Ground level enclosure under beach house (insurance, how much, neighborhood)

[stopgo]

I'm trying to make sure I understand exactly how much can be closed in underneath a beach home.

Assume the area is in the AE Zone, BFE (EL 9). As I understand it, I can enclose up to 300 square feet of "finished space" at the ground/entry level employing breakaway walls and flood vents. Is 300 square feet also the limit for "Parking/Storage" space as well? Or can more than 300 sq. ft be enclosed for this purpose?

[giffman]

Breakaway walls are only required in high hazard areas (V and VE). Typically, these are ocean front homes that are subject to the velocity action of waves. AE zone simple means that you are in the 100 yr flood plain and do not require break away walls. The local ordinance probably won't let you build finished space below the base flood elevation (BFE) in an AE zone. Even if they did, you'd pay a "boat load" of flood insurance for doing that. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $8,000 per year versus $800 per year if your finished floor was above the BFE.