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Boca Raton · Palm Beach County

What flood zone is Boca Raton in, and what does it require?

BFE +1 ft (state code)no extra city freeboard found

Boca Raton uses a 49% substantial-improvement trigger counted over one year: improvements within a 1-year period that add up to 49% of market value, starting with work after 10 June 2008, require the whole building to meet flood rules. No extra freeboard number appears in Chapter 21. Owners planning staged renovations should budget a whole year's work together, because the pieces are summed.

Source: Boca Raton Code of Ordinances Ch. 21 Flood Damage Prevention and Floodplain Management, Sec. 21-2 (Ord. No. 5418); FEMA Community Status Book, Florida (www.fema.gov/cis/FL.html, report 10/03/2026); 2023 Florida Building Code, Residential R322.2.1, R322.3.2; 44 CFR 59.1; FEMA Flood Map Service Center · Verified 2026-10

The detail

Substantial improvement1-year period, cumulative cost of 49% or more of market value immediately before the first improvement, from the first improvement after June 10, 2008 - Sec. 21-2.
Substantial damage49 percent of market value - Sec. 21-2.
Chapter historyChapter 21 carries the title Flood Damage Prevention and Floodplain Management; its administration sections were amended by Ord. No. 5418 on 10 Oct 2017.
How the 1-year clock runsThe window opens on the date of the first improvement or repair of that building after the 2008 cut-off, and value is measured immediately before that first job - Sec. 21-2.
FEMA flood mapFEMA's Community Status Book (report dated 3 Oct 2026) lists Boca Raton as NFIP community 120195 with a current effective FIRM dated 20 Dec 2024. Zones are set parcel by parcel, so no single zone covers the whole city - check your own address.
NFIP historyFEMA record: first flood hazard boundary map 24 Jan 1975; first FIRM 1 Jun 1978; regular NFIP program since 1 Jun 1978; entered CRS 1 Oct 1992.
Flood insurance discountCRS class 5 - 25% off NFIP premiums for policies in the Special Flood Hazard Area (class in effect 1 Apr 2025).
State minimum2023 Florida Building Code, Residential R322.2.1 and R322.3.2 - lowest floor (A zones) or bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member (V and Coastal A zones) at BFE + 1 ft or the design flood elevation, whichever is higher.
Look up your zoneEnter the address in FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov), the official public source for FIRMs; an elevation certificate shows how your floor compares with the BFE.

Your city's height sheet

The elevation your city requires, the datum it is measured in, and the section of code that says so. One page.

Available for the cities whose rule we have verified and sourced.

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The county rule behind this

What applies across Palm Beach County, and where each city departs from it.

Palm Beach CountySeawall requirements county-wide

The same question, nearby

The rule changes at the city line, not the county line.

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Twelve signs a seawall is failing

What to look for, where to look for it, and what it means when you find it. Walk your wall in twenty minutes.

A screening sheet for owners, not an engineering inspection.

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