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

Berkeley County Code § 26-71 sets flood-hazard construction standards for zones A, AE, AH, AO, A1-30, V and VE where FEMA has provided base flood elevation (BFE) data. New construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure, including manufactured homes, must have the lowest floor elevated no lower than two feet above BFE, and basements are prohibited outright. If solid perimeter foundation walls are used, flood openings must be installed to automatically equalize hydrostatic pressure under the elevated-buildings standard in § 26-71(4), which requires at least two openings on different walls totaling one square inch of net area per square foot of enclosed area below BFE.

Non-residential structures face the same two-foot freeboard floor, but § 26-71(2) lets owners dry-floodproof instead of elevating: walls below the required elevation must be substantially impermeable to water and able to resist hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads, certified by a registered engineer or architect, with an annual maintenance-plan exercise approved by the floodplain administrator. C. Manufactured Housing Board Regulation § 40-29-10; chassis elevations above 36 inches require an engineering certification. Detached accessory structures or garages costing more than $3,000 must meet the same wet-floodproofing or elevation standard; those valued at $3,000 or less may stay lower if limited to vehicle parking or storage, built of flood-resistant materials, and anchored against flotation.

Anyone building in the special flood hazard area must first obtain a development permit from the local floodplain administrator under § 26-62, and agricultural structures seeking a wet-floodproofing variance must satisfy the criteria in § 26-84.