Durham, NC Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Freeboard above BFE
- 2 feet (residential & non-residential)
- No-BFE fallback
- 5 feet above highest adjacent grade
- Applies to
- New construction & substantial improvements
- Permit required
- Floodplain Development Permit, UDO Sec. 3.21
- Enforcing office
- Floodplain Administrator, Durham City-County Planning
- Civil penalty
- $500 per violation, daily if continuing
Summary
Durham requires new or substantially improved residential structures in Special Flood Hazard Areas to elevate the reference level, including any basement, no lower than the Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation. Base Flood Elevation plus two feet of freeboard. The joint City-County Floodplain Administrator enforces this under UDO Sec. 8.4 before a floodplain development permit is issued.
New construction or substantial improvement of any residential structure (including manufactured homes) shall have the reference level, including basement, elevated no lower than the regulatory flood protection elevation. ... Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation: The elevation above mean sea level to which the reference level of all structures and other development located within Special Flood Hazard Areas and Future Conditions Flood Hazard Areas must be protected. In Special Flood Hazard Areas where Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) have been determined, this elevation shall be the BFE plus two feet of freeboard.
Full Breakdown
Under UDO Sec. " The Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation is defined in Sec. 3, Defined Terms: where Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) have been determined, it "shall be the BFE plus two feet of freeboard"; where no BFE has been established, the floor must sit "at least five feet above the highest adjacent grade"; and in Future Conditions Flood Hazard Areas it is the Future Conditions Flood Elevation plus the same two-foot freeboard. Non-residential buildings may floodproof to that same elevation instead of raising the structure, per Sec.
3, provided a registered professional engineer or architect certifies the design is watertight and can resist hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads. Manufactured homes must meet the identical reference-level standard under Sec. 4. Before any grading, filling, or construction begins in a Special Flood Hazard Area or Future Conditions Flood Hazard Area, Sec. 21 requires a Floodplain Development Permit from the Floodplain Administrator (the Inspections Director or designee, in consultation with the Planning Director). The UDO is a joint Durham City-County ordinance administered by Durham City-County Planning, so these elevation standards apply the same way to Special Flood Hazard Areas inside the city limits and in unincorporated Durham County, the map, not the jurisdiction, controls which parcels are covered.
Violations & Fines
The Floodplain Administrator can issue a written stop-work order the moment construction proceeds below the required reference level, and can revoke a floodplain development permit outright for a substantial departure from approved plans or false statements made to obtain it (Sec. 3.21.2.B). General UDO enforcement under Sec. 15.4.4 sets a civil penalty of $500 per violation, escalating to a daily penalty for continuing violations under Sec. 15.4.6 once an initial citation has gone unpaid or uncorrected. Unpaid penalties can be collected through a civil debt action in court under Sec. 15.3.5.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much freeboard does Durham require above base flood elevation?
Can a commercial building floodproof instead of elevating in Durham?
What if there's no base flood elevation data for my Durham lot?
Who enforces Durham's flood elevation requirements?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Durham
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