FEMA flood zone rules in West Sacramento, CA — also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules — determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
Yolo County participates in the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and enforces a floodplain management ordinance for development in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) along the Sacramento River, Yolo Bypass, Cache Creek, Putah Creek, and the Colusa Basin Drain (Knights Landing, Dunnigan, Clarksburg). The county's levees were decertified under FEMA mapping in the late 2000s, putting tens of thousands of Yolo residents into the SFHA and triggering mandatory flood insurance for federally backed mortgages.
Yolo County sits squarely in the Sacramento River floodplain, and substantial portions of the county are inside FEMA-mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas (the 1% annual-chance / 100-year floodplain). The major flood corridors are: the Sacramento River and the Yolo Bypass on the eastern edge (with Clarksburg, the Pocket, and the West Sacramento corridor most affected); Cache Creek through the central county; Putah Creek along the southern boundary (affecting Winters); and the Colusa Basin Drain in the northern county (Knights Landing, Dunnigan). The county adopted a Floodplain Management Ordinance to qualify for NFIP participation, with development standards including a floodplain development permit, an elevation certificate, and a requirement that the lowest floor of new and substantially improved structures be at or above the Base Flood Elevation. Yolo County Building Inspection Services administers the program. When FEMA remapped Yolo County floodplains in the late 2000s, none of the county's levees met the new certification standards, which placed tens of thousands of residents (including in Clarksburg, much of West Sacramento, and adjacent areas) into the SFHA and triggered the federal flood insurance purchase requirement for federally backed mortgages. The Yolo County Flood Governance Study and the West Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency have been working since to recertify and upgrade levees. Tribal, state (DWR), and federal (USACE, FEMA) coordination is the rule rather than the exception in Yolo County floodplain projects.
Development in an SFHA without a floodplain development permit, building below required elevations, or substantially improving a structure without compliance can trigger stop-work orders, mandatory elevation, denial of Certificates of Occupancy, and - critically - the loss of the county's standing in NFIP, which can suspend the federal flood insurance program countywide. Owners who proceed without a permit may also be forced to remove or elevate the structure at their own cost.
Yolo County, CA
Barking and animal-noise complaints in Yolo County are handled by Yolo County Animal Services (operated through the Yolo County Sheriff's Office), which serv...
Yolo County, CA
Yolo County regulates construction by decibel level rather than a strict time-of-day ban. Under the Zoning Code noise standard, construction noise may not ex...
Yolo County, CA
Yolo County does not impose a single countywide curfew on all noise. Instead, the Yolo County Zoning Code uses a noise standard (Sec. 10-8.416, formerly Sec....
Yolo County, CA
Yolo County enforces abandoned-vehicle rules through California Vehicle Code Sections 22523 (prohibition on abandoning), 22651 (impound authority), and 22658...
Yolo County, CA
Yolo County regulates the parking and storage of recreational vehicles, boats, and trailers on residential property under the Zoning Code, principally Sec. 8...
Yolo County, CA
Yolo County is in the heart of California's almond, sunflower, and seed-crop belt and is a major beekeeping county. State law (California Food & Agricultural...
See how West Sacramento's flood zones rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.