SITE PLANS AND CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS

Jacksonville Ordinance Code tit. XVII, ch. 652, pt. 5

in effect

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 652.501 Information for development in flood hazard areas.

Sec. 652.501. - Information for development in flood hazard areas. The site plan or construction documents for any development subject to the requirements of this Chapter shall be drawn to scale and shall include, as applicable to the proposed development: (a) Delineation of flood hazard areas, Adjusted SFHAs, floodway boundaries, floodway setbacks and flood zone(s), base flood elevation(s), and ground elevations if necessary for review of the proposed development; if the proposed development will cause a reconfiguration of the flood hazard area due to grading, filling, channel alteration or relocation, development of a stormwater management system, or the excavation of a lake, the Floodplain Administrator shall require the applicant to submit and obtain approval from FEMA of a Conditional Letter of Map Revision. (b) Where base flood elevations, or floodway data are not included on the FIRM or in the Flood Insurance Study, they shall be established in accordance with Section 652.502(2) or (3), Ordinance Code. (c) Where the parcel on which the proposed development will take place will have more than 50 lots or is larger than five acres and the base flood elevations are not included on the FIRM or in the Flood Insurance Study, such elevations shall be established in accordance with Section 652.502(a), Ordinance Code. (d) Location of the proposed activity and proposed structures, and locations of existing buildings and structures; in coastal high hazard areas, new buildings shall be located landward of the reach of mean high tide. (e) Evidence that the interior portion of an enclosed area below the lowest floor of elevated buildings is not partitioned, is not temperature-controlled, and access to the enclosed area is the minimum necessary to allow for access as applicable: crawlspace access, access to the premises (standard exterior door, stairway or elevator), access for parking (garage door), and access for limited storage of maintenance equipment used in connection with the premises (standard exterior door). One circuit connected to a ground-fault interrupt breaker may be installed in such enclosed area. (f) For new construction and substantial improvements, owners shall execute and record a Declaration of Land Restriction (Nonconversion Agreement) for proposed development that includes (1) enclosures below elevated buildings, (2) crawl/underfloor spaces that are more than four feet in height, (3) detached accessory structures that are not elevated and are larger than 300 square feet in area (footprint), (4) attached garages; and (5) nonresidential farm buildings on farms. The owner shall agree to not improve, finish or otherwise convert such areas to uses other than approved uses and shall provide the City the right to inspect the areas during normal business hours with 24 hours notice. The agreement shall be recorded in the land records and shall state that the owner accepts and declares that the covenants, conditions, and restrictions stated in the nonconversion agreement are placed on the affected property as a condition of granting the permit, and affects rights and obligations of the owner and shall be binding on the owner, his heirs, personal representatives, successors, and assigns. (g) For any nonresidential building proposed to be dry floodproofed in accordance with the Florida Building Code, Building, operational and maintenance plans, as specified by ASCE 24 that addresses implementation of the dry floodproofing measures and inspection and maintenance of those measures. (h) Location, extent, amount, and proposed final grades of any filling, grading, or excavation. (i) Where the placement of fill is proposed, the amount, type, and source of fill material; compaction specifications; a description of the intended purpose of the fill areas; permeability analysis; and evidence that the proposed fill areas are the minimum necessary to achieve the intended purpose. (j) Delineation of the Coastal Construction Control Line or notation that the site is seaward of the coastal construction control line, if applicable. (k) Extent of any proposed alteration of sand dunes or mangrove stands, provided such alteration is approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. (l) Existing and proposed alignment of any proposed alteration of a watercourse. The Floodplain Administrator is authorized to waive the submission of site plans, construction documents, and other data that are required by this Chapter but that are not required to be prepared by a registered design professional if it is found that the nature of the proposed development is such that the review of such submissions is not necessary to ascertain compliance with this Chapter. (Ord. 2013-310-E, § 2; Ord. No. 2019-331-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 652.502 Information in flood hazard areas without base flood elevations (approximate Zone A).

Sec. 652.502. - Information in flood hazard areas without base flood elevations (approximate Zone A). Where flood hazard areas are delineated on the FIRM and base flood elevation data have not been provided, the Floodplain Administrator shall: (a) Require the applicant to include base flood elevation data prepared in accordance with currently accepted engineering practices. (b) Obtain, review, and provide to applicants base flood elevation and floodway data available from a federal or State agency or other source or require the applicant to obtain and use base flood elevation and floodway data available from a federal or State agency or other source. (c) Where base flood elevation and floodway data are not available from another source, where the available data are deemed by the Floodplain Administrator to not reasonably reflect flooding conditions, or where the available data are known to be scientifically or technically incorrect or otherwise inadequate: (1) Require the applicant to include base flood elevation data prepared in accordance with currently accepted engineering practices; or (2) Specify that the base flood elevation is the higher of three feet above the highest adjacent grade plus one foot at the location of the development, 18 inches above the higher crown of an adjacent road, or three feet above the highest known flood level. (d) Where the base flood elevation data are to be used to support a Letter of Map Change from FEMA, advise the applicant that the analyses shall be prepared by a Florida licensed engineer in a format required by FEMA, and that it shall be the responsibility of the applicant to satisfy the submittal requirements and pay the processing fees. (Ord. 2013-310-E, § 2)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 652.503 Additional analyses and certifications.

Sec. 652.503. - Additional analyses and certifications. As applicable to the location and nature of the proposed development activity, and in addition to the requirements of this Section, the applicant shall have the following analyses signed and sealed by a Florida licensed engineer for submission with the site plan and construction documents: (a) For development activities proposed to be located in a regulatory floodway, or a floodway setback, a floodway encroachment analysis that demonstrates that the encroachment of the proposed development will not cause any increase in base flood elevations; where the applicant proposes to undertake development activities that do increase base flood elevations, the applicant shall submit such analysis to FEMA as specified in Section 652.504 of this Chapter and shall submit the Conditional Letter of Map Revision, if issued by FEMA, with the site plan and construction documents. (b) For development activities proposed to be located in a riverine flood hazard area for which base flood elevations are included in the Flood Insurance Study or on the FIRM and floodways have not been designated, hydrologic and hydraulic analyses that demonstrate that the cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated flood hazard area encroachments, will not increase the base flood elevation at any point within the community. This requirement does not apply in isolated flood hazard areas not connected to a riverine flood hazard area or in flood hazard areas identified as Zone AO or Zone AH. (c) For alteration of a watercourse, an engineering analysis prepared in accordance with standard engineering practices which demonstrates that the flood-carrying capacity of the altered or relocated portion of the watercourse will not be decreased, and certification that the altered watercourse shall be maintained in a manner which preserves the channel's flood-carrying capacity; the applicant shall submit the analysis to FEMA as specified in Section 652.504, Ordinance Code. (d) For activities that propose to alter sand dunes or mangrove stands in coastal high hazard areas (Zone V), an engineering analysis that demonstrates that the proposed alteration will not increase the potential for flood damage. (Ord. 2013-310-E, § 2; Ord. No. 2019-331-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 652.504 Submission of additional data and contingent approvals.

Sec. 652.504. - Submission of additional data and contingent approvals. (a) When additional hydrologic, hydraulic or other engineering data, studies, and additional analyses are submitted to support an application, the applicant has the right to seek a Letter of Map Change from FEMA to change the base flood elevations, change floodway boundaries, or change boundaries of flood hazard areas shown on FIRMs, and to submit such data to FEMA for such purposes. The analyses shall be prepared by a Florida licensed engineer in a format required by FEMA. Submittal requirements and processing fees shall be the responsibility of the applicant. The applicant shall diligently pursue approval of the Letter of Map Change. (b) Final acceptance of subdivision improvements shall not occur, final construction plans for development in floodways, or in floodway setbacks, shall not be approved, and Certificates of Occupancy shall not be issued until such time as FEMA has issued a Letter of Map Change, except in the case of Conditional Letters of Map Revision issued by FEMA, in which case final acceptance of subdivision improvements and Certificates of Occupancy shall not be issued until such time as the permittee submits to FEMA the as-built documentation and obtained a Letter of Map Revision. (c) Except for development in a floodway, or in a floodway setback, the Floodplain Administrator may grant an extension or extension for the time frame for obtaining a Letter of Map Change where the applicant demonstrates that such letters have been diligently pursued but not obtained due to circumstances beyond the control of the applicant. (d) In the event the applicant fails to obtain the Conditional Letter of Map Revision or final Letter of Map Revision within the extended time frame(s), then the Floodplain Administrator may disapprove any future applications for building permits for subdivision development or revoke a Certificate of Occupancy until such time as the Conditional Letter of Map Revision or the Letter of Map Revision is obtained. (Ord. 2013-310-E, § 2; Ord. No. 2019-331-E, § 1)

Source: City of Jacksonville, Ordinance Code and Charter and Related Laws (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/fl/jacksonville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITXVIILAUS_CH652FLMA_PT5SIPLCODOFetched: 10/27/2026