Elevation Certificates in Citrus Heights, CA

Contour Survey prepares FEMA elevation certificates in Citrus Heights, Sacramento County, for homeowners near Arcade and Cripple Creeks and for anyone building close to a mapped floodplain. We are based nearby in Lotus.

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

Elevation Certificates in Citrus Heights: Local Conditions

Arcade Creek and Cripple Creek run through Citrus Heights, and they create the city's mapped floodplains. The FEMA Flood Insurance Study for Sacramento County lists only Zones AE and X in the city, and the October 1962 flood was the largest on record on Arcade and Cripple Creeks. In 2022 FEMA released an update to the Arcade and Cripple Creek floodplain limits, with a 90-day comment and appeal period that ran to January 4, 2023. According to the City, a study of the 1979 maps found that flood elevations should be on average two feet higher than shown. Properties that never touched the floodplain before could now face a lender asking for flood insurance.

The City spells out what an owner can do. Lenders only have to follow FEMA's determination. A City letter saying the house is outside the floodplain may help, but it does not bind the lender. To change the FEMA designation, the City tells owners to get an elevation certificate from a California Professional Land Surveyor and send it to FEMA with the City's flood zone determination letter as a request for a Letter of Map Amendment. The City says FEMA has approved most of these requests because its letter includes supporting maps. For new work, Citrus Heights is stricter than the federal minimum. Additions or new structures within 50 feet of a floodplain need an elevation certificate showing they were built at least two feet above the floodplain, and the certificate of occupancy is held until the EC clears City review.

The survey is the same either way. We tie a benchmark on NAVD88, the datum of the Sacramento County FIRM, and measure lowest adjacent grade, the lowest floor, the garage, and HVAC and other machinery. We photograph the building and certify the EC. For a LOMA, the number that matters is the lowest ground touching the structure compared to the base flood elevation. If that comparison works, we can file through eLOMA when the request qualifies, and FEMA charges no review fee. More on our elevation certificate service, or see Roseville and Sacramento.

Full service details, process, and deliverables: FEMA Elevation Certificates & LOMA

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 Citrus Heights: FAQ

FEMA restudied Arcade and Cripple Creeks, and the City reports the new flood elevations average about two feet higher than the 1979 maps. If your parcel now touches the floodplain, your lender may require flood insurance. If your house sits above the new base flood elevation, an elevation certificate plus the City's determination letter supports a LOMA request to FEMA.

If the work is within 50 feet of a floodplain, yes. Citrus Heights requires an EC showing the new structure or addition was built at least two feet above the floodplain. The certificate of occupancy is not issued until the EC and its supporting documents are resolved.

Maybe, but the lender does not have to accept it. Lenders are only required to follow FEMA's determination. The reliable route is a LOMA: a surveyor-certified elevation certificate and the City's determination letter sent to FEMA. If FEMA agrees, the LOMA is what the lender relies on.

Need Elevation Certificates in Citrus Heights?

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

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

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