Alameda, CA Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Chapter XX of the Alameda Municipal Code, readopted May 21, 2024 by Ordinance No. , governs floodplain management citywide alongside the California Building Standards Code (Sec. 1). It applies to any proposed development entirely or partially inside a flood hazard area established under Sec. 2, which adopts the Flood Insurance Study for Alameda County dated August 1, 1978 and the accompanying Flood Insurance Rate Maps, both as later amended. Before starting work, an applicant must file a written application describing the development, the site, its intended use, and a site plan with grading and construction documents, then obtain a floodplain development permit from the Floodplain Administrator, a role assigned to the Public Works Director (Secs.

2). A permit becomes invalid if the work is not started within one hundred eighty days of issuance or is suspended for one hundred eighty days once begun, though the Administrator can grant extensions of up to one hundred eighty days at a time unless FEMA has since revised the flood maps (Sec. 5). The Administrator can suspend or revoke a permit issued in error or based on inaccurate information (Sec. 6). Anyone who disputes a decision has fourteen days to file a written appeal with the City Clerk, who must set a City Council hearing within five days, and the Council's ruling on the appeal is final (Sec. 7). No building permit in a flood hazard area may be issued based on a FEMA Conditional Letter of Map Revision (Sec. 1).