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

200 (Flood Damage Prevention) sets the city's freeboard standard. 10) but no lower than one foot above the base flood elevation shown on FEMA's flood insurance rate maps (FIRMs). Nonresidential structures can instead floodproof under subsection (a)(3)(C): walls watertight below one foot above base flood elevation, structural components able to resist hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads, and certification by a registered engineer or architect. In Zone AO, the lowest floor must sit above the highest adjacent grade at least as high as the FIRM's depth number plus one foot of freeboard, or three feet if no depth number is listed.

Every completed structure needs its lowest-floor elevation certified by a registered professional engineer or surveyor and verified by the floodplain administrator under subsection (a)(3)(A). 060(b)) and reviews every development permit application in the special flood hazard area, drawing on the FEMA Flood Insurance Study for Fremont dated August 3, 2009, and its accompanying FIRMs. 080(a)(3)(D) and (F)). Manufactured homes fall under the same one-foot freeboard floor and must be anchored to a permanent foundation system under subsection (d). Subdivision applicants on any lot and other development on parcels over five acres must identify the base flood elevation and the elevation of every proposed structure's lowest floor on final plans under subsection (c).