Apple Valley, MN Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Section 156.02 of the Apple Valley Code of Ordinances defines the REGULATORY FLOOD PROTECTION ELEVATION as an elevation no lower than one foot above the elevation of the regional flood, plus any increases in flood elevation caused by encroachments on the floodplain that result from designation of a floodway. The regional flood is synonymous with the base flood in a Flood Insurance Study, representative of the 100-year-recurrence interval, so the one foot is the city's freeboard. The lowest floor is the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area, including a basement, and a basement means any area, including crawl spaces, subgrade on all four sides.

Section 156.12(D)(5) then sets the rule for structures in the FP District: all structures, including accessory structures, must be elevated on fill so the lowest floor is at or above the regulatory flood protection elevation. The finished fill elevation is no lower than one foot below that elevation, and the fill extends at that elevation at least 15 feet beyond the outside limits of the structure. Clean earth fill to raise the lowest floor of new or existing buildings in the flood fringe needs a conditional use permit under § 156.12(B).

Accessory parking lots and public access can sit lower, but a conditional use permit for facilities used by employees or the public is not granted without a flood warning system when the area would be inundated to a depth greater than two feet or subject to flood velocity greater than four feet per second. Section 156.08(D) bars any variance that permits a lower degree of flood protection than the regulatory flood protection elevation, and § 156.08(E) requires the city to warn a variance applicant that building below the base flood level raises flood insurance premiums up to amounts as high as $25 for $100 of coverage.

Section 156.09 requires certification by a Minnesota-licensed professional engineer, architect or land surveyor that finished fill and building elevations comply, and the city keeps a record of each lowest floor elevation. Nonconforming structures and recreational vehicles that are not exempt are elevated on fill to the same elevation under §§ 156.18 and 156.19.