Long Beach, CA Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)
FEMA flood zone rules in Long Beach, CA, also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules, determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
Key Facts
- Flood map source
- 1998 FEMA Flood Insurance Study, as amended
- Base freeboard
- BFE + 12 inches + 6 inches sea-level rise
- High-occupancy buildings
- BFE + 24 inches for flood design class 3-4
- Design standard
- ASCE 7 Chapter 5 and ASCE 24
- Coastal zones covered
- Coastal high hazard areas and coastal A zones
- Elevation verification
- Documented at framing and final inspection
Summary
Long Beach Municipal Code § 18.40.280 amends California Building Code § 1612.3 to adopt the City's own flood hazard map, based on FEMA's 1998 Flood Insurance Study and current Flood Insurance Rate Maps, and § 18.40.275 requires new construction in flood hazard areas to be elevated above the base flood elevation plus up to two feet of added freeboard for sea-level rise.
1612.3 Establishment of flood hazard areas. To establish flood hazard areas, the City shall adopt a flood hazard map and supporting data. The flood hazard map shall include, at a minimum, areas of special flood hazard as identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in an engineering report entitled "The Flood Insurance Study for the City of Long Beach" dated July 6, 1998, as amended or revised with the accompanying Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Boundary and Floodway Map (FBFM) and related supporting data along with any revisions thereto. The adopted flood hazard map and supporting data are hereby adopted by reference and declared to be part of this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 52 Update 1 | City Charter: Supplement 5).
Full Breakdown
' Higher-occupancy buildings (flood design class 3 or 4) get a steeper margin: BFE plus twenty-four inches of freeboard plus the same six inches for sea-level rise. 15, or, for dry-floodproofed nonresidential buildings, the elevation to which the building was floodproofed.
Violations & Fines
Because these sections amend the Building Code, noncompliant construction is enforced the same way any Building Code violation is: the Building Official can withhold or condition permits, order corrections at inspection under §§ 18.07.050.A.4 and .A.15, or invoke the general penalty of § 1.32.010, up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, or an infraction, with each day of a continuing violation charged separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
What flood map does Long Beach use to regulate construction?
How much extra elevation does Long Beach require above the base flood elevation?
Does Long Beach's flood elevation rule apply in the coastal zone?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Long Beach
California rules heatmap·Compare Long Beach to another location·View the California environmental rules overview
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Flood Zones in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle flood zones.