Interior work, with one flood-zone exception
A kitchen renovation is interior and mostly outside floodplain and coastal provisions. The exception is scale: inside a mapped flood zone, a renovation large enough relative to the structure's value can cross the substantial-improvement threshold and pull the whole building into compliance requirements. That is a budgeting question worth answering before design, not a construction one.
Official sources
Check the threshold before scoping a large renovation
Citywide mapping cannot tell you your parcel's zone, your structure's assessed value, or what is behind the kitchen wall. Establish the first two with the city if the project is substantial, and the third with whoever opens it up.
Research date
Reviewed June 22, 2026. Maps and requirements change — recheck before relying on this.