Sacramento County Zoning Code § 906-04 Special Elevation

A. Attached garages for residential buildings shall be constructed at least one foot above the base flood elevation and all building materials below the minimum floor elevation shall be floodresistant. Garage space under a house must be elevated at least 1' above the base flood elevation except as allowed in 906-04 (C) and (J).
B. Detached garages, barns, and storage buildings shall be constructed per Section 906-02. At the discretion of the Floodplain Administrator, minor detached structures not meeting these requirements, may be allowed with proper venting and an executed and recorded declaration of land use restriction in a form deemed acceptable to County Counsel, provided they are constructed at or above the base flood elevation.
C. Applicable only in the Delta Area, the floodplain of the Beach Stone Lakes Area, areas protected by RD1000 levees (Natomas), and areas protected by Reclamation District 800 levees of the Cosumnes River, where building in accordance with 906-04(B) is impractical and such structures are functionally dependent to the land use, barns and garages may be constructed or substantially improved at grade in accordance with FEMA Technical Bulletin 'Wet Floodproofing Requirements' (Technical Bulletin TB3-93, as amended), provided:
1. The building is constructed of flood-resistant material, fully vented, with at least one opening at least 10 feet wide on at least one side (may be a barn or garage door provided the building is fully vented without including the door opening), and anchored to resist the potential flooding;
2. All mechanical, plumbing, and electrical equipment in the building, including utilities and sanitary facilities, shall be 1.5 feet above the base flood elevation or flood-proofed below that elevation;
3. Compliance with these criteria, particularly in deep special or local flood hazard areas may require consultation with a qualified registered professional engineer or architect;
4. The structure should not be used as collateral for a federally backed lender and shall not be considered an insurable structure under the National Flood Insurance Program, nor

shall it be eligible for relief funds in the case of flood damage.

The property owner executes and records a declaration of land use restriction with the County indicating the use of the building and assuring that all of the above requirements are met and will be maintained for the useful life of the building and that the building will not be converted to habitable, public, or commercial use.

D. Non-enclosed parking areas for apartments shall be constructed no lower than 0.50 feet below the base flood elevation and commercial parking lots no more than 1.0 foot below the BFE with signs posting the flood hazard.
E. Any new built-in swimming pool deck, filter, and pump equipment must be elevated at least 1.0foot above the base flood elevation unless the property owners execute and record a declaration of land use restriction in a form acceptable to County Counsel.
F. Heating equipment, plumbing fixtures, air conditioning equipment, furnaces, ductwork, electrical panels, solar panels, outlets, switches, and fixtures serving new or substantially improved structures shall be at least 1.5 feet above the base flood elevation.
G. New solar panels and appurtenances, except as described in (F) above, should be elevated or flood-proofed safely above the base flood elevation. In the latter case, the property owner must execute and record a declaration of land use restriction with the County, in a form acceptable to County Counsel.
H. The addition of an enclosed area attached to an existing pre-FIRM structure, but not substantial improvement, shall be elevated 1.5 feet above the base flood elevation unless determined by the Floodplain Administrator to be a minor addition in which adding steps would be impractical (e.g. expanding a dining room). In levee-protected areas shown as Zone AE, room additions are allowed with detailed documentation proving the addition is not a substantial improvement.
I. Lateral additions to post-FIRM buildings (residential or nonresidential) must comply with this ordinance including elevation. Lateral additions must not alter any aspect of the building that had to be met when the building was constructed in compliance with the NFIP and the effective ordinance at the time of original construction. A non-substantial improvement lateral addition may be allowed in special or local flood hazard areas under the following conditions:
1. If the base flood elevation has not changed the original construction of the building , the addition must be elevated in compliance with this ordinance. An exception may be granted (above the base flood elevation but lacking 1.5 ~~feet-~~ foot vertical freeboard) for

very small dependent expansions such as expanding an existing room or adding a bathroom.

If a revised higher base flood elevation is in effect, a lateral addition may be allowed if the addition is elevated at least as high as the existing floor. This includes areas that were mapped Zone X and are now AE due to levee deaccreditation.

J. Parcels on the Garden Highway, Long Island Road, and other parcels in the State floodway of the Sacramento River may construct wet flood-proofed detached garages or homes on elevated foundations where the lower levels may be used for vehicle parking and incidental storage, subject to a signed and recorded deed restriction approved by County Counsel and subject to approval by state and federal regulators, and by RD1000 for those projects on Garden Highway, in accordance with applicable sections of this ordinance.