Miramar, FL Hurricane Preparedness: Flood Elevation (2026)

Land Development Code Chapter 6, Flood Damage Protection, sets Miramar's hurricane-season flood elevation standards. Section 610.4 requires that buildings within the scope of the Florida Building Code sit at the base flood elevation plus 2 feet, or the design flood elevation, whichever is higher, applying the same standard to one- and two-family dwellings, townhouses, and nonresidential structures. Outside mapped flood hazard areas, floors must still sit at or above the base flood elevation plus 2 feet, the 500-year flood elevation, or 18 inches above the crown of road for nonresidential buildings (6 inches for dwellings), whichever is higher (§ 610.4).

Manufactured homes placed, replaced, or substantially improved must have the bottom of the frame at or above the base flood elevation plus 2 feet, and their utility equipment must be elevated to the same height (§§ 613.4, 613.6). Accessory structures may sit below the required elevation only if they are one story, no larger than 600 square feet, anchored against flotation, fitted with flood openings under FBC Residential § R322.2, and built of flood damage-resistant materials up to one foot above base flood elevation (§ 610.5).

Anyone undertaking development in a flood hazard area must first obtain a floodplain development permit or approval from the floodplain administrator, the city's building, planning and zoning director (§§ 603.1, 604.1), filing plans that state the proposed lowest floor elevation relative to the FIRM datum (§ 604.4). The Flood Insurance Study for Broward County dated July 31, 2024, and the accompanying FIRMs establish the flood hazard areas the chapter regulates (§ 602.3). Variances go to the City Commission, which must find the request is the minimum necessary and warn the applicant in writing that reduced elevation raises flood-insurance costs as high as $25 per $100 of coverage (§§ 607.1, 607.8).