Alamance County, NC Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

1 of the Unified Development Ordinance applies the county's flood damage prevention rules to every Special Flood Hazard Area within Alamance County's jurisdiction, including the Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction it shares with the Village of Alamance. Those areas are the ones mapped under FEMA's Flood Insurance Study and Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map panels, adopted by reference into the ordinance; later Letters of Map Revision or Physical Map Revisions must be adopted within three months. 4 requires anyone proposing development in a mapped Special Flood Hazard Area to apply to the Planning Director, who serves as Floodplain Administrator, for a Floodplain Development Permit before any work starts.

The application must include a certified plot plan showing the nature, location, dimensions, and elevations of the proposed development; the Special Flood Hazard Area boundary; the flood zone designation; the floodway or non-encroachment area boundary; the Base Flood Elevation where one has been set; and any relocation of a watercourse. Applicants must also submit proposed elevation data, tied to NAVD 1988, for the reference level of every structure and, where floodproofing is used for a non-residential building, a FEMA Floodproofing Certificate (Form 086-0-34) with an operational and maintenance plan.

Once a permit issues, the Floodplain Administrator can make onsite inspections as work progresses, issue a stop-work order if construction violates the ordinance or the permit's terms, and revoke the permit for a substantial departure from the approved plans or for false statements made to obtain it. The Administrator also advises owners whose lowest floor sits above the BFE that they may apply to FEMA for a Letter of Map Amendment.