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

82 governs how the City of Tampa's floodplain administrator fills the data gap in 'approximate Zone A' areas, places the FEMA flood insurance rate map designates as flood hazard areas without publishing a base flood elevation. The administrator's first option is to require the applicant to submit base flood elevation data 'prepared in accordance with currently accepted engineering practices,' or to obtain such data from a federal or state agency. ' Once base flood elevation data is approved under any of these paths, Sec. 82(4) requires it to be incorporated into the site's stormwater management plan.

If a property owner later wants FEMA to formally revise the flood map based on this data, for example, to support a letter of map change, Sec. 82(5) requires the supporting analysis to be prepared by a Florida-licensed engineer in FEMA's required format, with the applicant responsible for submittal requirements and processing fees. The base flood elevation set here becomes the reference point for the lowest-floor elevation requirements enforced elsewhere in the floodplain management ordinance, directly affecting how high a new foundation must sit and what flood insurance will cost the owner.