MULTIAGENCY INTEGRATED CODE FOR COASTAL CONSTRUCTION

The population growth in the State of Florida has created an increase in development along the shoreline in recent years. Owners have to com ply with building and zoning codes, manuals, local standards, and othe r guidelines to obtain coastal construction permit. These guidelines w ere prepared by either federal, regional, or state agencies. Also, loc al governments (counties and municipalities) promulgate their own prov isions. With the proliferation of guidelines, several regulating agenc ies often hold jurisdiction on a coastal construction project. Thus, s everal guidelines are applicable and must be satisfied. In these situa tions, the designer must follow the most stringent of those standards, turning the design process into a difficult and time-consuming task. The integrated coastal code developed in this study is a guide of mini mum standards of coastal construction developed by integrating the mos t stringent guidelines from several coastal agencies in Florida. The s elected counties are from around the State with coasts on the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. General guidelines for major and minor shore protection structures and mobile homes are part of the code whic h is subdivided into sections such as wind design, wave forces design, flood protection and erosion control. A user-friendly menu-driven sof tware was also developed containing the developed integrated coastal c onstruction code.