Dearborn Heights, MI Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Section 15-57 of the Dearborn Heights City Code requires that all new construction or substantial improvement of a residential structure anywhere in a special flood hazard area have its lowest floor, including any basement, elevated to or above the base flood elevation shown on the FEMA maps adopted at Sec. 15-8. The part of the structure below that lowest floor must have structural components that are water-resistant and capable of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and the effects of buoyancy, and the Building and Engineering Director may require a registered professional engineer or architect to certify that these standards are met.

Section 15-58 gives commercial, industrial and other nonresidential structures an alternative: instead of elevating the lowest floor to the base flood elevation, the owner may floodproof the building so it is watertight, with walls substantially impermeable to water and structural components able to resist the same hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads, again certified by a registered engineer or architect and filed with the Building and Engineering Director. Manufactured homes get their own elevation rule at Section 15-59: homes placed or substantially improved in Zones A1-30, AH and AE must sit on a permanent foundation with the lowest floor at or above the base flood elevation and be anchored with over-the-top and frame ties capable of resisting a 4,800-pound force.

A property owner who cannot meet the elevation standard may seek a variance from the zoning board of appeals under Sections 15-81 through 15-83, but a variance is barred inside a designated floodway if it would raise base flood levels, and any variance granted must include written notice of the resulting flood insurance cost.