Kenner, LA Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Sec. 5-183 sets the elevation a new residential structure's lowest floor must reach before the Department of Inspection and Code Enforcement will note the required NAVD 88 elevation and the base flood elevation on the building permit. In zones X, X-Protected by Levee, and 0.2% Annual Chance inside the hurricane storm damage risk reduction system, the lowest floor must be at the highest of eighteen inches above the centerline of the street or elevation -3.5 NAVD 88. In zone AE, the lowest floor must be at the highest of three benchmarks: a minimum of two feet above the base flood elevation shown on the FIRM, eighteen inches above the street centerline, or -3.5 NAVD 88. In zone VE, the code instead measures from the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member, which must sit at least two feet above the base flood elevation on the FIRM, with any enclosed area below that line free of obstructions or built with breakaway walls totaling no more than two hundred ninety-nine square feet, and fill cannot be used for structural support.

Sec. 5-184 applies the same three benchmarks to a substantially damaged or substantially improved residential structure, rather than only new construction. The two-foot freeboard above the mapped base flood elevation is the city's higher regulatory standard, exceeding FEMA's minimum, and is meant to keep the living space of a new or rebuilt house above the water a base flood event would bring to the lot.