Palatine, IL Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Section 6.08(b) designates the Village Engineer as the Floodplain Administrator for the village's floodplain regulations, and no development may begin in a Special Flood Hazard Area without that office's prior review and approval, on top of any other permits required elsewhere in the Village Code. Section 6.08(c) then sets the Base Flood Elevation hierarchy: the corporate authorities must first use FEMA's countywide Flood Insurance Study for Cook County, generally identified on map number 17031J with the panels covering Salt Creek and Buffalo Creek dated August 19, 2008, and fall back to IDNR-certified studies, USGS maps, or a licensed engineer's backwater model only when no FEMA data exists for the site.

Under Section 6.08(d), the lowest floor, basement, and all electrical, heating, plumbing, and air-conditioning equipment must sit at or above the flood protection elevation, built of materials resistant to flood damage per FEMA Technical Bulletin 2-93; a residential structure rebuilt after fire or other damage under Section 6.08(d)(1)(r) must be elevated two feet above the base flood elevation rather than merely floodproofed. The Floodplain Administrator can grant a variance under Section 6.08(i) only outside the regulatory floodway, and must first warn the applicant in writing that a variance lowering flood protection can raise flood-insurance premiums as high as $25 for $100 of insurance coverage.

Violations bring a stop-work order, a recorded notice of violation on the property's title, and a fine under the village fine schedule, with each day of continuing violation a separate offense.