FEMA flood zone rules in Tualatin, OR — also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules — determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
Portions of Tualatin sit in the Tualatin River 100-year floodplain. Development inside a mapped flood hazard area is regulated under Chapter 70 (Floodplain District, FP) of the Tualatin Development Code (TDC). Any project within the 100-year floodplain requires a Flood Hazard Area Development (FHAD) permit, may require an elevation certificate, no-rise certification, or floodproofing certification, and must be reviewed by the City's Floodplain Manager.
Tualatin participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and applies FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) to identify Special Flood Hazard Areas along the Tualatin River and its tributaries. The Tualatin Engineering Division states that 'If your property or project area is located in the floodplain, regulations and restrictions may apply, even if modifications are only interior to the building.' The substantive zoning rules are codified in Tualatin Development Code Chapter 70 (Floodplain District, FP), which establishes development standards inside the mapped 100-year floodplain. A Flood Hazard Area Development (FHAD) Permit, applied for through Tualatin's eTRAKiT online permit system, is required whenever a project is determined to be in the floodplain. Documentation may include FEMA Elevation Certificates for the structure and site, a No-Rise Certification demonstrating the project does not increase the base flood elevation, and a Floodproofing Certification for non-residential structures. All required certifications must be prepared by a licensed Oregon professional surveyor or engineer. The Tualatin River reaches official flood stage at 118 feet; during the 1996 floods it crested at 125.2 feet. The City's Floodplain Manager (Mike McCarthy, mmccarthy@tualatin.gov) administers the program, and engineering staff (Tony Doran) can confirm a property's floodplain status.
Building, filling, grading, or substantially improving a structure inside the mapped 100-year floodplain without a FHAD permit violates Tualatin Development Code Chapter 70 and city permit ordinances. Enforcement actions can include stop-work orders, civil penalties, mandatory removal of unpermitted improvements, and loss of National Flood Insurance Program eligibility for the property. Insurance carriers may also deny or rescind flood-insurance coverage if non-compliant work is discovered.
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