Bessemer, AL Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Section 58-62 sets the technical elevation standards inside zones A, AE, and AH. For residential structures, including manufactured homes, subsection (1) requires the lowest floor, basement included, to sit no lower than two feet above the base flood elevation (BFE) wherever BFE data exists, a two-foot freeboard above the FEMA minimum. If a builder uses solid perimeter foundation walls instead of an open foundation, subsection (3) requires flood openings sized at one square inch of net opening per square foot of enclosed area, in at least two exterior walls, with the lowest opening no more than one foot above grade.

Nonresidential structures get a floodproofing option under subsection (2): the building and its utilities must be watertight to at least one foot above the BFE, with a professional engineer or architect licensed in Alabama certifying the design against ASCE-24 standards, and an inspection and maintenance plan filed before a certificate of occupancy issues. Where no BFE data exists in an approximate A-zone, section 58-64 pushes the elevation further, requiring the lowest floor at least three feet above the highest adjacent grade, or five feet where a two-foot freeboard would otherwise apply.

Structures elevated on fill must also keep the lowest floor at least one foot above BFE and set the nearest wall foundation back at least 25 feet from the floodplain boundary under section 58-62(11).