Bartow County, GA Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Section 34-92 of the Bartow County Code sets separate freeboard standards for buildings inside the future-conditions floodplain, once the development restrictions of sections 34-78 through 34-80 are satisfied. New construction or substantial improvement of a principal residential building, including a manufactured home, must have its lowest floor, including any basement, elevated no lower than three feet above the base flood elevation or one foot above the future-conditions flood elevation, whichever is higher. Non-residential buildings need only one foot of freeboard above base flood elevation, or elevation to the future-conditions flood elevation if that is higher, and may instead be flood-proofed to that height: the structure and its utilities must be watertight, with walls substantially impermeable to water and components able to resist hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads, certified by a licensed professional engineer or architect on the FEMA floodproofing certificate.

Accessory structures such as barns, sheds, gazebos and detached garages permitted within the floodplain must be built of flood-resistant materials, anchored against flotation, and designed to pass floodwater through vents. Manufactured homes placed in an existing manufactured home park must either meet the three-foot freeboard standard or sit on reinforced piers at least 36 inches above grade, and be securely anchored. Recreational vehicles may stay on a site for fewer than 180 consecutive days without meeting these standards only if they remain fully licensed and ready for highway use; otherwise they must comply with the residential substantial-improvement freeboard rule. These requirements were last amended by the July 11, 2018 ordinance.