Porterville, CA Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Section 7-140.2 adopts by reference the Flood Insurance Study and accompanying Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps for the Flood Insurance Rate Map For Tulare County And The Incorporated Areas, dated June 16, 2009, along with all later amendments, as the minimum area where the floodplain article applies; the study and maps are kept on file at City Hall, 291 N. Main Street, with the Public Works Department. Section 7-140.3 then makes compliance mandatory: no structure or land may be constructed, located, extended, converted or altered without full compliance with the article, and any violation, including violation of imposed conditions or safeguards, is a misdemeanor.

The Public Works Director serves as the City's Floodplain Administrator under Section 7-141.1, responsible for granting or denying every development permit in the mapped special flood hazard area, reviewing whether permit requirements are satisfied, confirming other state and federal permits are in hand, and making sure a project will not raise the base flood's water surface elevation by more than one foot anywhere in the city. Sections 7-140.4 and 7-140.5 treat the article's standards as a floor, not a ceiling: a stricter easement, covenant or deed restriction still controls, and every provision is read as a minimum requirement construed in the City's favor. The article traces to Ordinance 1777, adopted May 3, 2011.