Port Orange, FL Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Chapter 8, Article III, Section 8, the city's Floodplain Management Ordinance, applies to all development wholly or partially within a flood hazard area, including subdivision of land, filling, grading, utility work, construction or alteration of buildings and structures exempt from the Florida Building Code, manufactured home placement, tank installation, recreational vehicle placement and swimming pool installation. Section 8(d)(1) requires any owner or authorized agent undertaking such development to first apply to the floodplain administrator, who under Section 8(c)(1) is the same administrative official who runs the rest of the Land Development Code, and to obtain the required permits and approvals before any compliance determination is made.

Floodplain development permits are issued specifically for activities not already covered by a Florida Building Code building permit; where a project includes a building, the floodplain administrator can require the floodplain permit in addition to, not instead of, the standard building permit. The flood hazard areas themselves are established by the Flood Insurance Study for Volusia County dated February 19, 2014, and the accompanying FEMA flood insurance rate maps, which are adopted by reference and kept on file at the Community Development Department at 1000 City Center Circle.

The floodplain administrator reviews every application to confirm the proposed development will be reasonably safe from flooding, coordinates substantial-improvement and substantial-damage determinations with the building official, and can require the applicant to submit engineering analyses, such as a floodway encroachment analysis, before signing off. A permit or approval issued in error, or based on incorrect or incomplete information, can be suspended or revoked under Section 8(d)(7).