Pancake Restaurant Elevates
Restaurant Elevates out of FloodPlain

Roseville, CA –The City of Roseville experienced repetitive flooding in 1986, 1995, and 1997 from several small creeks. Damage from the 1986 floods was extensive and severe. After witnessing the effects of this flood event, one of the local business owners embarked on a significant mitigation project to protect his business property and to meet the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements to raise the finished floor above the base flood elevation in a floodplain.

A new construction project, the International House of Pancakes (IHOP), was planned for a piece of property situated between two creeks in the City of Roseville. The owner had the property for 20 years and knew it was in the floodplain. A market analysis indicated that property values in the area for business were high and rather than convert the site to a park or unoccupied space, the owner decided to build 4 feet above the base flood elevation level. The restaurant was constructed over parking garage space and the generators were elevated 6 feet.

Elevation of the IHOP restaurant has resulted in several benefits to the daily business. The business is more visible and therefore attracts customers. The parking garage is valuable and will become more so over time. The elevation gives the building owner peace of mind. In his words, "There is an initial price to pay but in the long term, when the potential catastrophic effects are looked at, it is a sound investment. The most important consideration is safety, then economics."

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