Ridgefield, CT Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Before any Zoning Permit for construction in a Special Flood Hazard Area, an applicant must obtain a Site Plan Application for Floodplain Development approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission, on top of the Building Official's separate review under the older Town Code § 188-1, adopted in 1974 and amended in 1982, which likewise requires new construction and substantial improvements (including manufactured and mobile homes) to be anchored against flotation and built with flood-resistant materials and methods. The newer Zoning Regulations Section 11, Floodplain Management, adds the numeric substance: structures must minimize flood damage, use flood-resistant materials and utility equipment, and be anchored against hydrodynamic forces.

Where FEMA hasn't published a base flood elevation for a site, the lowest floor, including any basement, must sit at least two feet above the highest adjacent grade next to the structure. Any fill, new construction or substantial improvement, considered cumulatively with all existing and anticipated development, cannot raise the base flood's water surface elevation by more than one foot anywhere in Town. Electrical, heating, plumbing and other service equipment must be elevated to or above the base flood elevation, and above-ground fuel tanks must be anchored or elevated with fill pipes extended above that elevation. 7, and the Town Sanitarian separately requires water and sewer systems to resist floodwater infiltration under Town Code § 188-3.