Flood Certificate

I doubt FEMA is going to be checking on him but the lender might still require flood insurance without it.  A Loma might be appropriate in this case.

I think this guy is paying cash for everything so I don't think a lender will be involved.

Posted by: @john-putnam

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I doubt FEMA is going to be checking on him

It depends.  FEMA periodically audits local agency records, and once a local floodplain manager contact me years after I filed an EC to correct a perceived omission.

Around here, it would be the floodplain manger that would get involved in conjunction with code enforcement. Since you already have control, just stop by after the electric meter and other equipment has been installed, and grab some quick elevations to update the elevation cert. You should know better than think common sense has anything to do with agency requirements. 

LOMA for sure.

Why is a LOMA necessary if the building is 5' above the floodplain.

What would be the Adjustment?

Does the existing Flood Map show that site being in the floodplain now?

The post construction Elevation Certificate will likely be a requirement before the final occupancy certificate is issued.

The Elevation Certificate only serves to prove the building elements are at particular heights relative to the flood elevation. It is used to determine if there is a flood insurance requirement and what the rates will be if so. It is also used to regulate the construction requirements - flood vents, etc. It does not affect the mapped limit of the flood plain, so any activity within the mapped limit will be subject to any flood mitigation requlations. Placing fill? You may be required to compensate with additional flood storage in another location. The LOMA can be used to change the limit of the mapped flood, which will free up the site (or a portion of the site) from these regulations.

The LOMA is the cheapest way to reduce the "map exposure" to flood risk.  A new Elevation Cert will help, but the LOMA takes the structure out of the floodplain, eliminating the need for the EC....

Posted by: @learner

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LOMA for sure.

Ehh, I had a little bit of an exaggeration.  My bad.  I mapped maybe 80% of the site, but eyeballing it the last 20% appears to be high enough as well.

Posted by: @mightymoe

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Does the existing Flood Map show that site being in the floodplain now?

Yes.

Posted by: @david-powell

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The post construction Elevation Certificate will likely be a requirement before the final occupancy certificate is issued.

This will just be a sheet metal building for the guy to weld in.  I haven't looked into the occupancy rules for this city yet, but if nobody will live in it then I assume an occupancy certificate won't be needed.

Is this a huge waterway? 5' of vertical error in the flood map is a big miss in my part of FEMA madness. If it's a Zone A not surprising at all, but then there isn't a BFE which will have to be engineered, normally at a huge cost. 

@bstrand If there will be a building permit issued, a Certificate of Occupancy (CO) will be issued after the final inspection. 

"Occupancy" doesn't mean that someone will live there, it means someone will be there at some time.  I worked in commercial real estate and was rebuilding tenant spaces for 25 years.  I've acquired quite a few COs in the same office building with multiple tenants.

@notsomuch I see.  The owner is telling me that the city is telling him that only the pre construction certificate will be required, but yeah I'm a little skeptical.  I've warned him 2 or 3 times 2 certificates may be needed, so hopefully he's prepared either way.

I can go out and build a metal building on my own property anywhere I desire outside of a city limit.  No permit of any kind required.

Now, if I had to borrow the money to build it, the lender might ask for an elevation certificate. But, probably not for just a metal building.

Then, if the County Appraiser looked at a recent aerial view he might notice the building.  They would come out to do the standard reappraisal to add some value to my overall valuation for that property.  At that point, the building would be there and they would not force me to remove it.

However, because I am aware of the county policy that says no new buildings are to be constructed in the flood plain, I would simply not build it in that location in the first place.  But, i could if I really wanted to do so.

Yeah, this guy probably should have just built it on the down low.

This is what happens when you try to do things the right way. 😏 

@holy-cow So how does the County maintain its participation in the NFIP if they don't administer the rules necessary for inclusion in the NFIP?

@jumbomotive      As best I can figure it out, words on paper don't mean squat.  Human beings within the regulatory world have to go out and put real teeth into those words by pushing the issue,

In 2007 numerous cities in this corner of the State experienced floods far exceeding existing BFEs.  All sorts of FEMA employees/contractors camped out here for months.  The numerous local yokels who were officially designated flood plain managers had little to no experience to handle what needed handled.  Some sort of buyout took place and suddenly each city had houses condemned and removed and then, conveyed to being owned by the city.  They spend a fortune keeping all these properties mowed, etc.  There are still properties with houses on them with families in those houses today, 19 years later.  In one particular case, the landowner fought with the city employee who had the job title of flood plain manager along with numerous other titles and delayed and delayed and delayed action.  Eventually, the city employee left for a better job and his replacement ended up inheriting this headache.  He never pursued it.  The landowner has since died, her daughter inherited the property and collects the rental payments. That house has had water a few feet deep over the main floor since then. two or three times, I suppose.  No flood insurance means no claims to alert the sleeping bureaucracy.

There are far bigger fish to fry in the world of political enforcement.