Rose Hill, NC Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Chapter 150 of the Rose Hill Code of Ordinances defines Base Flood Elevation as the water surface elevation of the flood having a 1% annual chance of occurring, taken from the Flood Insurance Study or, where the Study has not set one, from FEMA-approved engineering methodologies. 05 then adds two feet of freeboard on top of that number to fix the Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation (RFPE), the elevation new construction and substantial improvements must actually meet. Where the Study has established a BFE for the parcel, the RFPE is BFE plus two feet; where no BFE has been mapped, the RFPE floor is at least two feet above the highest adjacent grade.

The freeboard exists, in the code's own words, to cover unknown factors such as wave action, blockage of bridge or culvert openings, precipitation exceeding the base flood, and the hydrological effect of watershed urbanization, none of which are baked into the mapped BFE itself. 25, reviews flood plain development permit applications against this elevation before construction starts, and a structure without an elevation certificate or other compliance documentation is presumed in violation until the paperwork is produced. The rule reaches new construction and substantial improvements of residential and non-residential structures, manufactured homes, and enclosed areas below the lowest floor, wherever they sit inside a Special Flood Hazard Area mapped on the Duplin County DFIRM panels tied to the June 19, 2020 Flood Insurance Study.