Warren, MI Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Because Warren adopted the State Construction Code wholesale at § 9-16, its own floodplain rules don't restate a separate numeric freeboard figure; instead § 9-20 designates the code official as the official authorized to administer and enforce the State Construction Code as adopted, including the provisions of Appendix G of the Michigan Building Code entitled Flood-Resistant Construction, which is where the actual elevation and flood-proofing engineering standards live. On the recordkeeping side, § 9-23 requires the division of buildings and safety engineering to maintain records of any issued certificates of flood proofing for new structures and substantially improved structures, and those certificates must include, as applicable, the lowest floor elevation, whether there is a basement, the method of flood proofing, and the elevation to which the structure has been flood proofed.

The city engineer separately verifies and records the actual elevation of all structures constructed in the floodplain in relation to mean sea level of the lowest floor, including basement, under § 9-24. In practice, an applicant building in a mapped flood hazard area must document the structure's lowest floor elevation against Appendix G's requirements as part of getting a floodplain and building permit, and that documentation becomes part of the city's permanent floodplain construction file, open to public inspection.