Vestavia Hills, AL Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Sec. 5-212 adopts the elevations set in FEMA's flood insurance study of February 20, 2013 for Vestavia Hills, with Jefferson County's data controlling for any annexed land, and requires the more stringent of any conflicting base flood elevation to prevail. Sec. 5-277(1) sets the core freeboard standard for zones A1-30, AE, AH and engineered A zones: new construction and substantial improvement of any structure or manufactured home must have its lowest floor, including any basement, elevated no lower than one foot above the base flood elevation, or, for nonresidential buildings, floodproofed watertight to that same one-foot mark under Sec.

5-277(2), certified by a registered engineer or architect. In streams without established base flood data, Sec. 5-279(5) requires the lowest floor to sit at least three feet above the highest adjacent grade, rising to four feet if base flood elevation data later shows the one-foot-above-BFE standard would require it. Sec. 2-percent-chance flood elevation if that is higher, and must keep multiple access routes above that same higher elevation. An as-built FEMA elevation certificate confirming the final height is due to the floodplain administrator before a certificate of occupancy issues under Sec. 5-252(3).