Sanford, FL Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Section 46-302 reprints and locally amends the Florida Building Code's flood provisions: FBC Building Section 1612.4.3 sets the minimum elevation at ASCE 24 or the base flood elevation plus two feet, whichever is higher, and FBC Residential Section R322.2.1 applies the same base-flood-elevation-plus-two-feet, or design flood elevation, whichever is higher, rule to the lowest floor of houses, including basements below grade on all sides, with a special rule of the mapped depth number plus two feet, or four feet minimum, in shallow-flooding AO zones. These freeboard requirements were added to the code by Ord.

No. 4613, adopted June 28, 2021. Structures and facilities exempt from the Florida Building Code, such as some agricultural buildings, must instead be designed to the flood-resistant construction requirements of ASCE 24 under § 46-301. Accessory structures like detached garages and storage sheds may be built below the base flood elevation only if they are one story, no larger than 600 square feet, fitted with flood openings that meet FBC Residential § R322.2, anchored against flotation and lateral movement, built of flood damage-resistant materials below the base flood elevation plus one foot, and equipped with mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems, including plumbing fixtures, elevated to at least one foot above the base flood elevation (§46-303). A building lacking documentation proving its lowest floor meets these elevations is presumed noncompliant until the owner supplies it (§46-211).