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

5 as the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) plus 'Freeboard': where BFEs have been determined for a Special Flood Hazard Area, that elevation is the BFE plus two feet of freeboard, and where no BFE has been established, it is at least two feet above the highest adjacent grade. 8(B), 'Specific Standards,' applies this definition to actual construction: subsection 1, Residential Construction, requires that new construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure, including manufactured homes, have the reference level, including any basement, elevated no lower than the regulatory flood protection elevation, described in the ordinance itself as two feet above the calculated water surface elevation of the base flood, and further requires that new construction be 100 percent outside the Special Flood Hazard Area.

Subsection 2, Non-Residential Construction, applies the same Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation standard to commercial, industrial, and other non-residential structures, but allows floodproofing to that elevation in lieu of physical elevation in Zones A, AE, AH, AO, and A99, provided a registered professional engineer or architect certifies the floodproofing to the Floodplain Administrator along with an operational and inspection/maintenance plan. 8(C).