Richmond, VA Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Section 14-88 of Richmond's floodplain management article sets the freeboard standard the City layers on top of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code. For new construction or a substantial improvement (any repair, reconstruction, or addition whose cost equals or exceeds 50 percent of the structure's pre-improvement market value) to an existing commercial, industrial, or other nonresidential building, or to a manufactured home, the lowest floor, including a basement, must sit at least one foot above the base flood elevation shown on the City's flood insurance rate map.

A registered professional engineer or architect must certify compliance and submit that certification to the Director of Public Utilities, who administers the floodplain article. Historic structures, as defined in § 14-21, may floodproof to that same one-foot standard instead of physically raising the building, again with an engineer's or architect's certification. 3(c)(5), so the space cannot be converted into finished living area. The related freeboard rule for manufactured homes and recreational vehicles in § 14-87 requires the lowest floor to sit at least one foot above base flood elevation and at least three feet above grade, with the chassis anchored to resist flotation and lateral movement.

Every floodplain building permit application must state the 100-year flood elevation, the elevation of the lowest floor, and, for nonresidential buildings, the floodproofed elevation, per § 14-120. Development in the floodway district faces additional restrictions: no fill, new construction, or substantial improvement is allowed there unless a professional engineer certifies it will cause no increase in flood levels during the base flood, per § 14-84(c).