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

City Code Sec. 2-333(b) defines freeboard as the safety margin above the base flood elevation that compensates for unknown factors like wave action and urbanization runoff, and states flatly that the City requires base flood elevation plus twenty-four inches of freeboard. That standard is operationalized in Sec. 2-333(e)(3)(A): new construction or substantial improvement of a residential structure in Zones A1-30, AE, AH, or A with detailed base flood elevations must have its lowest floor, including any basement, elevated to or above the base flood level plus twenty-four inches.

Electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, air conditioning equipment, and ductwork must independently be elevated or floodproofed to two feet above the base flood elevation. The same 24-inch freeboard floor applies to commercial, industrial, and other non-residential buildings under Sec. 2-333(e)(3)(B), though non-residential structures may substitute floodproofing for elevation if a registered engineer or architect certifies the building is watertight to that height. The Zoning Administrator administers these standards, reviewing site plans and FEMA elevation certificates before permitting and again before issuing a certificate of occupancy. Applicants in areas with base flood elevation data but no FEMA-established datum still must elevate to that level plus 24 inches once the Zoning Administrator determines the base flood elevation using accepted engineering methods under Sec. 2-333(d)(2)(C)(i).