Spartanburg County, SC Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

The code defines "freeboard" at Section 38-42 as "a factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for purposes of floodplain management" that compensates for unknowns like wave action and urbanization runoff, and Section 38-82 turns that concept into a hard number. Section 38-82(1) requires new construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure, including manufactured homes, to have its lowest floor "elevated no lower than two feet above the base flood elevation," with no basements permitted; if solid perimeter walls are used to elevate the structure, flood vents must be added under Section 38-82(5).

Section 38-82(2) applies the identical two-foot freeboard to commercial, industrial and other nonresidential buildings, but lets an owner floodproof instead of elevate in an A-zone if a registered engineer or architect certifies the structure is watertight below the required elevation and the owner files an annual maintenance exercise with the county engineer. Manufactured homes placed in a new or expanding park must be elevated on a permanent, anchored foundation to the same two-foot freeboard under Section 38-82(3). 00 must meet the same elevated-structure standard, while cheaper accessory buildings can stay below base flood elevation only if built with flood-resistant materials, flood vents and no human habitation, under Section 38-82(7).

"Critical development" such as hospitals, jails, schools and water plants faces a higher bar still: Section 38-81(12) requires elevation to the 500-year flood elevation or the highest known historical flood level, whichever is greater.