Laurens County, SC Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Sec. 8-289 of the Flood Damage Prevention ordinance sets the county's specific construction standards for the special flood hazard zones A, AE, AH, AO, A1-30, V and VE where FEMA has provided base flood elevation data. Under subsection (1), new construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure, including manufactured homes, must have its lowest floor elevated no lower than three feet above the base flood elevation, and no basements are permitted anywhere in these zones. Where solid perimeter foundation walls are used to elevate the structure, the builder must add flood openings sized to automatically equalize hydrostatic pressure, at least one square inch of opening per square foot of enclosed area, under subsection (4).

Subsection (2) applies the identical three-foot freeboard to commercial, industrial and other non-residential buildings, though those structures may be floodproofed instead of elevated if a registered professional engineer or architect certifies the design meets the county's watertight construction standard. Manufactured homes placed in new or expanded parks, or replacing a home that suffered substantial flood damage, must meet the same three-foot minimum under subsection (3) and be anchored per the South Carolina Manufactured Housing Board's regulations. Elevation is measured against the FEMA base flood elevation established in the county's June 20, 2019 flood insurance study, and the local floodplain administrator reviews the required as-built elevation certification, prepared by a registered surveyor or engineer, once the lowest floor is complete under Sec. 8-261.