Cheektowaga, NY Hurricane Preparedness: Flood Elevation (2026)

Chapter 125, Flood Damage Prevention, adopted under the National Flood Insurance Program, sets the elevation standard that keeps homes in FEMA-mapped flood hazard zones insurable and out of repeated flood damage. Section 125-17A requires that, within Zones A1-A30, AE and AH, and Zone A where base flood elevation data exists, new construction and substantial improvements to residential structures have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated to or above two feet above the base flood elevation. Where no base flood elevation data is available in Zone A, § 125-17B instead requires the lowest floor to sit at least three feet above the highest adjacent grade, and Zone AO structures must clear the FIRM-listed depth number plus two feet, or three feet if no depth number is listed (§ 125-17C).

No work in a mapped flood hazard area can begin without a floodplain development permit issued by the Town Engineer, who serves as the chapter's local administrator (§ 125-11, § 125-12A); the permit application carries a $100 fee plus up to a $500 deposit for review and inspection costs (§ 125-12B). Once the lowest floor is in place, the permit holder must submit an as-built elevation certificate prepared by a licensed surveyor or engineer to the local administrator (§ 125-13A, § 125-14D). The Town's Flood Insurance Rate Maps, effective June 7, 2019, and the accompanying Erie County Flood Insurance Study of the same date, are on file with the Town Engineer at the Alexander Community Center, 275 Alexander Avenue.