Fountain, CO Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

070. Subsection A requires the lowest floor of any new or substantially improved residential structure, including a basement, to sit at least one foot above the base flood elevation, the flood level FEMA calculates as having a one percent annual chance of being equaled or exceeded. Subsection B gives nonresidential buildings, such as commercial or industrial structures, a second compliance path: either the same one-foot freeboard, or dry floodproofing certified by a registered engineer or architect to keep the structure watertight up to one foot above base flood level with walls able to resist hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressure.

Manufactured homes placed or substantially improved outside an existing manufactured home park must be elevated to or above base flood elevation on a permanently anchored foundation under subsection D, and below-grade crawlspaces are separately capped: the interior grade cannot sit more than two feet below the lowest adjacent grade and the crawlspace wall height cannot exceed four feet, per subsection F. Any fully enclosed area below the elevated lowest floor must carry flood vents, at least two openings totaling one square inch of net area for every square foot of enclosed space, with the lowest opening no higher than one foot above grade, so hydrostatic pressure cannot build up against the walls. C before the project can move forward.