Troup County, GA Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Section 4.4(2)(a) of the Troup County Unified Development Ordinance sets the county's freeboard standard: where base flood elevation data exist, new construction and substantial improvement of any structure or manufactured home must have the lowest floor, including the basement, elevated no lower than one foot above the base flood elevation. If a builder instead uses solid perimeter walls to raise a structure, the design must include openings that equalize hydrostatic pressure on both sides of the walls, sized under the elevated-buildings standard of Section 4.4(1)(d): at least two openings totaling not less than one square inch of net area per square foot of enclosed area subject to flooding, with the bottom of every opening no higher than one foot above grade.

Section 4.4(2)(a)(i) extends the same one-foot freeboard to heating and air conditioning equipment, ductwork, electrical, ventilation and plumbing components. Nonresidential structures in A1-30, AE or AH zones may floodproof instead of elevate under Section 4.4(2)(b), but the building and its utilities must be watertight to one foot above the base flood elevation, with walls able to resist hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads, and a registered professional engineer or architect must certify the design. Where base flood elevation data are missing, Section 4.4(3)(c) instead requires the lowest floor to sit at least three feet above the highest adjacent grade at the site. The Community Development Director administers these standards and certifies the recorded lowest-floor elevation for the permit file.