Elevation Certificates in Woodland, CA

The City of Woodland says major portions of the northern and eastern parts of the city lie in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, and that significant construction there can face limits on what can be built and how. Woodland sits on flat Central Valley ground with the Yolo Bypass and the Sacramento River to the east, and across Yolo County the mapped flood hazards follow Cache Creek, the Sacramento River and the Bypass. Flooding is part of the town's history. Yolo County moved its seat to Woodland after the river town of Washington, now part of West Sacramento, flooded in the 1860s. On the City's flood map, the blue area is Zone AE, where federally backed loans require flood insurance.

The map has moved before. After FEMA's November 16, 2011 letter and a May 2012 revalidation, some Woodland properties were placed in low-risk Zone X. The City then published steps for those owners: confirm the new zone, get FEMA's transmittal letter, ask the lender for a waiver, and only then cancel the policy. That episode is a good reminder that what matters is the map in effect today for your parcel, not what a neighbor or an old disclosure says. Woodland also regulates floodplain building through its own code: Chapter 8.12 sets flood control policy, and the zoning code has a Flood Plain Overlay Zone. The Building Division gives builders FEMA guidance on crawlspace construction and foundation flood openings, both of which show up directly on an EC.

For a Woodland elevation certificate we tie a benchmark on the FIRM's vertical datum, then measure lowest adjacent grade, the top of the lowest floor, the crawlspace and its flood openings, the garage and any machinery. We photograph the building and certify the EC. On crawlspace buildings, the number and size of flood openings affect how the building is rated. If the ground at the structure is at or above the base flood elevation, we can prepare a letter of map amendment and file it through eLOMA when it qualifies. See our elevation certificate service, nearby Davis and Yuba City, or our Woodland area page.