Elevation Certificates

ARE YOU BUYING FLOOD INSURANCE? ADDING TO YOUR HOME IN A FLOOD ZONE? INSTALLING HEATING AND COOLING EQUIPMENT?

An Elevation Certificate is required for flood insurance for buildings that are located in a special flood hazard area.  If your house or business is located within a special flood hazard area based on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) issued by FEMA, your lender will require flood insurance to be purchased.  The certificate will be used to determine the amount of your flood insurance premium.  When applying for a permit to add on to you home or to install heating and cooling equipment, the City may require that you provide an Elevation Certificate.

In order to prepare an Elevation Certificate, we perform the following services:

  • Visiting the Site 
  • Locating a Survey Monument (Benchmark) to Survey From
  • Measure Elevations on Floors, Ground, & Equipment
  • Taking Photographs
  • Survey from the bench mark to you site
  • Measuring the Location of the Building from 
  • Identifiable Landmarks such as streets
  • Determine the Flood Zones from FEMA Maps
  • Scale the Longitude & Latitude from a Map
  • Download Photographs
  • Complete the Elevation Certificate form

An Elevation Certificate will show the following information:

  • Elevations of Building Floors
  • Elevation of Attached Garage Floor
  • Elevation of the Lowest Equipment Serving the Building
  • Elevations of the Highest & Lowest Ground Adjacent to the Building
  • Elevation of the Lowest Ground at Decks

Letters of Map Change

If we find that the FIRM indicates that your building is in a special flood area, and the elevations of the ground around the building are found to be higher than FEMA's estimate of the 100 year flood level (base flood),  you can request a Letter of Map Change from FEMA.  A Letter of Map Change is a statement from FEMA that effectively removes your land or building from the special flood area.  Once your building has been removed from the special flood area, your can ask your lender to waive their requirement for flood insurance.  There are four types of Letters of Map Change.  They are:

  •  LOMA - Letter of Map Amendment - A Letter stating that an existing building or parcel of land that has not been elevated by fill (natural grade) would not be inundated by the base flood.
  • CLOMA - Conditional Letter of Map Amendment - A Letter stating that a proposed building that is not to be not been elevated by fill (natural grade) would not be inundated by the base flood, if built as proposed.
  • LOMR-F - Letter of Map Revision for Fill - A Letter stating that an existing building or parcel of land that has been elevated by fill would not be inundated by the base flood.
  • CLOMR-F - Conditional Letter of Map Revision for Fill - A Letter stating that a parcel of land or proposed structure that will be elevated by fill would not be would not be inundated by the base flood if fill is placed on the parcel as proposed or the structure is built as proposed.