Hopping Green & Sams has decades of experience in determining when and what type of coastal permitting is required for particular activities, and in negotiating and securing these approvals for private property owners, developers, utilities and governmental entities.
We also have experience opposing such developments when they are imprudently designed or sited. And have also represented clients in challenging beach and coastal management projects, including to protect private property rights from government intrusion and confiscation during beach restoration projects.
One example of Florida’s specialized regime of coastal regulation and permitting is its program for regulating the siting and construction of coastal structures. This program seeks to protect beaches from man-induced erosion, and to maximize the survival of structures during storms. All development seaward of a regulatory coastal construction control line must undergo this separate coastal review, which is in addition to all of the other environmental permits required by local, state, and federal governments. This is true whether the development is a Tiki hut on the beach, some type of infrastructure, a seawall, a beach house or cottage, a high-rise condominium, or the restoration of an eroded beach.
Our lawyers have also assisted in permitting marinas throughout the state of Florida, both in the context of regulatory approvals as well as proprietary approvals, such as sovereign submerged land leases obtained from the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. Over the years, our lawyers have successfully helped clients obtain coastal regulatory and proprietary authorizations in these arenas.
