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

Sec. 12-122(1), the residential construction standard in Article V of the flood damage prevention chapter, 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. That term is defined in Sec. 12-31 as the base flood elevation plus freeboard: where FEMA has determined a base flood elevation, the regulatory elevation is the BFE plus two feet; where no BFE has been established, it is at least two feet above the highest adjacent grade.

Compliance is documented through the permitting process in Sec. 12-92, which requires an elevation certificate (FEMA Form 81-31) before construction starts and a final as-built elevation certificate before a certificate of occupancy issues; the floodplain administrator reviews both and can require corrections before construction proceeds or occupancy is granted. Non-residential structures may floodproof to the same elevation instead of physically raising the building, but only with a professional engineer's or architect's certification under Sec. 12-122(2). A property owner who wants to build below the regulatory flood protection elevation must seek a variance from the Zoning Commission under Sec. 00 of coverage.