Rock work has its own page: riprap and shoreline stabilization.

What do Gulf-front permits cost, and how long do they take?

ADEM's Gulf-front fee table sets a seawall, bulkhead or riprap job at $2,545. Those fees took effect October 15, 2026. ADEM Schedule B

Sources: ADEM Schedule B Gulf Shores Building Department FAQ Coastal Area Program timing

ADEM Form 328 still prints a $700 wall fee, which is out of date. ADEM Form 328

Can you get a variance?

A variance is possible but hard. ADEM may grant one only if the rule is unduly restrictive or amounts to a taking without compensation. The application needs a certified letter naming the rule, a legal argument and a certified deed. It must also show that no other site or method works. ADEM rule 335-8-1-.13

• ADEM adds $4,095 to the fee for a variance request. ADEM Schedule B
• In Gulf Shores, variances go to the city's control line Board of Adjustment under ADEM's variance rule. Gulf Shores Code Sec. 7-123
• Who hears a variance in unincorporated Fort Morgan is not confirmed. Ask the county Coastal Area Program at (251) 972-6837.

How does the Alabama beach mouse affect a project?

The Alabama beach mouse is federally endangered, and its habitat reaches the Gulf Shores and Fort Morgan dunes. Critical habitat has five Baldwin County units: Fort Morgan (446 acres), Little Point Clear (268), Gulf Highlands (275), Pine Beach (30) and Gulf State Park (192). Federal critical habitat rule

• Projects in known mouse habitat must meet U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requirements before a building permit issues. Where habitat is present, the Service suggests an incidental take permit and charges a $100 processing fee. USFWS beach mouse page
• Most repairs that stay inside an existing home's footprint can go ahead without that permit. Check first before adding a pool or enlarging the footprint. USFWS beach mouse page
• The Fort Morgan conservation plan limits a new home to 0.1 acre of developed footprint, requires amber, shielded lights of 9 watts or less, and bars decorative lighting. General Conservation Plan footprint limits General Conservation Plan lighting

Earlier batch permits took 12 to 24 months, and many applicants waited two to four years. General Conservation Plan history Call the Daphne office early. See Fort Morgan Gulf side for the local picture.

How do sea turtles limit lighting?

Sea turtles nest on Gulf-front lots from May through October. The Daphne field office has a list of conservation measures for owners. USFWS beach building page

• Gulf Shores' Marine Turtle Conservation Zone runs from mean high tide north to Highway 182. Its nesting season is May 1 through November 30, and fixtures may not be directly visible from the beach. Gulf Shores zoning Sec. 6-12G
• County dune walkovers may not have lighting, and construction on them is limited in nesting season. County dune walkover rules

What did storms teach about the Gulf front?

Ivan showed the danger. Beach erosion destroyed or severely damaged many beachfront homes and condos, and some collapsed when waves scoured sand from under their foundations. NHC Ivan report

Sally was gentler on the Gulf face. The county report from NWS Mobile describes almost no structural damage on beaches facing the Gulf. NWS Mobile Baldwin report

• The city's 2023 restoration used two dredges placing about 18,500 cubic yards of sand a day to repair Nate and Sally damage. Gulf Shores beach restoration
• FEMA public assistance for Sally included $4,762,168 for Gulf Shores engineered beaches. FEMA public assistance records

More in the storm guide. For what insurance covers, see the seawall insurance guide.

Where should you start?

Start with the survey and the building office, not a contractor.

1. Order a survey that shows the control line and the nearest monument.
2. Call your building office (see the table above) and ask whether your lot is crossed by the line.
3. If habitat may be present, call the Daphne office at (251) 441-5181. USFWS Daphne office
4. Price dune and sand options before a wall behind the line.

Also read the permit guide for state and federal steps.