Trenton, NJ Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Chapter 109, Flood Damage Prevention, adopted June 16, 2016 by Ordinance No. 16-33, applies to all areas of special flood hazard within the City under § 109-6. Those areas are identified in § 109-7 by FEMA's Flood Insurance Study for Mercer County, New Jersey (All Jurisdictions), dated July 20, 2016, and the associated Flood Insurance Rate Map panels (Index and Panel Nos. 34021C0202F, 34021C0206F, 34021C0207F, 34021C0209F, 34021C0217F, 34021C0226F, 34021C0228F and 34021C0236F), on file at City Hall, Room 101, 319 East State Street. Under § 109-12, a development permit must be obtained before construction or development begins, including placement of manufactured homes, in any of those mapped areas; the application, filed with the Construction Official, must show the nature, location, dimensions and elevations of the site, existing or proposed structures, fill, storage of materials and drainage facilities, the lowest floor elevation relative to mean sea level, any floodproofing elevation, engineer certification of floodproofing methods, and the extent to which any watercourse will be altered or relocated.

The Construction Official is designated under § 109-13 as the local administrator who grants or denies these permits. The chapter's stated purpose, per § 109-3, is to protect life and health, minimize public flood-control expenditures, and keep the tax base stable by regulating development in flood-prone land, and § 109-9 makes clear that wherever this chapter and another ordinance, easement or deed restriction conflict, the more stringent rule controls.