East Orange, NJ Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

§ 150-16 of the City's Floodplain Management chapter tells builders exactly how high to build in a flood hazard area established under § 150-15. The local design flood elevation (LDFE) starts from New Jersey's Flood Hazard Area Control Act minimum statewide elevations for A, Coastal A and V Zones, plus ASCE 24 requirements for critical facilities, plus additional freeboard the chapter itself adds. For a delineated watercourse, § 150-16B(1) sets the LDFE at the best available flood hazard data elevation plus two feet of freeboard, or the elevation described by N.J.A.C.

7:13, whichever governs. Where a watercourse is undelineated but drains 50 acres or more, applicants must get an NJDEP flood hazard area verification plus two feet of freeboard, or calculate the elevation under FHACA Method 5 or 6, sealed by a licensed professional engineer and submitted under § 150-39A(3). In AO Zones, § 150-16B(3) sets the floor at the highest adjacent grade plus the FIRM's depth number plus one foot of freeboard, or three feet above grade if no depth number is shown. Critical facilities get extra cushion: new or substantially improved Class IV critical facilities under § 150-16B(4) must be built to the higher of the 0.2%-annual-chance flood elevation or the FHACA elevation plus four feet of freeboard, while Class III critical facilities in coastal high hazard areas under § 150-16B(5) get two additional feet. The Floodplain Administrator, the City Engineer under § 150-17, applies these figures when reviewing every flood hazard area permit application.