Hamburg Village, NY Hurricane Preparedness: Flood Elevation (2026)

This page covers the nonresidential side of Chapter 146, Flood Damage Prevention, of the Code of the Village of Hamburg, adopted by the Board of Trustees on 4-15-2019. Chapter 146 addresses flooding and the base flood and does not use the word hurricane, so the rules below are the village's flood-elevation requirements for owners planning for storm flooding.

Section 146-5D applies to new and substantially improved commercial, industrial and other nonresidential structures in areas of special flood hazard. In Zones A1-A30, AE and AH, and Zone A if base flood elevation data are available, the owner has two choices: elevate the lowest floor, including basement or cellar, to or above two feet above the base flood elevation, or floodproof the structure so it is watertight below two feet above the base flood elevation, including attendant utility and sanitary facilities, with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water. Structural components below the base flood level must resist hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and the effects of buoyancy.

In Zone AO the lowest floor must be above the highest adjacent grade at least as high as the depth number on the Flood Insurance Rate Map plus two feet, or at least three feet if no depth number is specified. Under § 146-5D(3), a licensed professional engineer or architect develops or reviews the floodproofing design, and a floodproofing certificate giving the elevation to which the structure is floodproofed goes to the local administrator.

Related elevation figures in § 146-5 include manufactured homes in Zones A1-A30, AE and AH, where the bottom of the chassis frame must be at or above two feet above the base flood elevation, and aboveground storage tanks, which must be anchored or installed at or above the base flood elevation plus two feet. In Zone A with no base flood elevation data, manufactured homes need reinforced piers no less than 36 inches in height above grade. Recreational vehicles must be on site fewer than 180 consecutive days or be fully licensed and ready for highway use.