Sahuarita, AZ Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Freeboard
- One foot above base flood elevation
- Zone A minimum
- 4 feet above adjacent grade absent a mapped BFE
- Zone X (shaded) minimum
- 18 inches above highest adjacent grade
- Certification
- Engineer or surveyor certifies as-built elevation
- Enforcement
- Floodplain administrator, Public Works Department
- Penalty
- Class 2 misdemeanor, each day a separate offense
Summary
Sahuarita's floodplain code sets a one-foot freeboard above base flood elevation as the town's "regulatory flood elevation." New construction and substantial improvements to residential structures must have their lowest floor, including any basement, built at or above that elevation, with stricter minimums in Zone A, Zone AO and Zone X (shaded), enforced by the town's floodplain administrator.
"Regulatory flood elevation" means an elevation one foot above the base flood elevation for a watercourse for which the base flood elevation has been determined or as determined by the criteria developed by the director of ADWR for all other watercourses. ... 1. New construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure shall have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated at or above the regulatory flood elevation. ... 3. New construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure in Zone A with no base flood elevations shall have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated at least four feet higher than the highest existing adjacent grade unless an engineering analysis is performed by an Arizona registered professional civil engineer to determine the base flood elevations, at which the requirement will then be a minimum of one foot above the base flood elevation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4745395; v0 updated 2025-12-08; through 12-08-2025).
Full Breakdown
020. 010(C) turns that definition into a construction standard: new construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure must have the lowest floor, including the basement, built at or above the regulatory flood elevation. The requirement scales up where FEMA has not mapped a precise base flood elevation. In Zone A, without a published base flood elevation, the lowest floor must sit at least four feet above the highest adjacent grade unless the applicant pays for an Arizona-licensed civil engineer to calculate an actual base flood elevation, in which case the one-foot freeboard standard applies instead of the flat four-foot rule.
In Zone AO, the floor must clear the FIRM's depth number by at least one foot, or two feet if no depth number is published. Zone X (shaded), covering areas subject to shallow alluvial-fan flooding, carries an 18-inch minimum. Nonresidential buildings may substitute certified flood-proofing for elevation. 010(C)(9), and any fill used to reach the required elevation must extend at least 15 feet beyond the structure's footprint.
Violations & Fines
Building without the required freeboard elevation, or occupying a structure before the floodplain administrator receives the engineer's or surveyor's elevation certification, violates STC Title 14. STC § 14.15.080(B) makes any violation of the floodplain title a Class 2 misdemeanor, with each day the noncompliant structure stands counted as a separate offense. The town can also withhold a certificate of occupancy until the required elevation certificate is filed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Sahuarita's regulatory flood elevation?
Does the elevation requirement change if my lot has no mapped base flood elevation?
Who certifies that a new house meets the elevation requirement?
What happens if a structure is built below the required elevation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sahuarita
Compare Sahuarita to another location·View the Arizona environmental rules overview
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Flood Elevation Requirements in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Pima County handle flood elevation requirements.