Irving, TX Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Chapter 47 of the Code of Civil and Criminal Ordinances, first adopted as an emergency measure in 1977 and reenacted in 1980, governs every area of special flood hazard within Irving's jurisdiction, meaning any land the Federal Insurance Administration's Flood Insurance Rate Map shows facing a one percent or greater chance of flooding in a given year. Section 47-4 requires a development permit before any building permit can be issued on property within that boundary, covering buildings, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, and drilling.

The city's flood hazard areas are based on the 'Flood Insurance Study, Dallas County, Texas and Incorporated Areas' dated August 23, 2001, and its accompanying FIRM maps, adopted by reference under Section 47-3. The Director of Public Works reviews and either approves or denies development permit applications, weighing factors listed in Section 47-11(2) such as danger to life and property, the compatibility of the proposed use with existing development, and the availability of alternative, non-flood-prone locations. Applicants must submit plans showing the elevation of the lowest floor of proposed structures and, for nonresidential buildings that will be floodproofed instead of elevated, an engineer's certification of the floodproofing design.

S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Texas Department of Water Resources before the city will issue the permit. The Building Code Board of Adjustments and Appeals hears variance requests and appeals of the director's interpretation, but it cannot grant a variance for new construction below the required base flood elevation standard.