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

Section 7-23 does not rewrite elevation numbers itself; it makes compliance with the flood-resistant construction provisions of the state construction code mandatory citywide, and identifies where those provisions currently live: Appendix G of the Michigan Building Code, "as amended." Because Novi enforces whichever edition of Appendix G the state has adopted, the specific freeboard and lowest-floor elevation figures a builder has to hit come from that state appendix rather than a locally set number, but compliance with it is a city-enforced condition of the permit, not merely a state recommendation.

Section 7-17's enforcing agency, the building official and the inspectors that official designates, is the office that checks Appendix G compliance during plan review and inspection. Section 7-25 spells out why the city is not guaranteeing a flood-free result even where elevation standards are followed: the ordinance states plainly that the degree of protection required is "considered reasonable for regulatory purposes" and based on engineering judgment, that "larger floods can and will occur on rare occasions," and that flood heights "may be increased by man-made or natural causes." That same section disclaims city liability for flood damage that results from reliance on the article or on any administrative decision made under it.

A property owner who disputes how Appendix G applies to a specific structure can raise that dispute with the construction board of appeals, which Section 7-19 gives explicit jurisdiction over "variance requests from any flood-resistant construction provisions being enforced by the city pursuant to section 7-23."