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

Sec. 30-57 of the Floodplain Management and Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance sets Cherokee County's freeboard standard. New construction and substantial improvement of a principal residential structure inside the future-conditions floodplain must have its lowest floor, including basement, elevated no lower than three feet above the base flood elevation or one foot above the future-conditions flood elevation, whichever is higher, once the engineering requirements of Secs. 30-38 through 30-40 are satisfied. Non-residential buildings need only one foot above base flood elevation, or may instead be floodproofed to be watertight to that height, with a licensed professional engineer or architect certifying the design on FEMA's Floodproofing Certificate and filing it with the Cherokee County Engineer.

Where solid perimeter foundation walls are used to elevate a structure, Sec. 30-56(e) requires flood vent openings of at least one square inch of net area per square foot of enclosed area, with the bottom of every opening no higher than one foot above grade, so hydrostatic forces equalize automatically. Manufactured homes get the same three-foot residential standard, or must sit on reinforced piers at least 36 inches above grade in an existing manufactured home park. For lots without established base flood data (A-Zones), Sec.

30-59 falls back to three feet above the highest adjacent grade, and Sec. 30-60 sets shallow-flooding (AO-Zone) elevations at one foot above the FIRM-specified flood depth, or three feet above grade if none is specified.