Davis, CA Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Davis adopted its flood hazard maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's December 2002 Flood Insurance Study for the City of Davis, Yolo County, on file at the Office of the City Engineer, 1717 Fifth Street. 07 requires that new construction and substantial improvements of any structure have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated to or above the base flood elevation shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map. Nonresidential buildings may instead be floodproofed watertight below the base flood level if a registered engineer or architect certifies the design.

In Zone AH or AO, where flooding is shallower but still mapped, the lowest floor must sit at least as high as the depth number printed on the map, or at least two feet above the highest adjacent grade if no depth number is given, functioning as the city's freeboard standard for those zones. 040 and be anchored to a permanent foundation. Subdivision applicants must identify the flood hazard area and base flood elevation on preliminary plans, and final plans must show pad elevations certified by a registered engineer or surveyor.

Encroachments into a mapped floodway, including fill and new construction, are prohibited unless an engineer certifies they will not raise flood levels. 08, which weighs lot size, danger to life and property, and alternative locations before granting a variance.