Redondo Beach, CA Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

501(c)(1), part of the Flood Damage Prevention chapter's Article 5 construction standards, sets the freeboard the city requires above FEMA's base flood elevation (BFE). In Zones AE, AH, and A1-30, new residential construction or substantial improvements must have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated two feet above the BFE. In an AO zone, the lowest floor must be elevated above the highest adjacent grade to a height two feet above the depth number shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map, or at least four feet above the highest adjacent grade if no depth number is specified.

402(c). Once construction is complete, the elevation of the lowest floor must be certified by a registered civil engineer or licensed land surveyor and verified by the community building inspector before that certification is provided to the Floodplain Administrator. 501(c)(2): they may either meet the same elevation standard or be dry-floodproofed with watertight, substantially impermeable walls, structural components able to resist hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads, and certification from a registered civil engineer or architect. 501(c)(3).