Akron, OH Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)
FEMA flood zone rules in Akron, OH, also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules, determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
Key Facts
- Permit required
- Before any development in special flood hazard areas
- Issuing office
- Superintendent of Building Inspection
- Minor-work exemption
- Nonstructural work under $1,000 (not fill/grading)
- Floodway encroachment
- Barred absent no-rise engineering analysis
- Federal coordination
- Army Corps permit and FEMA sign-off required
- Default penalty
- Up to $150 per offense, § 10.99
Summary
Akron requires a development permit from the Superintendent of Building Inspection before any construction begins in a FEMA-mapped special flood hazard area. The rules apply citywide, including areas later annexed, and cover floodway encroachments and watercourse alterations.
A development permit shall be obtained from the Superintendent of Building Inspection before construction or development begins within any area of special flood hazard established pursuant to § 197.302 of this building code. Application for a development permit shall be made on forms furnished by the Superintendent of Building Inspection and may include, but not be limited to, plans in duplicate drawn to scale showing the nature, location, dimensions, and elevations of the area in question; and the location of existing or proposed structures, fill, storage of materials, drainage facilities.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 64).
Full Breakdown
301 applies the flood hazard chapter to all areas of special flood hazard within the city as identified by FEMA or HUD, including any additional flood hazard areas later annexed by Akron. 311, no structure or land can be located, erected, constructed, repaired, extended, converted, enlarged, or altered without fully complying with the chapter. 310 establishes the development permit itself, required from the Superintendent of Building Inspection before construction or development begins in any special flood hazard area, on an application showing the nature, location, dimensions, and elevations of the site and any existing or proposed structures, fill, storage, or drainage facilities.
311 exempts only maintenance work such as roofing, exterior surface covering, and basement sealing, plus small nonstructural work valued under $1,000, and expressly excludes filling and grading from that exemption. S. 317 applies. 317 prohibits encroachments, including fill and new construction, within a designated floodway unless a hydrologic and hydraulic analysis shows no increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge, and any encroachment that would raise the base flood elevation can be approved only with prior FEMA sign-off. 309.
Violations & Fines
Building or developing in a mapped special flood hazard area without the § 197.310 development permit, or encroaching on a designated floodway without the required engineering analysis, is a building code violation reviewed by the Superintendent of Building Inspection. Chapter 197 sets no flood-specific fine, so the citywide default in § 10.99 applies: up to $150 per offense where no other penalty is fixed, with each day of noncompliance treated as a separate offense. Contested boundary or interpretation disputes are appealable under § 190.302.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a city permit to build in an Akron flood zone?
Is any work exempt from Akron's flood development permit?
Can I build in a designated floodway in Akron?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Akron
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