Annapolis, MD Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Elevation standard
- Lowest floor at BFE plus 2 ft
- Basements
- Prohibited in flood hazard areas
- Administrator
- Director of Planning and Zoning
- Violation penalty
- Municipal infraction fine, per day
- Insurance
- NFIP coverage denied if noncompliant
Summary
Annapolis requires new construction and substantially improved buildings in flood hazard areas to elevate the lowest floor to the flood protection elevation, base flood elevation plus two feet of freeboard, under the city's floodplain management code.
The base flood elevation plus two feet of freeboard. Freeboard is a factor of safety that compensates for uncertainty in factors that could contribute to flood heights greater than the height calculated for a selected size flood and floodway conditions, such as wave action, obstructed bridge openings, debris and ice jams, climate change, and the hydrologic effect of urbanization in a watershed. ... Elevation requirements. (1) Lowest floors shall be elevated to or above the flood protection elevation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 2025 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
The Director of Planning and Zoning, serving as Floodplain Administrator under Chapter 17.11, reviews every permit application for new construction or substantial improvement in a mapped flood hazard area. Residential lowest floors must sit at or above the flood protection elevation, base flood elevation plus a two-foot freeboard margin, and basements are prohibited outright. Nonresidential buildings can dry-floodproof to that same elevation plus one more foot instead of elevating. An elevation certificate signed by a licensed surveyor or engineer is required before the city will issue a certificate of occupancy.
Violations & Fines
Noncompliance is a municipal infraction carrying a Council-set fine for each day the violation continues; the city notifies FEMA, and any structure remaining in violation is denied new or renewal National Flood Insurance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much freeboard does Annapolis require above the base flood elevation?
Are basements allowed in Annapolis flood hazard areas?
Who enforces Annapolis's flood elevation rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Annapolis
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