Building in a flood zone in Santa Cruz County

Any encroachment, including fill, new construction, or other development activity, is prohibited within the floodway unless it has been demonstrated through hydrologic and hydraulic analyses performed in accordance with standard engineering practices that the proposed encroachment would not result in any increase in flood levels during the base flood.

Reconstruction, repair, alteration, or improvement of an existing structure, provided no additional encroachment is proposed, is exempt from the hydrologic and hydraulic engineering analysis requirement.

When base flood elevation data are not provided in the flood insurance study, the Floodplain Administrator shall obtain, review, and reasonably utilize the best base flood data available from Federal, State or other sources, as a basis for elevating new and substantially improved residential structures and elevating or floodproofing new and substantially improved nonresidential structures, to at least two feet above the base flood level.