Early in 2026, Key Colony Beach's Building Department went canal by canal and photographed the city's seawalls. Staff sorted more than 229 photos and matched selected images to residential addresses, with notes on each wall's condition and any safety concerns. When Commissioner Kirk Diehl reported on the survey at the March 19 Commission meeting, he described walls that need routine maintenance, walls that need immediate attention, dock repairs, other visible problems, and one heavily damaged seawall on 3rd Street that needs prompt work.
At that same meeting, the Commission voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance 2026-509. The survey shows where the walls stand. The ordinance decides what happens next, and for the owner of any of the city's 700-plus short-term rentals, what happens next can reach the rental license. If you're buying a canalfront home in Key Colony Beach with rental income in your numbers, the wall at the back of the lot is now part of that income.
The Clock Starts With a Letter
The ordinance begins by defining seawalls, bulkheads, revetments and similar shoreline retaining systems as "structures" under the city's dangerous-structures chapter. That puts them under city inspection, regulation and enforcement. Once the Building Official or City Engineer decides a wall is deteriorated, damaged, failing or unsafe, the Code Official sends the owner a written notice listing the problems and the required fixes.
That notice starts a fixed schedule:
- Within 15 days: put temporary safety measures in place, such as fencing, warning signs, restricted access or temporary shoring, enough to protect the public, occupants, guests and neighboring properties.
- Within 60 days: hire a Florida-licensed professional engineer and file a written evaluation, plus a repair or replacement plan, with the Building Department.
- Within 120 days: submit every required permit application. That means city permits and, where they apply, permits from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
- Within 12 months of permit approval: finish the repair or replacement and get it approved by the city.
The ordinance openly acknowledges that seawall work depends on engineering, permitting and contractor availability. The Building Official can grant reasonable extensions when an owner shows documented progress, active permitting, contractor scheduling and ongoing upkeep of the safety measures. Repair plans must be signed and sealed by a Florida-licensed engineer and reviewed by the Building Department before a permit is issued, and inspections are required during and after construction.
Three of those four deadlines are paperwork: an engineer's report, a plan and permit applications, all due before any construction starts. An owner can comply on day 120 even if the wall itself hasn't been touched.
Where the License Comes In
Subsection (e) is the part that matters most to rental owners. Here's the full text, from the ordinance as adopted:
"For properties holding a Vacation Rental License or Business Tax Receipt, failure to comply with this Section 6-45, including failure to submit an engineering plan or adhere to the compliance timeline, shall constitute grounds for the immediate non-refundable revocation and non-renewal of such licenses until full compliance is achieved."
The ordinance also adds a parallel provision to the city's business-tax chapter. It treats a Section 6-45 violation as grounds to revoke or refuse to renew a Business Tax Receipt until the wall complies. The city's updated violation schedule, which property managers receive in their certification class, lists an unsafe or deteriorated seawall at $250 per day, plus revocation or non-renewal of both the Business Tax Receipt and the Vacation Rental License.
Pay attention to the trigger. The ordinance names a missed engineering plan as a reason for revocation. The wall doesn't have to fail and nobody has to be hurt. An owner who gets a notice and misses the 60-day engineering deadline is exposed under the text, even if the wall is still standing and the calendar is full of bookings.
The ordinance also calls the revocation non-refundable. Key Colony Beach's posted business-tax schedule lists vacation rental fees from $600 to $1,525 for single-family and duplex units and from $475 to $1,100 for condo and co-op units, depending on square footage. Losing a license fee is the smallest cost here. Bookings you can't honor are the bigger one.
The Same Wall Shows Up at Renewal
The ordinance isn't the only place the seawall gets checked. The city's vacation rental safety requirements, revised April 7, 2026, require that "the building, grounds, seawall, and dock area shall be in well-maintained condition." Every short-term rental in the city gets an annual safety inspection. Building staff described scheduling roughly 700 of them over about five months in 2026.
So a canalfront rental in Key Colony Beach now has its seawall looked at in three separate ways:
| Checkpoint | What triggers it | Timing | What it can lead to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citywide canal and seawall survey | Scheduled by the city | Every February to March, per Commissioner Diehl | Engineer review, then an owner notice |
| Ordinance 2026-509 notice | A city finding that a wall is unsafe or deteriorated | Starts the 15-, 60- and 120-day deadlines; repairs due 12 months after permit approval | $250 per day; license revocation or non-renewal |
| Annual rental safety inspection | License renewal | Once a year, through CitizenServe since July 1, 2026 | Failed inspection and a reinspection fee |
The renewal process changed this year as well. The city's tutorial says the CitizenServe workflow for short- and long-term rental renewals took effect July 1, 2026. A renewal needs a signed owner, manager and local-contact application, a current Monroe County business tax receipt, payment of fees and any outstanding violations, and a scheduled inspection. A unit that is rented or not clean at inspection fails, and the tutorial lists a $300 reinspection fee. The city's property management class packet lists a separate $100 fee for safety reinspection, cancellation or rescheduling. The two documents may cover different situations, so confirm with City Hall which charge applies.
The requirement to pay "outstanding violations" at renewal is what links the three rows of that table. A seawall fine that accrues under the ordinance becomes an obstacle the next time the license comes up for renewal.
What the Public Record Doesn't Show Yet
Here's what the city has published so far. In April, Building Official Tony Loreno reported that an engineer would review the survey photos and write an assessment and recommendation letter to go out with outreach to affected owners. In May, the Building Department said it was finalizing arrangements with a local marine and seawall engineer to review the photos and assessments. At that month's meeting, Commissioner Diehl said no owners would be notified until the marine engineer finished his review. He also said the inspections will run every year in February and March, and he thanked Building Assistant Samantha Rodamer and Loreno for their work on the survey.
As of early October 2026, we haven't found anything published that says how many properties the engineer flagged, how they split between routine maintenance and immediate attention, or whether the letters have gone out. That gap is a reason to ask the city directly about any specific address you're considering. Don't take it as a sign that nothing has been flagged.
The calendar matters too. Commissioner Diehl described the survey as an annual exercise held in February and March. If you close on a canalfront property this winter, you could be the owner who gets any notice that follows.
Due Diligence on a Canalfront Rental
None of this is legal advice, and a real estate attorney should review any contract. Still, the ordinance points to some practical steps for a buyer who plans to rent:
- Ask the city about the address. Before your inspection period ends, ask the Building Department whether the property was photographed in the 2026 survey and whether any seawall notice, assessment letter or code case exists.
- Get a marine engineer, not just a home inspector. If a notice comes, the ordinance requires a sealed evaluation from a Florida-licensed professional engineer within 60 days. Having one look at the wall before you close tells you what that report would likely say.
- Check the license history. Ask for the current Vacation Rental License, the latest safety inspection result, and confirmation that no violations are unpaid, since unpaid violations block renewal.
- Plan for permit time. Any wall work that needs DEP or Army Corps permits has to clear those agencies before construction can begin. Our research didn't turn up a reliable local figure for how long that usually takes, so get a timeline from your engineer and contractor rather than assuming one.
- Know the date of the next survey. A property that looks fine in October will be photographed again in February or March.
If you're a property manager or local contact, the city runs free monthly certification classes. The remaining 2026 sessions are October 6, November 3 and December 1, each from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a seawall notice shut down my rental right away? No. The notice starts the compliance clock. Under the ordinance, revocation or non-renewal is triggered by failing to comply, including missing the engineering plan or the timeline, and the Building Official can grant extensions when there's documented progress.
Does this apply to long-term rentals? Subsection (e) covers properties with a Vacation Rental License or a Business Tax Receipt, and the ordinance also amends the city's residential rentals article. A long-term rental license carries a $125 fee on the city schedule. Ask City Hall how the provisions apply to your specific license.
Where can I read the ordinance? The full text of Ordinance 2026-509 is posted on the City of Key Colony Beach website.
If you're looking at a canalfront rental in Key Colony Beach, or you already own one and want to know where your seawall stands before the February survey, Jessica Borraccino can help you sort out the license history, line up the right questions for City Hall, and factor any seawall timeline into your rental projections. Let's connect. Schedule your free consultation.