Elevation Certificates in Palo Alto, CA

FEMA elevation certificates and flood zone surveys in Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, for the San Francisquito Creek floodplain and the Baylands-side AE zone.

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

Elevation Certificates in Palo Alto: Local Conditions

Palo Alto has three kinds of Special Flood Hazard Area, and the city explains them better than most. Its flood zone FAQ says AE zones are ponded floodwater with a level surface, AO zones are shallow flow down a gentle slope up to two feet deep, and AH zones can be either. The largest AE zone covers the area toward the Baylands, predicted to flood from extraordinary bay tides overtopping the levees, with water nearly 8 feet above sea level, while some properties there sit as low as about 2.1 feet. The city's floodplain page explains why: levees built in the Baylands to drain wetlands lack freeboard and were not built to current standards, so FEMA does not credit them against the 1 percent tide. The largest AH zone runs in a wide strip west of Middlefield Road from San Francisquito Creek to Hamilton Avenue and toward the Embarcadero and Bayshore interchange, the area that flooded from creek overflow in February 1998. Most of the city is Zone X.

The current FIRM for Palo Alto is the May 18, 2009 revision, which converted elevations from NGVD29 to NAVD88. The city notes no properties were added to or removed from the SFHA by that conversion, but older certificates and plans may still show NGVD29 numbers, so check the datum before comparing anything. Palo Alto has been a Class 6 community in FEMA's Community Rating System since 2017. On the creek, the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority finished its downstream project, from Highway 101 to the bay, in 2019, protecting more than 1,700 properties from a 100-year creek flood during a king tide. The upstream Pope-Chaucer Bridge replacement is still in design, and after the 2022 storms the JPA found the channel has about 25 percent less capacity than previously modeled.

Our Palo Alto field work ties a benchmark on NAVD88 with GNSS and measures the lowest adjacent grade, lowest floor, garage, crawlspace, and machinery and utilities with a Trimble S3 total station. In AO and AH zones the certificate also reports values tied to the flood depth or BFE shown on the map. We photograph the building and deliver a signed FEMA elevation certificate, and when the data supports it we can prepare a letter of map amendment and file through eLOMA. Palo Alto work is scheduled as a mobilization from Lotus. See our elevation certificate service, the Redwood City and Sunnyvale pages, and our Palo Alto area page.

Full service details, process, and deliverables: FEMA Elevation Certificates & LOMA · All surveying in Palo Alto: Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto: FAQ

Palo Alto describes AO zones as shallow flow down a gentle slope up to two feet deep and AH zones as either ponding or shallow flow. The largest AH zone runs west of Middlefield Road from San Francisquito Creek to Hamilton Avenue, the area flooded by creek overflow in 1998.

The city says the Baylands levees lack required freeboard and were not built to current engineering standards, so FEMA does not consider them adequate against a 1 percent annual chance high tide. The AE zone reflects bay tides overtopping those levees.

The current May 18, 2009 FIRM uses NAVD88, so elevations on an older certificate may not compare directly to today's BFE. A new certificate on the current datum avoids confusion with your insurer or a LOMA request.

Need Elevation Certificates in Palo Alto?

Elevation certificates start at $1,000. Call (510) 543-2220 with the Palo Alto 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