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

Youngstown's floodplain regulations define the Flood Protection Elevation (FPE) at Codified Ordinances § 1305.11(16) as the base flood elevation plus one foot of freeboard, and where no base flood elevation exists from an authoritative source, the Floodplain Administrator may set the FPE from historical flood elevations. Section 1305.26, Residential Structures, requires that new construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure, including manufactured homes, have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated to or above the flood protection elevation; where flood protection elevation data are not available the lowest floor must instead sit at least two feet above the highest adjacent natural grade, and the same two-foot rule applies in Zone AO areas with no elevations specified.

Section 1305.26(a) requires the structure and its foundation to be anchored against flotation, collapse and lateral movement from hydrodynamic and hydrostatic loads, and § 1305.26(b) requires flood-damage-resistant construction materials. Elevated homes without basements may enclose the space below the lowest floor only for parking, building access or storage, and the enclosure must either be engineer-certified to equalize hydrostatic forces or carry at least two openings on different walls totaling one square inch of net area per square foot of enclosed space, with opening bottoms no higher than one foot above grade (§ 1305.26(e)).

Section 1305.27 extends the same elevation standard to nonresidential structures, which may instead be dry floodproofed watertight to the flood protection elevation and certified on a FEMA Floodproofing Certificate. The Chief Building Official is designated the city's Floodplain Administrator under § 1305.12 and reviews development permit applications for compliance under § 1305.13.