Asheville, NC Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

S. Chapter 160D, defines "freeboard" as the extra height added above the base flood elevation (BFE) to cover unknowns like wave action, blocked culverts, and heavier-than-modeled rainfall, and it fixes that freeboard citywide at a minimum of two feet (Section 7-2-5). Section 7-12-1(e)(1)(o) turns that into the operative construction standard, the Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation (RFPE): where a base flood elevation has been determined, the RFPE is BFE plus two feet; where a Special Flood Hazard Area exists but no BFE has been established, the RFPE is at least two feet above the highest adjacent grade.

Under Section 7-12-1(e)(2)(a), new construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure, including manufactured homes, must have its reference level, including the basement, elevated no lower than the RFPE. Section 7-12-1(e)(2)(b) extends the requirement to commercial, industrial, and other non-residential buildings, which may instead be flood-proofed to that elevation in certain FIRM zones if a registered professional engineer or architect certifies the flood-proofing meets the regulatory standard. If a proposed development's elevation requirement under this ordinance exceeds what the North Carolina State Building Code would otherwise allow, Section 7-12-1(e)(1)(p) lets the building exceed the district's maximum height limit by the amount of that difference, so the freeboard rule cannot be defeated by a separate height cap. The Floodplain Administrator, working with the Building Official, reviews building permit applications in mapped flood zones for compliance before construction begins.