FEMA flood zone rules in Mount Pleasant, WI — also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules — determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
Division 90-490 of the Mount Pleasant Code of Ordinances is the 'Floodplain Zoning Ordinance for the Village of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin,' adopted by Ordinance No. 19-2020 effective June 8, 2020 and amended July 24, 2023 and September 25, 2023. The ordinance is adopted under Wis. Stat. Sec. 61.35, Sec. 62.23, and Sec. 87.30 (statutory floodplain zoning) and is designed to meet Wis. Admin. Code Ch. NR 116 and 44 CFR Parts 59-72. Division 90-490 regulates all areas of special flood hazard identified as Zones A, AO, AH, A1-30, AE, VE, V1-30, or V on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map for Racine County. The ordinance establishes the Floodway District (FW), the Floodfringe District (FF) within AE Zones, and the Coastal Floodplain District (CFD) within V, V1-30, and VE Zones along Lake Michigan, with separate provisions in Article VIII for nonconforming uses. The Pike River and Sorensen Creek are principal regulated waterways; the Lower Pike River is also subject to a 150-foot shoreland setback under Division 90-495.
Division 90-490 (Flood Protection) was adopted by Ordinance No. 19-2020 on June 8, 2020 and amended by ordinances on July 24, 2023 and September 25, 2023. Statutory authority is Wis. Stat. Sec. 61.35 and Sec. 62.23 (village zoning) and Sec. 87.30 (state floodplain zoning), and the ordinance is designed to comply with Wis. Admin. Code Ch. NR 116 and 44 CFR Parts 59-72 of the National Flood Insurance Program. Sec. 90-490.50(a) divides the Special Flood Hazard Area into the Floodway District (FW) - the channel of a river or stream and those portions of the floodplain required to carry the regional floodwaters, within AE Zones on the FIRM (or A Zones when floodway limits are determined under Sec. 90-490.50(a)(5)) - the Floodfringe District (FF), the riverine special flood hazard area outside the floodway within AE Zones (or A Zones with determined floodway limits), and the Coastal Floodplain District (CFD) shown on the Floodplain Zoning Maps within V, V1-30, and VE Zones along Lake Michigan. Within the Floodway, structures and uses that obstruct flood flows or increase regional flood elevation are prohibited. In Zone AO, new construction and substantial improvements must have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated to or above the depth shown on the FIRM above the highest adjacent natural grade plus one foot of freeboard, or, if no depth is specified, three feet above the highest adjacent natural grade. In Zone AH, the lowest floor (including basement) must be elevated to or above the flood protection elevation. The General Floodplain provisions in Article VIII require that no lot served by public sanitary sewer have less than 50% of its required lot area, or 4,200 square feet (whichever is greater), above the one-percent-annual-probability (100-year recurrence interval) flood elevation. Sec. 90-1209 governs floodfringe nonconforming areas: modifications or additions must be placed on fill or floodproofed to the flood protection elevation. The companion shoreland ordinance, Division 90-495, requires all principal buildings to be set back at least 150 feet from the top of bank of Hood's Creek, the Lower Pike River, Lower Sorensen Creek, or Des Plaines, and at least 75 feet from the top of bank of all other shoreland-protected waters, with vegetated buffer requirements. Floodplain permits are administered by the Planning Office (262-664-7829) and the Zoning/Code Enforcement Officer (262-664-7810). The applicable FEMA mapping is the effective Racine County FIRM and Flood Insurance Study; current panels and effective dates should be confirmed at the FEMA Map Service Center because the ordinance incorporates the FIRM by reference.
Building, occupying, or modifying a structure in a regulated floodplain district without a floodplain zoning permit, or in violation of the Floodway, Floodfringe, or Coastal Floodplain standards in Division 90-490, is a Chapter 90 violation enforceable under the Code's general penalty provisions. Failure to elevate the lowest floor to the flood protection elevation in Zone AH, or to the FIRM depth plus one foot of freeboard (or 3 feet above grade where no depth is specified) in Zone AO, exposes the structure to abatement, removal, and forfeitures. Wis. Stat. Sec. 87.30(2) requires local enforcement, and noncompliance can lead to suspension from the National Flood Insurance Program under 44 CFR Part 59. The Pike River shoreland setback in Division 90-495 is independently enforceable.
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