Kenosha County, WI Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

County zoning Chapter 12 splits floodplain regulation into two tracks. 010(j) bans new construction outright: no structures, dwellings, mobile or manufactured homes, or shelters may be located, moved or placed on lands in the FPO Floodplain Overlay District, and the ban is strictly construed with no variances. 100 governs what happens when an existing nonconforming building in the floodplain is damaged. A structure destroyed by flood itself cannot be rebuilt at all. But a nonconforming building damaged by a nonflood disaster (fire, ice storm, tornado, windstorm, mudslide) under Wis.

Stat. 30(1d) can be restored to its pre-damage size and use if the owner meets minimum federal code requirements and pulls permits before construction starts. 100(c)(1)(a) requires the lowest floor, including the basement, elevated to or above the base flood elevation using fill, pilings, columns, posts or perimeter walls, anchored against flotation and lateral movement, with utilities and HVAC equipment placed to keep water out during flooding. 040(l): two feet above the 100-year recurrence interval flood, certified by a registered engineer or architect with a FEMA Floodproofing Certificate on file.

Any enclosed foundation area below that elevation needs flood-resistant materials and at least two automatic-entry openings totaling one square inch per square foot of enclosed area, with openings no higher than 12 inches above grade. All of this applies only in the towns that adopted county zoning; the City of Kenosha, the City of Lake Geneva, and the county's villages regulate their own floodplains under separate municipal codes.