Pottstown, PA Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Chapter 8, Part 2, Section 202 establishes the Floodplain Conservation District over every area of the Borough subject to inundation by the one-hundred-year flood, as delineated on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for Montgomery County dated March 2, 2016, covering all Zone A and Zone AE areas plus soils the Natural Resources Conservation Service lists as flooding 1% or more per year, including Bowmansville, Knauers, Gilbraltar, Hatboro and several Rowland series soils. The district functions as an overlay on whatever base zoning district applies to a lot.

It is unlawful for any person, partnership, business or corporation to undertake or cause to be undertaken any construction or development anywhere in the district without first obtaining a permit from the Floodplain Administrator; only minor repairs to existing buildings are exempt from that permit. Section 502 goes further and bars specific activities outright within the district regardless of permit: new construction, alteration or improvement of buildings or any permanent structure including fences in the floodway or the one-hundred-year floodplain; placement of fill; watercourse encroachments; clearing of existing vegetation outside permitted uses; excess fertilizer, pesticide or herbicide use; new roads or driveways outside approved crossings; parking lots; subsurface sewage disposal areas; sod farming; stormwater basins; and storage of chemicals, oils, greases or gasoline.

Section 501 permits only narrow uses by right, such as passive open space, forestry reviewed by the Montgomery County Conservation District, agricultural or utility crossings, and redevelopment of brownfield sites built to elevation and floodproofing standards. Boundary disputes go first to the Planning Commission, with appeal to Borough Council, and the burden of proof rests on the appellant under Section 404.