Lodi, CA Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

60, adopted by Ordinance No. 1979 in October 2020 under the city's Government Code Section 65302 police power, governs all areas of special flood hazard identified in the FEMA Flood Insurance Study for San Joaquin County dated October 16, 2009, along with the accompanying FIRM and FBFM maps kept on file at the Public Works Department, 221 West Pine Street. The public works director serves as floodplain administrator and reviews every development permit application to confirm the site is reasonably safe from flooding, that federal and state permits are in hand, and that the project will not raise the base flood water surface elevation more than one foot anywhere in the city.

Applicants must submit duplicate scaled plans showing existing and proposed grading, drainage, the location of the regulatory floodway, and the proposed elevation of the lowest floor. Lodi layers an additional restriction on top of the federal program: development inside the city's mapped 200-year floodplain, identified from the 2018 Mokelumne River Hydraulic Analyses by Kjeldsen Sinnock Nuedeck, is barred unless the floodplain administrator makes one of four specific findings, such as an urban level of flood protection already existing or under construction. Site improvements that do not create new habitable structures, interior remodels, and additions to existing homes are exempted from that overlay. Variances from the chapter are rare and go through the city council on appeal.