Gulfport, MS Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Appendix B, Article 1, Sec. A grounds the whole ordinance in Title 17, Chapter 1 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, under which the legislature delegated floodplain management authority to local governments; the Mayor and City Council adopted Gulfport's regulations on that basis. Article 1, Sec. B recites the city's findings of fact that periodic inundation causes loss of life and property, disrupts commerce, and requires public expenditures for flood protection and relief, which is why the ordinance restricts uses vulnerable to floods and controls filling, grading, and dredging in flood-prone areas.

The operative permit requirement sits in Article 3, Sec. 00. Starting development in a mapped flood hazard area before that permit issues is itself a violation of the ordinance, separate from any building-code violation for the construction itself. Article 4 puts a floodplain administrator in charge of permit procedures and gives that official the power to review applications against FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Maps and require supporting elevation or engineering certifications before signing off. The ordinance was rewritten in full by Ordinance No. 2929 on December 19, 2017, at the request of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, replacing a version that dated to a 2006 adoption tied to FEMA's original advisory flood hazard data for the Gulf Coast.