Manatee County, FL Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Sec. 2-10-21, adopted by Ordinance No. 13-39 and last amended by Ordinance No. 21-20 in April 2021, titles itself the 'Floodplain Management Ordinance of Unincorporated Manatee County' and reaches nearly every kind of activity in a flood hazard area: subdivision of land, filling and grading, construction or demolition of buildings exempt from the Florida Building Code, placement of manufactured homes, tanks, recreational vehicles and swimming pools. Before starting any of that work, Sec. 2-10-21(c)(1) requires the owner or an authorized agent to apply to the floodplain administrator, who under Sec.

2-10-21(b)(1) is the county building official, and obtain the required permits before compliance is satisfied. Flood hazard areas are established under Sec. 2-10-23(a)(3) by the 'Flood Insurance Study for Manatee County, Florida, and Incorporated Areas' dated August 10, 2021, and the accompanying FEMA flood insurance rate maps, both on file at the building and development services department at 1112 Manatee Avenue West in Bradenton. For a floodway encroachment, Sec. 2-10-21(d)(3) requires a Florida-licensed engineer's analysis showing the project will not raise base flood elevations, and buildings within fifty feet of a floodway must show no adverse impact or meet a substantiated engineering exception.

Applications for elevated buildings must include a recorded agreement limiting what can go below the design flood elevation, generally parking, limited storage and building access only, per Sec. 2-10-21(c)(1)A. A floodplain permit becomes invalid if work is not started within 180 days or is suspended for 180 days, though the administrator can grant extensions for justified cause. Variances from the article go to a hearing officer under Sec. 2-10-21(f), and any development performed without a required permit or in conflict with one is a violation under Sec. 2-10-21(g), triggering a notice of violation or stop-work order.