Provo, UT Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

180(11)(k) sets the city's one-foot freeboard standard: lowest floors, including basements, of all structures in the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) must be a minimum of one foot above the base flood elevation (BFE), verified by a registered professional engineer, architect, or land surveyor who submits certified elevations to the Floodplain Administrator. Related standards in the same subsection push other risk features even higher: any structural storage for chemicals, explosives, or flammable liquids must sit one foot above the BFE, new public surface improvements like roads and manhole rims must be built one foot above the BFE, and parking lot elevations cannot be more than six inches below the BFE.

For areas of shallow flooding (AO/AH zones), Subsection (16) layers on an additional foot of freeboard beyond the mapped or assumed ponding depth. Before any of this construction can proceed, Subsection (9) requires an approved floodplain development permit from Provo City, and issuance of a certificate of occupancy in the SFHA is withheld until either a FEMA letter of map change removes the structure from the flood zone or an elevation certificate confirms the structure sits above the base flood level. Variances from these elevation standards go to the Board of Adjustment, which can grant relief only on a showing of good cause and exceptional hardship, and any variance recipient must receive written notice that flood insurance costs will reflect the increased risk of the lower floor elevation.