Bethlehem, PA Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Freeboard requirement
- 1.5 feet above the 100-year flood elevation
- Applies to
- Structures storing/handling listed hazardous substances
- Watercourse setback
- 50 feet landward from top of bank
- Variance
- Only the freeboard figure itself may be modified
- Flood basis
- FEMA Flood Insurance Study for City of Bethlehem
Summary
Any structure in Bethlehem's Flood Fringe District used to produce, store, or maintain listed hazardous substances must sit at least one and one-half feet above the one-hundred-year flood elevation, under Codified Ordinances § 1327.06(a). That eighteen-inch freeboard margin is locked into the code so tightly that the Zoning Hearing Board can't grant a variance from it, even though it can waive other requirements in the same subsection.
(a) Any structure, or substantial improvement to any structure which is used for the production, storage, or maintenance of a supply of any of the substances listed in Section 1327.05(d)(1) shall: (1) Be elevated or designed and constructed to remain completely dry up to at least one and one-half (1-1/2') feet above the one hundred (100) year flood elevation. (2) Be designed and constructed to prevent pollution from the structure or activity during the course of a one hundred (100) year flood. (3) Be prohibited within the area measured fifty (50) feet landward from the top-of-bank of any watercourse. (b) Except for a possible modification of the one and one-half (1-1/2) foot freeboard requirement, no variance shall be granted for any of the other requirements of this subsection (a).
Full Breakdown
05(d)(1), such as flammable liquids, pesticides, or other substances classified as hazardous waste under 25 Pa. 261. 06(a) requires those structures, and any substantial improvement to them, to meet three conditions: they must be elevated, designed, or constructed to stay completely dry to at least one and one-half feet above the one-hundred-year flood elevation; they must be designed and built to prevent pollution from escaping during a one-hundred-year flood; and they're barred outright within fifty feet, measured landward, of the top of the bank of any watercourse.
Subsection (b) then locks that freeboard number in place: except for a possible modification of the eighteen-inch freeboard figure itself, no variance shall be granted from any of the other (a) requirements, meaning the fifty-foot watercourse setback and the pollution-prevention design standard are effectively non-negotiable. The regulatory flood elevation the code measures against is the FEMA-mapped one-hundred-year flood documented in the Flood Insurance Study for the City of Bethlehem.
Violations & Fines
Building or expanding a regulated structure below the required freeboard, inside the fifty-foot watercourse buffer, or without pollution-prevention design triggers the same Article 1324 penalty track as other zoning violations: a written correction order from the Zoning Officer, a short window to fix it, and a fine up to $500 per offense under Section 1324.06, payable to the City Treasurer, or up to ninety days in jail if unpaid.
Frequently Asked Questions
How high above flood level must a regulated structure sit in Bethlehem?
Can the Zoning Hearing Board waive the freeboard requirement?
Is there a setback from streams in addition to the elevation rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bethlehem
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