Schenectady, NY Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Chapter 158, Flood Damage Prevention, has governed Schenectady's flood hazard areas since the City Council adopted it November 25, 2013, by Local Law No. 1-2013, replacing the city's 1980s-era flood hazard chapter, which is retained only for historical reference. The current chapter applies to all areas of special flood hazard identified on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map panels for Community Number 360741, effective January 8, 2014, and the accompanying Flood Insurance Study for Schenectady County. The Building Inspector serves as the city's local administrator, deciding whether to grant or deny every floodplain development permit application under § 158-12.

Applicants must submit duplicate scaled plans showing the nature, location, dimensions and elevations of the site, any existing or proposed structures, fill, storage of materials and drainage facilities. Nonresidential projects that plan to floodproof rather than elevate need a certification from a licensed professional engineer or architect meeting the watertightness criteria in § 158-16C and § 158-18. The local administrator can require additional technical studies when a project might raise flood levels on neighboring land, and § 158-14F authorizes a stop-work order for any floodplain work found underway without an approved permit or found out of compliance with permit conditions.

No building or land use created or altered under this chapter can lawfully be occupied until the local administrator issues a certificate of compliance under § 158-14G. Appeals from a permit denial or a claimed administrative error go to the Zoning Board of Appeals under § 158-20, and a further appeal from the Board's decision runs to State Supreme Court under Article 78 of the CPLR.