Stafford Township, NJ Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Section 114-12 builds the local design flood elevation, or LDFE, from the best available flood hazard data under § 114-11, the Flood Hazard Area Control Act minimum statewide elevations for lowest floors in A, Coastal A and V Zones, and ASCE 24 requirements for critical facilities, then adds freeboard. For a delineated watercourse, including AE Zones, the LDFE is the best available flood elevation, or the elevation described by N.J.A.C. 7:13, plus two feet of freeboard. For an undelineated watercourse with a contributary drainage area of 50 acres or more, the applicant must supply either an unexpired NJDEP flood hazard area verification plus an additional two feet of freeboard, or a Method 5 or Method 6 determination under N.J.A.C. 7:13 that includes two feet of freeboard and is sealed and submitted according to §§ 114-35 and 114-36. Class IV critical facilities, and Class III critical facilities in coastal high hazard areas, must be built to the higher of the 0.2% annual chance (500-year) flood elevation or the flood hazard area design flood elevation with an additional two feet of freeboard.

The LDFE is the line the other sections measure against. Under § 114-76, new construction and substantial improvement of a habitable building in a flood hazard area must have the lowest floor, including basement, and its attendant utilities elevated to or above the LDFE, confirmed by an elevation certificate. Nonresidential buildings can instead be designed so that the structure below the LDFE meets ASCE 24 Chapters 2 and 7, with a floodproofing certificate signed by a licensed design professional. Section 114-91 requires flood-damage-resistant materials below the LDFE, and § 114-92 requires mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems to be elevated to or above it, with an exception for equipment designed and installed to resist flooding to the LDFE under ASCE 24. Under § 114-19, the Floodplain Administrator verifies that the LDFE written into any development permit applies the best available data, and can require a sealed engineering analysis by a licensed professional engineer where no design flood elevation is specified.