Contour Survey

Elevation Certificates in Placerville, CA

Elevation certificates and flood zone surveys in the City of Placerville, El Dorado County, where Hangtown Creek runs through downtown.

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

Elevation Certificates in Placerville: Local Conditions

Placerville's floodplain is concentrated along Hangtown Creek, which runs through the city. FEMA's flood data for the city has a detailed flood profile for Hangtown Creek and its tributary, plus Cedar Ravine and Randolph Canyon, with Zone AE and a regulatory floodway mapped along the creek. The FIRM panels covering the city are dated September 26, 2008. Hillside parcels above the creek corridors are generally outside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area.

That pattern drives what owners need. A commercial building in a Hangtown Creek AE zone with a federally backed loan will be asked for flood insurance, and the insurer will want a FEMA elevation certificate. Older masonry buildings often have basements or lower floors partly below street grade, and those are recorded on the EC, along with machinery and utilities. Nonresidential buildings can also be dry floodproofed, which uses a separate FEMA certificate prepared by an engineer or architect. For homes along Cedar Ravine or Randolph Canyon, the mapped zone is usually a narrow strip, and it is common to find the house pad above the base flood elevation. In that case a letter of map amendment can remove the structure from the SFHA, with no FEMA review fee, and licensed land surveyors can file eligible cases through eLOMA.

Placerville is a short drive from our base in Lotus. The survey ties a benchmark on the FIRM's vertical datum with GNSS, then measures lowest adjacent grade, the lowest floor including any basement, garage levels, and machinery and utilities with a Trimble S3 total station, with photographs of each side of the building. We process in Trimble Business Center and sign the elevation certificate as a licensed land surveyor. If the data supports it, we prepare the LOMA or file through eLOMA. See our elevation certificate service, the Folsom and South Lake Tahoe pages, and our Placerville surveying page.

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

1

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.

2

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.

3

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.

4

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 Placerville: FAQ

FEMA maps Zone AE and a floodway along Hangtown Creek, with mapped zones on Cedar Ravine and Randolph Canyon. Whether a specific building is inside depends on the parcel, so check msc.fema.gov or send us the address.
A basement is any floor below grade on all sides, and it counts as the lowest floor on the elevation certificate. We measure it directly, which is why access to the lowest level matters on survey day.
Often the mapped strip is narrow and the house sits higher. If the lowest adjacent grade is at or above the base flood elevation, a LOMA can remove the structure from the SFHA. We survey first so you know before filing.

Elevation Certificates Across the East Bay

SacramentoWest SacramentoElk GroveRancho CordovaRosevilleFolsomLincolnDavisWoodlandCitrus HeightsGaltRio VistaYuba CityMarysvillePlumas LakeLive OakGridleyOrovilleChicoColusaWillowsRed BluffReddingStocktonLodiMantecaLathropTracyModestoTurlockPattersonMercedLos BanosFresnoAntiochPittsburgOakleyBrentwoodDiscovery BayMartinezBeniciaVallejoAmerican CanyonNapaFairfieldSuisun CityVacavilleDixonPetalumaNovatoSan RafaelCorte MaderaLarkspurMill ValleySausalitoSan AnselmoSanta RosaSonomaHealdsburgGuernevilleAlamedaOaklandRichmondSan LeandroHaywardUnion CityNewarkFremontSan JoseSanta ClaraSunnyvalePalo AltoRedwood CityFoster CitySan MateoSanta CruzWatsonvilleSalinasGilroyMorgan HillHollisterAuburnGrass ValleyTruckeeSouth Lake Tahoe

Need Elevation Certificates in Placerville?

Elevation certificates start at $1,000. Call (510) 543-2220 with the Placerville 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) 543-2220Get a Quote