Bartholomew County, IN Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)
FEMA flood zone rules in Bartholomew County, IN, also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules, determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
Key Facts
- Reviewing body
- Bartholomew County Plan Commission
- Governing section
- § 156.091(E), flood hazards
- Plat requirement
- Flood Certificate, § 156.152(E)
- Lot standard
- Buildable land required outside floodway
- Effect
- All-floodway lots barred from subdivision
- Substantive floodplain rules
- Set in Zoning Ordinance, not here
Summary
In unincorporated Bartholomew County, the Plan Commission won't approve a subdivision unless each lot has enough land outside the floodway to fit its permitted use and any required septic system. Lots made up entirely of flood hazard land generally can't be subdivided at all, and any plat covering mapped floodplain must carry a Flood Certificate tied to the Columbus-Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance's floodplain construction rules.
(E) Flood hazards. Each lot will contain enough land which is not located in a floodway, as defined by the Zoning Ordinance, to accommodate the permitted use(s) of the property and, if required, an individual subsurface disposal system. In general, lots consisting entirely of land located in a flood hazard area shall not be approved for subdivision, unless there is no property included in the parent tract which is located outside the flood hazard area which can reasonably be subdivided to provide a building site.
Full Breakdown
091 sets the minimum land-suitability criteria the Plan Commission applies before approving any subdivision, and division (E) addresses flood hazards directly: each lot must contain enough land outside a floodway, as the Zoning Ordinance defines it, to accommodate the property's permitted use and, where needed, an individual septic system. As a general rule, a lot consisting entirely of land in a flood hazard area cannot be approved for subdivision, unless no part of the parent tract outside the flood hazard area can reasonably be split off as a buildable lot.
152(E) requires the owner's certificate to carry a Flood Certificate identifying the National Flood Insurance Rate Map number and date, and stating that all construction, fill, grading or alteration within the mapped floodplain must follow the Columbus-Bartholomew County, Indiana Zoning Ordinance as periodically amended. The certificate also has to state that if the adopted floodplain map changes after the plat is recorded, the updated mapping controls and the plat's original floodplain information is disregarded. Both provisions route the substantive flood-hazard building standards to the county's separate Zoning Ordinance rather than setting numeric elevation or fill limits directly in the Subdivision Control Ordinance itself.
Violations & Fines
Section 156.091(E) doesn't set a separate fine; its remedy is denial of subdivision approval for any lot that is entirely flood hazard land, or that leaves no buildable area outside the floodway. A plat that omits the required Flood Certificate under § 156.152(E) where the property lies in a mapped floodplain risks rejection by the Plan Commission or later challenge over its accuracy once the floodplain map is amended.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I subdivide a lot that's entirely in the floodplain?
What is a Flood Certificate on a subdivision plat?
Does the county set flood construction standards itself?
What happens if the flood map changes after my plat is recorded?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bartholomew County
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