Elevation Certificates in Benicia, CA

FEMA elevation certificates for Benicia homes, waterfront buildings, and industrial property in Solano County, signed by a California licensed land surveyor.

Elevation certificates from $1,000 · (510) 543-2220

Elevation Certificates in Benicia: Local Conditions

Benicia drops from about 620 feet at its north end to roughly 8 feet near the Carquinez Strait, so its flood zones sit along the bottom edge of town and along one creek. FEMA's Solano County Flood Insurance Study describes Sulphur Springs Creek as the main inland source, flooding from lack of channel capacity and shallow flow running parallel to the channel. The land in the lower Sulphur Springs Creek floodplain is mostly industrial; the 1986 flood damaged the industrial complex and automobile storage areas along the creek, and the 1983 flood caused minor damage to the mobile home park east of H Street. Lake Herman sits upstream on the same creek but has no flood control storage, and the study notes there are no designated flood protection facilities on Sulphur Springs Creek in Benicia.

On the water side, FEMA describes higher tides overflowing into streets near the wastewater treatment plant in the southeast part of town, shallow water reaching the lower parts of town facing the waterfront at infrequent times, and tidal flooding at Southampton Bay in the southwest. The shoreline was restudied in FEMA's San Francisco Bay coastal analysis, which added regional storm surge and wave modeling to the Solano County maps in the August 3, 2016 revision. A separate 2014 map revision also covered parts of Benicia, Vallejo, and unincorporated Solano County. Benicia is FEMA community 060368. If a lender flagged a historic downtown house, a First Street building, or a home near Southampton Bay, an elevation certificate gives the exact relationship between the structure and the Base Flood Elevation, and that is what the insurance rating and any map-change request depend on.

Our field work ties to NAVD88 benchmarks with GNSS and measures the building with a Trimble S3 total station: lowest adjacent grade, highest adjacent grade, the top of the lowest floor or crawlspace, flood openings, and the height of furnaces, water heaters, and electrical service. Older Benicia homes often have raised floors and crawlspaces, so we document the foundation type carefully for the building diagram. We take the required photos and sign FEMA Form FF-206-FY-22-152. Where the ground at the building is at or above the BFE, we can prepare and file a LOMA, using eLOMA when eligible. See our elevation certificate page, the nearby Vallejo and Martinez pages, and our Benicia survey area page.

Full service details, process, and deliverables: FEMA Elevation Certificates & LOMA · All surveying in Benicia: Benicia land surveying

What's Included

Signed and sealed by a California Professional Land Surveyor
Completed on FEMA Form FF-206-FY-22-152, with the required photographs
Elevations tied to a published benchmark on the flood map’s vertical datum
eLOMA submission as a licensed professional when the building qualifies
Construction-stage ECs for permits: construction drawings, building under construction, and finished construction
Sacramento region, Central Valley, Delta, and Bay Area

Our Process

Address & Flood Map Check

Send the address and the reason you need the certificate: lender letter, insurance quote, building permit, or a LOMA. We pull the effective FIRM panel, flood zone, and Base Flood Elevation before quoting, and tell you up front if a LOMA looks possible.

Benchmark Tie

We tie the site to a published benchmark on the vertical datum the flood map uses, with GNSS and a total station. Every elevation on the certificate is measured from that tie, not estimated from a contour map.

Building Measurement

We measure the top of the bottom floor, the next higher floor, the garage slab, the lowest and highest adjacent grade, the lowest machinery and equipment, and the flood openings, and take the photographs the form requires.

Signed EC, and the LOMA if It Qualifies

You receive the completed, signed Elevation Certificate as a PDF. If the lowest adjacent grade is at or above the Base Flood Elevation, we prepare the LOMA request and submit it to FEMA, through eLOMA when the building meets its criteria.

Elevation Certificates in Benicia: FAQ

Two things: Sulphur Springs Creek, which floods from lack of channel capacity, and tidal flooding along the Carquinez Strait waterfront, including the area by the wastewater treatment plant and Southampton Bay. The bay shoreline was remapped in FEMA's San Francisco Bay coastal study in 2016.

No, it is the same FEMA form, but the building diagram and the floor measurements need to match the real foundation. Raised wood floors, crawlspaces, and below-grade rooms change which floor counts as the lowest floor for rating, so we measure and photograph them carefully.

If the lowest ground touching the building is at or above the Base Flood Elevation, FEMA can issue a Letter of Map Amendment at no review fee. We gather the elevation data and file eligible requests through eLOMA.

Need Elevation Certificates in Benicia?

Elevation certificates start at $1,000. Call (510) 543-2220 with the Benicia address and we'll check the flood map and give you a fixed price.

Get a Quoteor(510) 543-2220

Private licensed surveyor, not affiliated with FEMA • Homeowners welcome • Response within 24 hours

Call (510) 543-2220 Get a Quote