Local Ordinances for Climate Adaptation & Mitigation

Local Ordinances to Exceed Minimum Floodplain Standards

Floodplain Mapping: Updating flood risk maps and zoning regulations to discourage development in places at risk from increasingly frequent and severe flooding.

• Local Ordinances to Exceed Minimum Floodplain Standards (PDF)
• Potential for implementation in Maryland, New York, Connecticut, and Maine (PDF)

About

Protecting communities from dangerous flooding requires adjusting a community’s understanding of its flood risk and development and zoning policies to take climate change impacts into account. Flood maps, required for communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), are a fundamental tool to assess and plan for flood risk. Knowing what areas are at risk of inundation allows localities to protect people and property already in harm's way, and slow future risky development. This knowledge is also important for communicating risk to property owners who may or may not be aware that they reside in a hazardous flood zone. 

Local governments can adopt an ordinance that expands the area subject to regulations to encompass the 500-year floodplain, including unmapped areas adjacent to the floodplain. Those ordinances should also consider establishing minimum distances from bodies of water for new development.