Wellington, FL Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Sec. 5-5 (Scope) reaches every development wholly or partially inside a flood hazard area: subdividing land, filling and grading, site improvements and utility work, construction or demolition of buildings and facilities exempt from the Florida Building Code, placing or replacing manufactured homes and tanks, siting recreational vehicles, and installing swimming pools. Sec. 5-25 (Permits required) makes any owner or authorized agent undertaking that kind of development first apply to the floodplain administrator, and to the Building Official where applicable, and obtain the required permit or approval before compliance with the article and all other applicable codes is confirmed; no permit issues until that review is complete.

The Building Official serves as Wellington's floodplain administrator (Sec. 5-17) and is responsible for reviewing applications, interpreting flood hazard area boundaries, coordinating substantial-improvement and substantial-damage determinations, and issuing floodplain development permits for structures and facilities that the Florida Building Code exempts (Sec. 5-19, 5-26, 5-27). Flood hazard areas are established from the Flood Insurance Study for Palm Beach County and its Flood Insurance Rate Maps dated October 5, 2017, and all later amendments, which the floodplain administrator keeps on file at the Wellington Planning, Zoning and Building Department at 12300 Forest Hill Boulevard (Sec.

5-12). This article supersedes any prior Wellington ordinance managing development in flood hazard areas, and where it conflicts with another Village ordinance the more restrictive rule controls (Sec. 5-15).