Floodplain Management
Located within the City of Chesterfield are multiple streams as well as more than 4,500 acres of levee protected area in the Chesterfield Valley. The Chesterfield Valley is a community located inside the corporate limits of the City and is protected from high water events on the Missouri River by the Monarch-Chesterfield levee.
The majority of the streams and a substantial portion of the Chesterfield Valley are mapped as special flood hazard areas (SFHAs) by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as part of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). FEMA publishes Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) which delineate areas that have a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any given year. These areas are referred to as SFHAs. The FIRMs are graphical representations of hydraulic studies prepared by engineering companies and reviewed and approved by FEMA.
In addition, the City maintains a hydraulic model of the internal drainage system for the Chesterfield Valley. The Chesterfield Valley model provides 100-year high water elevations which the City uses in conjuction with the FIRMs when regulating development in the Chesterfield Valley.
The City maintains copies of all effective FIRM panels for those properties located within the City limits. City staff is available to answer your questions regarding the FIRMs and provide you with a copy. FIRM panels are also available online at FEMAs map store.
In order to ensure the public's safety and welfare the City of Chesterfield participates in the NFIP. By participating in this program the residents and business owners within the City are eligible for flood insurance under the NFIP. In order to be accepted into the program the City adopted a Flood Damage Prevention ordinance, Article 05 of the Unified Development Code of the City of Chesterfield. This ordinance places specific requirements on development in and near the special flood hazard area (SFHA).
A floodplain development permit is required before construction or development begins within any SFHA or supplemental protection area (SPA) as established in Article 05. The SPA refers to land located outside the SFHA and within two hundred (200) feet of the SFHA boundary or 100-year high water elevation in the Chesterfield Valley. No grading permit, improvement plan approval or building permit will be issued until the floodplain development permit has been approved. There is no application fee for a floodplain development permit.
An elevation certificate is required for any structure constructed in a regulated SFHA. The elevation certificate documents the lowest floor elevation for any newly built structure, existing structure, or addition to an existing structure. The City maintains copies of elevation certificates that have been created for those structures located in or adjacent to the SFHAs.
Please contact the Department of Public Works at 636-537-4764 with any questions regarding information on this page.
Links:
FEMA elevation certificate form
FEMA Map Service Center
Missouri State Emergency Management Agency