Elizabeth, NJ Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Chapter 13.24 (Stormwater Management), repealed and reenacted in full by Ordinance No. 6014 on June 25, 2024, requires stormwater controls for two tiers of projects defined in Section 13.24.020: 'major development,' which triggers the chapter's full green infrastructure, groundwater recharge, runoff-quantity and runoff-quality standards under Section 13.24.030, and 'minor development,' a lighter-touch category that still must control erosion and avoid worsening drainage onto neighboring property. Under Section 13.24.030, major development stormwater measures must meet the state's minimum erosion-control standards under the Soil and Sediment Control Act, N.J.S.A.

4:24-39 et seq., and incorporate green infrastructure to satisfy groundwater recharge and water-quality goals, while minor developments on one- through four-family residential lots must provide storage for three inches of runoff from all new impervious surface under Section 13.24.110. Applicants for major development must submit a full site development stormwater plan, including a topographic base map, environmental site analysis, land-use and source-control plan, facilities map and hydrologic calculations, to the reviewing municipal board or official, who consults the city's review engineer to confirm the checklist and design standards under Sections 13.24.030 through 13.24.050 are met, per Section 13.24.090.

Minor developments route through the zoning officer or city engineer instead of the full board process. Owners of any installed stormwater measure must maintain it so it keeps functioning; the city can order repairs within fourteen days of written notice, and if the owner fails to act, the city may perform the work itself and place a lien on the property for the cost, under Section 13.24.110(D).