West Des Moines, IA Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

City Code chapter 8-8, Floodplain Management, adopted the Flood Insurance Rate Maps for Polk County and West Des Moines (panels including 19153C0295F through 0476F, dated February 1, 2019) as the Official Floodplain Zoning Map and divided the mapped area into three overlay districts under section 8-8-4: the Floodway (FW), Floodway Fringe (FF), and General Floodplain (FP) districts. Under section 8-8-8, the Building Official, acting as Administrator, must review every floodplain development permit application, confirm any required state or federal approvals (including from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources), record the elevation of the lowest floor of new or substantially improved structures in relation to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988, and inspect sites for compliance.

An application must describe the work, the land, the intended use, the base flood elevation, the lowest-floor or floodproofed elevation, and, for improved or rebuilt buildings, the estimated cost of the work against the building's pre-improvement market value. Uses within the mapped districts that are not permitted or permitted conditionally are prohibited unless the Board of Adjustment grants a variance. Amendments to the chapter cannot be undertaken without prior approval from the Iowa DNR (section 8-8-11). Section 8-8-10 makes any violation, including breach of a conditional use or variance safeguard, a municipal infraction under title 1, chapter 4 of the City Code, subjecting the violator to the maximum civil penalty allowed by that title and state law, with each day of continuing violation treated as its own offense.