FEMA flood zone rules in St. Joseph County, IN — also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules — determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
Indiana's Flood Control Act, IC 14-28-1-22, requires a permit from the IDNR before erecting a structure or placing fill in a floodway. The St. Joseph River floodway runs straight through South Bend and Mishawaka.
The St. Joseph River and its tributaries carry mapped floodways across St. Joseph County, and the Kankakee marshlands to the southwest flood readily as well. Under the Flood Control Act, anyone who wants to build a structure, place fill, deposit material, or excavate in a floodway must first obtain a construction-in-a-floodway permit from the IDNR Division of Water. The state reviews whether the work would obstruct flood flows or raise flood elevations upstream. On top of the state permit, South Bend, Mishawaka, and unincorporated St. Joseph County each enforce an NFIP floodplain ordinance that ties building elevation to the base flood elevation on the FEMA maps.
Erecting a structure or depositing fill in the St. Joseph River floodway without an IDNR permit violates the Flood Control Act, bringing stop-work orders, civil penalties, and orders to remove the obstruction and restore flood capacity.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
St. Joseph County, IN
St. Joseph County does not regulate holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays on homes. No county or municipal ordinance limits seasonal decorations; onl...
St. Joseph County, IN
Garage-sale signs are temporary signs in St. Joseph County, up to 24 square feet per frontage and two per lot in residential districts under Zoning Ordinance...
St. Joseph County, IN
St. Joseph County allows political yard signs as temporary signs. Zoning Ordinance §154.373 exempts signs up to 2 square feet from permits; a larger temporar...
St. Joseph County, IN
South Bend requires every non-occupant landlord to register rentals annually by September 1. Indiana Code 36-1-20-5 caps the fee at five dollars. Unincorpora...
St. Joseph County, IN
Indiana has no just-cause eviction. In St. Joseph County a landlord may end a tenancy without giving a reason. For unpaid rent, IC 32-31-1-6 requires at leas...
St. Joseph County, IN
Rent control is illegal in St. Joseph County. Indiana Code 32-31-1-20 bars any unit, including South Bend, Mishawaka, and the county, from regulating rental ...
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