MEMORANDUM
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2022
From: Charlotte County Community Development Department
Subject: New Elevation Certificate Guidelines
Charlotte County’s new FEMA flood maps become effective on 12-15-2022. The new maps will usher in the new Coastal A Zone which will have the same construction standards as the V/VE flood zone. The new maps will also change in vertical datum from NGVD 1929 datum to the more current NAVD 1988 datum. Here are some guidelines on filling out elevation certificates in the newer NAVD 1988 datum:
- The surveyors must use whatever datum the current FIRM maps are in, so if the maps have changed to NAVD 1988, they must use that datum. If an under construction elevation certificate was issued in the older NGVD 1929 datum, they should show a conversion calculation of the elevations shown in Section C in the comments area in Section D.
- Compliance with the older datum can be verified where the base flood elevation has increased on the final elevation certificate by having the surveyors use the comments in Section D to explain the difference in base flood elevations between the two maps and the discrepancy in elevations in Section C.
- If no elevation certificate was required when it was originally being constructed but the property is now in a high-risk flood zone, a finished construction elevation certificate will be required and, to show compliance, the surveyor should use Section D to explain the change.
For more information, please reach out to Donna Bailey, CFM, Floodplain Coordinator at 941.623.1080.