I’ve touched on this before but thought that with all the tear downs happening and the substantial renovations going on that I should touch upon it again. If you plan on doing a substantial renovation to a property or a ‘scrape & re-build’ then you should keep reading.
Many of the older (think 1970 for northern PB County) properties are now being scraped and re-built or undergoing substantial renovations. You need to be aware of the flood zone designation of the property and how that may affect your project. This is throughout the north county as the special flood hazard areas (SFHA) are not only just along the water but can and do extend inland.
First, look at the FEMA Map Center and look up your property. What is the flood zone? Is this a Special Flood Hazard Area? SFHA’s are show on the map as Zones A, AO, AH, A1-30, AE, A99, AR, AR/A1-30, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/AH, AR/A, VO, V1-30, VE, and V. And, if it’s in a SFHA then there will be a Base Flood Elevation or BFE shown. Make note of this as well and note that it is using the 1988 NAVD datum. If all you have is an old survey or flood certification then it is likely in the NGVD 29 datum and READ THIS to convert it.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP ) standards requires that if the cost of any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvements to a building equals or exceeds 50% of the building’s market value, such work is considered a “substantial improvement” and the existing building is then required to meet the same standards as a new building.
Renovations that exceed 50% of the buildings assessed value are not hard to imagine. And, for residential structures, these requirements typically mean raising the living area of the building to the base flood elevation.
Substantial Improvement Requirements shall mean any repair from damage or destruction, reconstruction, improvement, or additions of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the assessed tax value of the structure as is listed by the Palm Beach County Tax Assessors Office or by a certified appraisal. The assessed value of the structure shall be determined before the improvement is started, or if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage or destruction occurred.
If you plan on renovating then you’re probably not thinking about raising the elevation of the first floor. If you plan on scraping the lot then you should be aware that there are limits as to how much fill can be brought onto the lot. CLICK HERE to read the requirements for unincorporated Palm Beach County which is in accordance with the NFIP and mimicked by the municipalities. Read this Blog Post for information on the flood zones of the various municipalities.
