Pasco County, FL Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Section 18-122 amends the Florida Building Code's flood provisions specifically for unincorporated Pasco County. It lowers the substantial-improvement damage threshold to 49 percent: once the cost of repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, alteration, or addition to a building reaches or exceeds 49 percent of the structure's pre-improvement market value, the project is treated as a substantial improvement and must meet current flood-elevation standards, and any building that has sustained substantial damage is deemed a substantial improvement regardless of the repair cost actually incurred. The amendment carves out two exceptions: work the building official orders solely to correct existing health, sanitary, or safety violations, and alterations to historic structures that would not jeopardize their historic designation.

6 of the residential code, all governing enclosed areas below the design flood elevation: those enclosures cannot be partitioned into separate rooms except for stairwells, ramps, elevators, or a fire-code-required partition, and any walls installed below the design flood elevation must either use insect screening or open lattice, or be engineered to break away under flood loads without damaging the elevated structure, with a registered design professional's sealed certification required where wind loads exceed 20 pounds per square foot. 5, also amended by this ordinance, requires every commercial and residential building permit application to document flood-hazard-area findings, lowest floor and equipment elevations, any required non-conversion agreement, and flood-damage-resistant materials before the county will approve construction.