{"id":1488,"date":"2017-09-14T15:53:54","date_gmt":"2017-09-14T15:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/?p=1488"},"modified":"2024-10-08T12:58:55","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T12:58:55","slug":"building-a-new-house-can-you-build-in-a-flood-plain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/building-a-new-house-can-you-build-in-a-flood-plain\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a New House \u2013 Can you build in a flood plain?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can you build in a flood plain? I am guessing you can, or there would be no houses in Florida.<\/p>\n

I started doing the research. How flood plain are we? It looks from the survey as if we are only at the edge of the flood plain. We saw the land in the worst flood we\u2019ve had around here in I don\u2019t know how long and it didn\u2019t flood, really. There are houses lower than ours will be. The cabin we live in now is surrounded by flood plain, but it is on a higher spot, so it is written out of the flood plain on the LOMA map. So, if we raise the land, we won\u2019t be in flood plain any more.<\/p>\n

\"Land<\/a>
Land Survey – All those stripes are flood zone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here is the survey.<\/p>\n

The county website says; \u201cPortions of this property are in a flood zone. Please contact the Flood Damage Prevention Local Program. Zone AE 1% (100 Year Floodplain); Zone X Not Shaded (Areas outside of the floodplain)\u201d<\/p>\n

So, what does Zone AE mean?<\/h2>\n

Zone AE means our land has a 1% probability of flooding every year. That means we are considered at high risk of flooding under the National Flood Insurance Program. We would have to buy flood insurance. We might run into trouble getting a permit. We would have to find out what our local floodplain zoning ordinance requirements are. And we would have to find out what it will take to bring the house up above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) on the maps.<\/p>\n

We can get the map changed. If you can prove that your house is above the Base Flood Elevation, you can get the maps changed. There are two ways to do it.<\/p>\n

If the land is above flood level already, but the map doesn\u2019t show it, you can get a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA). You just present documentation to prove it and apply to FEMA. That\u2019s not going to work. We really are below flood level.<\/p>\n

But you can get a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) and Letter of Map Revision based on Fill (LOMR-F). There are forms on FEMA’s website.<\/p>\n