Rochester, NY Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Article XIX of the City Charter sets Rochester's flood elevation standards on top of federal National Flood Insurance Program minimums. In Zones A1-A30, AE and AH, where FEMA has published base flood elevation data, new construction and substantial improvements must have the top of the lowest floor, including any basement, at or above two feet of freeboard over the base flood elevation (§ 19-5C(1)(a)); AH-zone sites also need drainage paths that route floodwater around and away from the structure. In Zone A, where no base flood elevation is published, the applicant's registered design professional must determine one using accepted hydrologic and hydraulic methods and then add the same two feet of freeboard (§ 19-5C(1)(b)).

In Zone AO, the lowest floor must clear the highest adjacent grade by the depth number printed on the city's Flood Insurance Rate Map plus one foot of freeboard, or two feet if no depth number is shown (§ 19-5C(1)(c)). Where a site is mapped as Coastal A or V zone, the lowest horizontal structural member must instead clear two feet above the base flood elevation while resting on pilings, columns or shear walls (§ 19-5D(1)). Utilities such as furnaces, air conditioning and plumbing connections must sit at least two feet above the base flood elevation or be built to keep floodwater out (§ 19-5B(3)(a)), and above-ground storage tanks must either be anchored against flotation or installed two feet above the base flood elevation (§ 19-5B(4)(b)).