Colonie, NY Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

The Town of Colonie has enacted a local Flood Damage Prevention chapter modeled on the NYSDEC/FEMA model law required for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. As FEMA NFIP community 360003, Colonie's floodplain administrator (housed in the Department of Building & Code Enforcement and the Engineering Division) reviews every proposed structure, fill, grading, or substantial improvement located in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) mapped on the effective Albany County FIRM panels. Within SFHAs, new residential structures must have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated to or above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE), with New York typically requiring at least one foot of freeboard above the BFE; non-residential structures may instead be dry-floodproofed to the same elevation. Substantial improvement or substantial damage (50% or more of market value) to an existing structure triggers full compliance for the entire building. Mapped flood hazards in Colonie principally follow the Mohawk River corridor at the town's northern boundary, the Patroon Creek system, Lisha Kill, Sand Creek, and several smaller tributaries; floodways within those reaches are subject to a 'no rise' encroachment standard under 44 CFR 60.3(d). A Floodplain Development Permit is required before any work in an SFHA, separate from the standard building permit.