Pulaski County, AR Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Section 7-52 applies only where FEMA has already published base flood elevation data for the site, per Article II's mapping and administration provisions. Subsection (1) sets the residential standard: the lowest floor, including any basement, must sit at least two feet above the base flood elevation, and a registered professional engineer or land surveyor must certify to the county planning board that the elevation shown in the § 7-33(a)(1) permit application actually meets that standard. Subsection (2) gives commercial, industrial and other nonresidential buildings a choice: elevate the lowest floor the same two feet, or flood-proof the structure below that level so it is watertight, with walls that resist water passage and structural components engineered to withstand hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and buoyancy, certified by a registered engineer or architect.

The two-foot freeboard is a countywide floor; § 7-8 requires it to be read as a minimum, so a stricter subdivision covenant or municipal standard can still require more, per § 7-7. Builders who cannot meet the standard may seek a variance from the county planning board under § 7-34, but § 7-35(b) requires written notice that any structure allowed to sit as much as one foot below base flood elevation will carry flood insurance priced for that added risk, and §§ 7-33(c) and 7-56 both bar any permit or encroachment that would raise flood levels inside a designated floodway.

Enclosed areas below the lowest floor used only for parking, access or storage must include flood vents under § 7-52(3), and manufactured homes and recreational vehicles face their own elevation and anchoring rules in § 7-52(4)-(5).