Port St. Lucie, FL Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Chapter 152, adopted by Ord. No. 19-23 in 2019 and amended by Ord. No. 21-62 in 2021, is the city's local floodplain overlay to the Florida Building Code. Sec. 03(a) requires an owner to obtain a permit from the Floodplain Administrator, and the Building Official where applicable, before any development wholly or partly within a flood hazard area, and no permit issues until compliance with the Floodplain Management Regulations is shown. For accessory structures used only for parking or storage, Sec. 10(c) allows them below the base flood elevation, but only if they meet size limits (one story, 600 square feet or less in Zone A/AE; 100 square feet or less in Zone V/VE), are anchored against flotation and lateral movement, use flood damage-resistant materials below the base flood elevation plus one foot, and elevate mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems to or above the base flood elevation plus one foot.

Where a FIRM does not list a base flood elevation for a mapped flood hazard area (approximate Zone A), Sec. 04(b)(3)(b) lets the Floodplain Administrator set the base flood elevation at two feet above the highest adjacent grade at the development site, absent evidence of deeper flooding. Sec. 04(a) also requires site plans and construction documents to show flood hazard areas, floodway boundaries, and design flood elevations, echoed in the Florida Building Code administrative amendment at Sec. 1 of the Florida Building Code. Manufactured homes and recreational vehicles placed in flood hazard areas face their own elevation and anchoring rules under Sec. 13 and Sec. 14, tied to the same base flood elevation standard.