Farmington Hills, MI Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)
FEMA flood zone rules in Farmington Hills, MI, also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules, determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
Key Facts
- Source maps
- 2006 FEMA Flood Insurance Study, Oakland County
- Adopted into
- Michigan Building Code § 1612.3
- FIRM panels
- 13 panels listed, e.g. 26125C489F
- Enforcing agency
- Building official, city engineer, inspectors, board of appeals
- Chapter 13 status
- Flood Damage Prevention chapter repealed in full
Summary
Farmington Hills regulates floodprone land by adopting FEMA's 2006 Oakland County Flood Insurance Study and its Flood Insurance Rate Maps directly into the Michigan Building Code it enforces. Development within a mapped special flood hazard area must meet the construction-code flood provisions the city administers.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Study (FIS) entitled "Flood Insurance Study, Oakland County, Michigan, and Incorporated Areas" and dated September 29, 2006, the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMS) panel numbers of 26125C489F, 26125C0493F, 26125C0494F, 26125C0513F, 26125C0514F, 26125C0631F, 26125C0632F, 26125C0633F, 26125C0634F, 26125C0651F, 26125C0652F, 26125C0653F, 26125C0654F, and dated September 29, 2006, are adopted by reference and declared to be part of Section 1612.3 of the Michigan Building Code.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 36).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 7-30, in Chapter 7's Article II on State Construction Codes, designates the city's regulated floodprone hazard areas by adopting by reference the FEMA Flood Insurance Study for Oakland County dated September 29, 2006, along with thirteen named Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) panels covering the city, including 26125C489F and 26125C0493F. 3 of the Michigan Building Code, the state code provision on flood loads, so a parcel mapped in one of those FIRM panels is subject to the Building Code's flood-resistant construction requirements as enforced locally.
Under Sec. 7-26, the city council, planning commission, city engineer, city building official, building board of appeals, and designated inspectors are the enforcing agency for the State Construction Codes citywide, including this floodplain designation. The city added a standard disclaimer in Sec. 7-31: the required degree of flood protection is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes, larger floods can still occur, and neither the city, its officers or employees, nor the Federal Insurance Administration is liable for flood damages resulting from reliance on the chapter or on decisions made under it.
Notably, the city's freestanding Chapter 13, Flood Damage Prevention, has been repealed in full, so Sec. 7-30's adoption of the FEMA maps into the Building Code is the operative local floodplain designation rather than a standalone flood-damage-prevention ordinance.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 7-30 does not carry its own penalty clause; building within a designated floodprone hazard area without complying with the Michigan Building Code's Section 1612.3 flood provisions is enforced as a State Construction Code violation, handled through the same building-permit and inspection process, and the building board of appeals, that the city and its designated inspectors use to administer construction codes citywide under Sec. 7-26.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Farmington Hills have its own floodplain ordinance separate from state code?
How does Farmington Hills decide which parcels are in a flood hazard area?
Who enforces flood-area building requirements in Farmington Hills?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Farmington Hills
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