Toledo, OH Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Toledo Municipal Code Section 1110.0222 defines "Flood Protection Elevation" (FPE) as "the base flood elevation plus one (1) foot of freeboard," adding that where no base flood elevation exists from an authoritative source, the Floodplain Administrator can use historical flood elevations instead. That freeboard standard is operative under Section 1110.0404(D), which requires that "new construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure, including manufactured homes, shall have the lowest floor, including crawl space or basement, elevated to or above the flood protection elevation." In Zone AO areas without a specified elevation, or where FPE data are unavailable, the lowest floor must instead sit at least two feet above the highest adjacent grade, and support structures must be engineer-certified to ASCE 24, Flood Resistant Design and Construction.

Nonresidential structures face the same elevation floor under Section 1110.0405(B), or may instead be dry floodproofed watertight to the FPE with FEMA Floodproofing Certification from a registered engineer or architect. Each new residential site must also have a walkway, driveway or roadway route out of the floodplain whose surface sits at or above the flood protection elevation (Section 1110.0404(H)). Compliance is documented after construction with a FEMA Elevation Certificate completed by a registered professional surveyor (Section 1110.0307(A)).