Haverhill, MA Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Section 9.1 of the Haverhill Zoning Ordinance, most recently amended by Doc. 68-B in 2025, layers a Floodplain Overlay District (FPOD) on top of every other zoning district in the city. Section 9.1.1 defines the district's boundaries as all special flood hazard areas within Haverhill mapped as Zone A or Zone AE on the Essex County Flood Insurance Rate Map dated July 8, 2025, with the 100-year base flood elevations on that FIRM controlling the exact boundary. The Building Commissioner serves as the city's Floodplain Administrator under Section 9.1.11, and Section 9.1.12 makes the floodplain rules override any less restrictive conflicting local law or ordinance.

Section 9.1.4 imposes the district's strictest rule inside the mapped regulatory floodway: all encroachments, including fill, new construction and substantial improvement of existing structures, are prohibited unless a registered professional engineer certifies, through hydrologic and hydraulic analysis performed to standard engineering practice, that the proposed encroachment will not raise flood levels in the community during the base flood discharge. Existing structures that predate the FPOD are treated as nonconforming under Section 9.1.3 and may be expanded without regard to the floodplain provisions only if the work does not exceed 50% of the structure's market value. Section 9.1.6.4 requires a permit from Inspectional Services for essentially any development in the overlay district, including fences, sheds and manufactured homes, and Section 9.1.10 limits by-right activity in the district to low-impact uses such as farming, forestry and passive outdoor recreation.