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

Town Code Chapter 168, Flood Damage Prevention, sets the freeboard standard for residential construction outside coastal high hazard zones. Under § 168-24A, within Zones A1-A30, AE and AH, and Zone A where base flood elevation data exist, new construction and substantial improvements must have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated to or above two feet above the base flood elevation (BFE). Where no BFE data are available in Zone A, § 168-24B instead requires the lowest floor to sit at least three feet above the highest adjacent grade, and in Zone AO the floor must clear the FIRM-specified depth number by at least two feet, per § 168-24C.

Zones AH and AO additionally require drainage paths that carry floodwater around and away from the structure under § 168-24D. These elevation rules apply on top of the general anchoring, flood-resistant materials, and utility-elevation standards in § 168-23, which requires new electrical, heating and plumbing equipment to sit at least two feet above BFE or be floodproofed. Manufactured homes and recreational vehicles get their own two-foot-above-BFE elevation rule under § 168-28. The Director of Planning is the local administrator who grants or denies floodplain development permits under § 168-11, and any structure found noncompliant that has not received an approved variance is reported to FEMA.

Property owners seeking relief from the two-foot standard must apply to the Board of Zoning Appeals under Article VI, which weighs flood danger, alternative site availability and the cost of emergency services before granting a variance.