Burlington, WI Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

City Code Chapter 119, the Floodplains ordinance, sets Burlington's base flood elevation standard at the 'flood-protection elevation,' defined in § 119-37 as two feet of freeboard above the water surface profile elevation calculated for the regional flood. Under § 119-18C, governing residential construction in the Floodfringe Overlay District, any new or moved-in residential structure, including a manufactured home, must have its lowest floor at or above that flood-protection elevation, built on fill extending at least fifteen feet beyond the structure and at least one foot above the regional flood elevation.

As an alternative, a basement or crawlway floor may sit at the regional flood elevation only if dry-floodproofed to the flood-protection elevation; no basement or crawlway floor may go below the regional flood elevation. The section also requires contiguous dryland access from the structure to land outside the floodplain unless the municipality has written police, fire, or emergency-services assurance of wheeled-vehicle rescue, or a DNR-approved evacuation plan. Accessory structures need only reach the regional flood elevation on fill. Commercial buildings follow the residential standard, while manufacturing and industrial structures must reach the flood-protection elevation or meet § 119-31 floodproofing standards.

Buoyant, flammable, explosive, or hazardous stored materials must likewise stay at or above the flood-protection elevation or be floodproofed. A structure whose lowest floor falls below the flood-protection elevation becomes a nonconforming structure under the chapter, restricting future additions.