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

The Land Development Ordinance's flood damage prevention article sets the elevation standard for every parcel inside a FEMA-mapped special flood hazard area or future conditions flood hazard area. Under LDO § 30-12-2.3(B)(1), new construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure must have the reference level, including any basement, elevated no lower than the regulatory flood protection elevation (RFPE). The city defines RFPE in § 30-15-17 as the base flood elevation (BFE) plus 2 feet of freeboard measured above NAVD 1988; where no BFE has been established, the floor must sit at least 2 feet above the highest adjacent grade. Solid foundation perimeter walls used to elevate a structure must include flood vents that automatically equalize hydrostatic pressure on both sides of the enclosure below the lowest floor. Nonresidential buildings in Zones A, AE, AO, AH, A1-A30, or X (Future) may floodproof to the RFPE instead of elevating, but a registered professional engineer or architect must certify the floodproofing under § 30-4-26.10 and file it with the Water Resources Director. Manufactured homes must be set on a permanent foundation with the reference level at or above the RFPE and anchored against flotation and lateral movement.

Before any grading, fill, or construction starts in a mapped hazard area, the owner must obtain a floodplain development permit under § 30-4-26.6, submitting a scaled site plan, the BFE or future conditions flood elevation, floodway boundaries, and a foundation plan showing the elevation method. The Floodplain Administrator, whose duties are set out in § 30-3-13, reviews the application, may obtain independent BFE or floodway data from FEMA or the state when none has been supplied, and must collect the as-built elevation certificate before the structure is occupied. Violations are enforced under §§ 30-5-3 through 30-5-5: the Planning Director issues a notice of violation, and civil penalties escalate from $50 for a first offense to $100, $200, and $500 for the fourth and each later violation, with each day of a continuing violation counted separately.