Livonia, MI Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Section 8.06(2)(B) of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance sets the elevation standard for construction on the portion of a lot that sits above the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area Level. Uses otherwise permitted by the underlying zoning district remain allowed on that ground, but the lowest floor designed or intended for human habitation, expressly including any basement, must be elevated to or above the elevation of the nearest point of the Special Flood Hazard Area Level. That elevation reference point is tied to the 100-year flood boundaries set out in the City's 2008 Flood Insurance Study and the Flood Insurance Rate Maps effective February 2, 2012, both cited in Section 8.06(1).

An applicant may seek relief from the elevation standard only through the exception procedure in Chapter 15.36 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, the City's soil erosion and flood prevention chapter. That chapter designates the Director of Inspection as the enforcing agency for the state's flood-related construction requirements under Act 230 of the Public Acts of 1972, and Section 15.36.190(C) directs that Appendix G of the Michigan Building Code be enforced within the city, incorporating that appendix's flood-resistant construction standards into every building permit review for a lot touching the mapped flood area.

Because Livonia ties the elevation requirement to enforcement of the Michigan Building Code and the FEMA-based flood maps rather than a separately stated freeboard number, builders should confirm the applicable Special Flood Hazard Area Level for a specific parcel with the Engineering Division before finalizing foundation and basement plans, since the reference elevation differs by parcel location within the mapped area.