Kenner, LA Hurricane Preparedness: Flood Elevation (2026)

Sec. 5-182 sets the elevation standards that apply in both the special flood hazard areas, zones AE and VE, and the local flood hazard zones X, X-Protected by Levee, and 0.2% Annual Chance, for all new construction and substantial damage or improvement. A registered professional engineer, architect, or land surveyor must certify to the Department of Inspection and Code Enforcement that a project meets the standard. Beyond the general anchoring and flood-resistant-materials rules that apply chapterwide, Sec. 5-182 raises the bar for building systems specifically: electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, and air conditioning equipment and other service facilities must be designed or located so water cannot enter or accumulate in them during flooding, and must sit at least two feet above the base flood elevation. Any new horizontal addition must have its lowest floor and all HVAC equipment at that same two-foot freeboard above the base flood elevation.

The floodplain administrator, working with the Department of Inspection and Code Enforcement, reviews and certifies compliance under Sec. 5-171, and can require additional base flood elevation data when FEMA has not supplied it for a site. Because Kenner sits low relative to Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River levee system, this two-foot equipment and addition freeboard is meant to keep home systems functioning through the storm surge flooding a hurricane can push into the city.