Bethlehem, PA Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Article 1317 is structured as an overlay on Bethlehem's base zoning districts - the underlying district rules still apply, but the Floodway and Flood-Fringe overlays impose additional development restrictions. Section 1317.04 designates the City's Zoning Officer as the Floodplain Administrator, with authority to issue permits, delegate to qualified technical personnel, enter floodplain properties for inspection, revoke permits, and submit the biennial NFIP community report to FEMA under 44 C.F.R. § 59.22. Section 1317.05 requires that before any permit issues, the Administrator confirm coordination with other state and federal approvals - PA Sewage Facilities Act (Act 1966-537), PA Dam Safety and Encroachments Act (Act 1978-325, administered through the PA DEP Chapter 105 program), PA Clean Streams Act, and Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1344). Application materials under § 1317.06 include a site plan at 1 inch = 100 feet or larger showing topography, structures, watercourses, and floodplain boundaries; building plans with the proposed lowest-floor elevation referenced to NAVD 88 and the elevation of the base flood; documentation by a registered professional engineer or architect that any development in an AE floodway will not cumulatively increase the BFE; and information on any hazardous-substance storage. Section 1317.22 of the Ordinance defines the regulatory flood elevation as the base flood elevation plus a 1.5-foot freeboard safety factor, and § 1317.21 prohibits certain hazardous-material uses outright in the floodplain. Bethlehem participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The currently effective FIRM panels (e.g., 42095C0263E) carry the July 16, 2014 effective date, which is the same date Ordinance 2014-20 was passed. Federally-backed mortgages on property in an SFHA require flood insurance under 42 U.S.C. § 4012a.