Rutherford County, TN Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Rutherford County adopted its floodplain rules under Chapter 10 of the Zoning Ordinance to keep the county eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program under Tennessee Code Annotated Sections 13-7-101 through 13-7-115. B (dated May 9, 2023, superseding the 2007 panel set). Before that permit issues, an applicant applies for a certificate of zoning compliance through the Rutherford County Regional Planning and Engineering Department, submitting a site plan at a scale of not less than 100 feet to the inch showing existing and proposed elevations, drainage facilities, and, where the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) is not already established, a letter from a Tennessee-licensed surveyor determining it.

A. Section 1002 sets the elevation standard through its definition of "Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation": where a BFE has been determined, the required elevation is the BFE plus one foot of freeboard for non-livable space and three feet of freeboard for livable space; where no BFE has been established, the lowest floor must sit at least three feet above the highest adjacent grade. B requires an as-built certification of the lowest floor elevation, prepared by a Tennessee-registered surveyor (or, for flood-proofed non-residential buildings, a Tennessee-registered engineer or architect), before work can proceed past the lowest-floor stage; unsubmitted or deficient certifications trigger a stop-work order. Any work done before that certification is filed is undertaken at the permit holder's own risk.