New homes and commercial buildings in Charleston will have to be built at least 2 feet above the federal base flood elevation, up from 1 foot.
City Council gave the ordinance third reading Tuesday and ratified it as Ordinance 2020-032, according to the council’s minutes. Three members voted no. The extra height above the base flood elevation is known as freeboard.
The 2-foot rule applies to all new residential and nonresidential construction and to substantial improvements of commercial, industrial and other nonresidential buildings, for city building permits applied for on or after July 1, according to the ordinance.
The measure died Feb. 25 on a 6-6 vote. On Tuesday, council voted to renew it, then passed it.
Mayor John Tecklenburg told council in February that Mount Pleasant, North Charleston, Summerville and Charleston County already require 2 feet. “It’s very reasonable that we come into compliance with the rest of the region,” he said then.
Stephen Julka, the city’s floodplain manager, said the change could earn the city points in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which sets flood insurance discounts. Because the rule doesn’t cover every type of construction, the points aren’t guaranteed. “It is possible. No guarantees,” he said Tuesday.
Councilmember Mike Seekings voted no. He said the rules still let builders reach the new height with fill dirt, which he said was inconsistent with other city flooding policy. Under the ordinance, he said, “you can go to freeboard plus two by using fill.”
A separate ordinance that would have extended the 2-foot rule to substantial improvements of all existing homes failed on first reading, 7-5, with one member abstaining.
Councilmember Keith Waring said owners of existing homes would bear the cost of raising them after substantial damage, and he called for public hearings across the city. “The cost of jacking up a house is substantial,” he said.
