Oconee County, SC Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

Section 16-122(6) splits accessory buildings and garages placed in the special flood hazard area into two tiers by size. A detached accessory structure or garage larger than 400 square feet must meet the same elevated-building standards as a house under Section 16-122(5), or be floodproofed to the nonresidential standard of Section 16-122(2); there's no lighter path once a shed crosses that threshold. A smaller accessory structure, under 400 square feet, gets a shorter list of mandatory criteria instead: it can't be used for human habitation, work, sleeping, cooking, or restroom purposes; it must be designed for low flood damage potential; it has to be built and sited to offer minimum resistance to floodwater flow; and it must be firmly anchored against flotation, collapse, or lateral movement.

Its electrical and heating equipment must be installed per the general utility standard of Section 16-121, it needs flood-relief openings sized under the same criteria as elevated buildings (Sec. 16-122(5)a), and it must be built with flood-resistant materials meeting FEMA Technical Bulletin 2 standards, including recognized Class 4 and 5 materials. These are floodplain-specific standards under Chapter 16; they apply on top of any other building-permit or zoning-district accessory-structure rule for the parcel, and only reach sheds and garages sited within the county's FEMA-mapped special flood hazard area.