Tempe, AZ Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

§ 48-3609 and § 48-3610, general code Chapter 12, Article II. Section 12-16 declares that Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) in Tempe are subject to periodic inundation and states the article's purpose is to protect life, minimize public flood-control expenditures, and keep the City eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program. Section 12-20 adopts by reference FEMA's Flood Insurance Study for Maricopa County dated July 19, 2001 (revised February 8, 2024) and the FIRM panels dated September 18, 2020, both on file at City Hall, 31 E.

Fifth Street. Under § 12-27, a floodplain permit is required before construction, filling, grading, or manufactured-home placement begins anywhere in an SFHA; the application must show the proposed lowest-floor elevation relative to mean sea level, floodproofing certification from a registered engineer or architect for non-residential structures, and base flood elevation data for any subdivision over fifty lots or five acres. Section 12-19 bars Community Development from issuing a building permit or certificate of occupancy in an SFHA until the Floodplain Administrator, who under § 12-18 is the City Engineer, confirms the plans and finished construction conform to the article.

The Floodplain Board, meaning the City Council sitting in its enforcement capacity, hears appeals of the Administrator's interpretations and hardship variance requests, which § 12-18's hardship definition says cannot rest on mere economic inconvenience or a neighbor's disapproval. S. Title 48, Chapter 21.