Environmental Rules in Clifton, NJ (2026)
4 verified environmental rules for Clifton, New Jersey, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Stormwater Management
Clifton's 2024 stormwater ordinance makes every qualifying "major development" design green infrastructure BMPs for groundwater recharge, runoff quantity and quality control, meeting the state's erosion-control standards. Maintenance plans get recorded on the deed, and neglecting a facility after a 14-day notice lets the City fix it and lien the property.
Clifton Requires Green Infrastructure for New Development
Some RestrictionsClifton Code § 394-1, § 394-3, § 394-11
The purpose of this chapter is to establish minimum stormwater management requirements and controls for "major development," as defined below in § 394-2. ... Stormwater management measures for major development shall be designed to provide erosion control, groundwater recharge, stormwater runoff quantity control, and stormwater runoff quality treatment as follows: (1) The minimum standards for ...
Erosion Control
Before hauling dirt off a Clifton construction site for sale or off-site use, an owner needs a Council-issued soil-removal permit costing $25 to $1,000 by acreage. Section 387-6 makes soil erosion by water and wind, and drainage impact, explicit factors the City must weigh before granting it, and a performance bond is required.
Clifton Soil Removal Permit Weighs Erosion Impact
Some RestrictionsClifton Code § 387-1, § 387-6
No person shall excavate or otherwise remove soil for sale or for use other than the premises from which the soil is taken, except in connection with the construction or alteration of a building on such premises, and excavation or grading incidental thereto, without first obtaining permission from the Council and a permit as required by this chapter. ... The Council, in considering the applicat...
Flood Zones
Clifton's Floodplain Management Regulations require any development in a flood hazard area to comply with the Uniform Construction Code and the state Flood Hazard Area Control Act, using the most restrictive of FEMA and NJDEP mapping to define the regulated area.
Clifton Flood Hazard Area Development Rules
Significant RestrictionsClifton Code §§ 239-2, 239-11
§ 239-2. Scope. These regulations, in combination with the flood provisions of the Uniform Construction Code and FHACA shall apply to all proposed development in flood hazard areas established in Article II of these regulations... § 239-11. Establishment of flood hazard areas. A. The City of Clifton was accepted for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program on June 15, 1982. ...the ...
Flood Elevation Requirements
Clifton requires new construction in flood hazard areas to meet a local design flood elevation that adds at least one foot of freeboard above the best available flood data, with two feet required for critical facilities.
Clifton Local Design Flood Elevation Rules
Significant RestrictionsClifton Code § 239-12
§ 239-12. Establishing the local design flood elevation (LDFE). A. The local design flood elevation (LDFE) is established in the flood hazard areas determined in § 239-11, above, using the best available flood hazard data sources, and the Flood Hazard Area Control Act minimum statewide elevation requirements for lowest floors in A, Coastal A, and V Zones, ASCE 24 requirements for critical facil...
Looking for Passaic County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Clifton city rules.
Environmental Rules in Passaic County →