New Britain, CT Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

New Britain's Flood Damage Prevention article, Sec. 9-41 through 9-50, applies to every area FEMA maps as a special flood hazard area on the city's Flood Insurance Rate Map, current as of May 16, 2017 for the affected panel and September 26, 2008 for the rest, on file at Public Works, City Hall, 27 West Main Street. Sec. 9-43(c) requires a floodplain management permit from the city engineer before any development activity, defined broadly to include grading, filling, paving and structure alteration, and that permit expires if work does not start within 90 days of approval.

Sec. 9-45 sets the construction standards: new residential and nonresidential structures must have their lowest floor, including any basement, elevated at least two feet above the base flood elevation, aboveground fuel and propane tanks must be anchored or elevated with a raised fill pipe and screw cap, manufactured homes and recreational vehicle parking are prohibited outright in special flood hazard areas, and fully enclosed areas below the base flood elevation need at least two flood vents sized to one square inch per square foot of enclosed area.

Floodways, the channel areas that must stay clear to carry the base flood, ban virtually all encroachment, including fences unless open and aligned with flow, under Sec. 9-45(c)(3). The flood and erosion control board hears variance requests and appeals of the city engineer's decisions under Sec. 9-47, and any variance recipient must be told in writing that flood insurance could cost as much as $25 per $100 of coverage as a result.