Elevating Land
Elevating Land
(OP)
Supporse there are 4 homes at bottom of some slopes, 2 X 2 with backyards abuttin. If one owner wants to elevate his property 2 feet higher than the other 3 properties, would it be allowed (ie, get permits) as long as there are drainage systems installed that prevent. cross lot drainage, or would it not be permitted?





RE: Elevating Land
For instance, lets say you're in south Florida, where the entire state is in floodplain. You're obligated to hold and store your fair share of the water when the 100 year hurricane comes along, so elevating your land 2 feet would shed 2 more feet of water onto your neighbors. So no dice there. Other places have equally strange rules due to their local constraints.
First three places to check are your HOA / subdivision covenants, the municipal engineer, and your neighbors.
Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East - http://www.campbellcivil.com
RE: Elevating Land
You start "dumping" water on your neighbors - you are inviting a BIG lawsuit!!
RE: Elevating Land
RE: Elevating Land
Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East - http://www.campbellcivil.com
RE: Elevating Land
RE: Elevating Land
You aren't supposed to change the drainage pattern, so there are ways to design this without eroding the neighbors lots, or like some cities we work with, they might want the drainage pattern made better for the existing/proposed streets.
This is not something that can be answered on a forum. And the grading concept would have to be run through the City Engineer.
B+W Engineering and Design
Los Angeles Civil Engineer and Structural Engineer
http://bwengr.com
RE: Elevating Land
We all know that raising the elevation of the building above the existing ground is generally accepted as good engineering practice. So is raising the building 3" acceptable, but 2' is not? How does the HOA covenants define "change?" Is it based on historic flows and is this "change" calculated/determined at all four property lines?
I would argue that the property can be raised 'x'-feet internally within the lot, so long as it does not quantifiably change historic flow patterns to adjacent properties.