Environmental Rules in Gary, IN (2026)
4 verified environmental rules for Gary, Indiana, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Stormwater Management
Gary's Stormwater Management District, GSWMD, requires a permit before any land disturbance of 10,000 square feet or more, on top of zoning and building permit compliance. No building permit issues until the applicable stormwater provisions are met, and violations are civil infractions carrying up to $2,500.00 in fines per day.
Gary Stormwater Management Permit Rules
Significant RestrictionsGary Municipal Code §§ 119-37, 119-38, 119-76
In addition to the requirements of this chapter, compliance with the requirements set forth in the local zoning ordinances is also necessary. ... No building permit shall be issued for the construction, extension, remodeling, alteration or repair of any proposed or existing building in the city, unless all of the applicable provisions of this chapter have been complied with. ... Any person foun...
Erosion Control
Gary Chapter 113 requires anyone starting a land disturbing activity, clearing, grading, excavating, filling, or transporting earth, to file a plan with the executive director and get it approved first. The chapter exists to preserve natural terrain, control drainage and blowing sand, and prevent erosion onto neighboring property.
Gary Land Disturbing Activity Permit
Significant RestrictionsGary Municipal Code §§ 113-2, 113-4
This chapter is enacted to preserve the natural terrain and contours, to regulate and control drainage and the blowing of sand, to prevent erosion, and to protect adjacent property from drainage resulting from land disturbing activities. ... (a)No person shall engage in any land disturbing activity until he has submitted to the executive director a plan for such land disturbing activity and tha...
Flood Zones
Sec. 123-304 prohibits any development in Gary's Special Flood Hazard Area that would raise flood heights or velocity: inside the mapped floodway no project may increase the elevation of the regulatory flood, and in unmapped A Zones the cumulative rise allowed from all development combined is capped at one-tenth of one foot.
Gary Bars Floodway Development That Raises Flood Levels
Some RestrictionsGary Municipal Code § 123-304
No development in the SFHA shall create a damaging or potentially damaging increase in flood heights or velocity or threat to public health and safety. (1)Within the floodway identified on the flood boundary and floodway map or the flood insurance rate map, the following standards shall apply:a.No development shall be allowed which acting along or in combination with existing or future developm...
Flood Elevation Requirements
Sec. 123-252 defines Gary's regulatory flood elevation, the code's flood-protection benchmark, by pointing to specific FEMA studies: the 100-year flood profiles in the city's September 16, 1980 Flood Insurance Study and the March 16, 1981 Flood Boundary and Floodway Map/Flood Insurance Rate Map for the Little Calumet River, Grand Calumet River, and Lake Michigan shoreline.
Gary Sets Regulatory Flood Elevation by FEMA Map
Some RestrictionsGary Municipal Code § 123-252
This division's protection standard is the regulatory flood. The best available regulatory flood data is listed below. ... (1)The regulatory flood elevation and floodway limits for the SFHAs of the Little Calumet River, Grand Calumet River and Southern Shore of Lake Michigan shall be as delineated on the 100-year flood profiles in the Flood Insurance Study of the city dated September 16, 1980, ...
Looking for Lake County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Gary city rules.
Environmental Rules in Lake County →