HUD has used disaster data to calculate a safe home elevation height above base flood elevation (BFE) that exceeds many city, county and parish codes in flood prone areas and Special Flood Hazard Areas.

HUD will soon be adding climate changes that increase sea levels and storm data to determine how many feet above Base Flood Elevation they will require homeowners to elevate to qualify for HUD CDBG-DR grant funds.

Attention Building Departments, Planning and Zoning Departments and Hazard Mitigation Program groups, you can potentially save your community millions by following at a minimum HUD Guidance and Policy requiring single home residential to quad home residential buildings to be elevated no less than Base Flood Elevation plus two feet. All Critical Actions, as defined at 24 CFR 55.2(b)(3) need to follow HUD Guidance which at the time of this post is BFE plus 3 feet.

BFE + 1 April 19, 2013
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 76 / Friday, April 19, 2013 / Notices 23579
"At a minimum, actions to minimize harm must include elevating or flood proofing new construction and substantial improvements to one foot above the base flood elevation and otherwise acting in accordance with Executive Order 11988 and 24 CFR part 55."

BFE + 2 November 21, 2016
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 224 / Monday, November 21, 2016 / Notices
"7. A description of how the grantee plans to: (a) Adhere to the advanced elevation requirements established in paragraph B.28 of section VI of this notice
e. Elevation standards for new construction, repair of substantial damage, or substantial improvement. The following elevation standards apply to new construction, repair of substantial damage, or substantial improvement of structures located in an area delineated as a flood hazard area or equivalent in FEMA&rsquos data source identified in 24 CFR 55.2(b)(1). All structures, defined at 44 CFR 59.1, designed principally for residential use and located in the 1 percent annual (or 100-year) floodplain that receive assistance for new construction, repair of substantial damage, or substantial improvement, as defined at 24 CFR 55.2(b)(10), must be elevated with the lowest floor, including the basement, at least two feet above the 1 percent annual floodplain elevation. Residential structures with no dwelling units and no residents below two feet above the 1 percent annual floodplain, must be elevated or floodproofed, in accordance with FEMA floodproofing standards at 44 CFR 60.3(c)(3)(ii) or successor standard, up to at least two feet above the 1 percent annual floodplain.
All Critical Actions, as defined at 24 CFR 55.2(b)(3), within the 0.2 percent annual floodplain (or 500-year) floodplain must be elevated or floodproofed (in accordance with the FEMA standards) to the higher of the 0.2 percent annual floodplain flood elevation or three feet above the 1 percent annual floodplain. If the 0.2 percent annual floodplain or elevation is unavailable for Critical Actions, and the structure is in the 1 percent annual floodplain, then the structure must be elevated or floodproofed at least three feet above the 1 percent annual floodplain level. Applicable State, local, and tribal codes and standards for floodplain management that exceed these requirements, including elevation, setbacks, and cumulative substantial damage requirements, will be followed. "

Please send this link to your city, parish, county building and zoning departments so they can review the notices related to HUD elevation requirements and update the local codes to match or exceed HUD requirements.

We are seeing homeowners being denied CDBG-DR grant reimbursement funds for rebuilding, reconstruction, elevation after a disaster because city, parish, county codes were not within policy requirements of HUD. This will costs communities millions in lost grant money.