Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency would improve homeowners’ and business owners’ ability to withstand and recover from future storms and other disaster events. It builds on years of collaboration with floodplain communities to support post-disaster recovery and promote long-term resiliency.

Following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the City adopted temporary emergency zoning rules that made it easier for New Yorkers to rebuild. Zoning for Coastal Flood resiliency would update those rules with lessons learned and make them permanent.

The proposal would allow homeowners, business owners, architects and others to design resilient buildings that are better protected from flood risk and reduce flood insurance costs. It would protect and support public access to waterfront sites through resilient open space design. It would also help New Yorkers recover quickly from other future disasters, including the COVID-19 crisis.

Learn More

Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency was approved by the City Planning Commission on March 17, 2021 and adopted by City Council on May 12, 2021. The text is now in effect.  View the adopted text.

• One-page Summary
• Project Description
• Proposal Slides
• Annotated Zoning Text

Applicability Maps

See where key provisions of Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency would apply within each community district’s floodplain.*

Not sure of your community district? Search for a neighborhood or use the map on Community District Profiles.

Public Review

Summary of Past Outreach

In 2013 and in 2015, the NYC Zoning Resolution was updated to include provisions from the Flood Resilience Zoning Text Amendment (the “2013 Flood Text”) and the Special Regulations for Neighborhood Recovery (the “2015 Recovery Text”). The 2013 Flood Text removed many regulatory obstacles that hindered new and existing buildings to comply with flood-resistant construction standards in Appendix G of the New York City Building Code, or prevented the reconstruction of storm-damaged properties (see Article VI, Chapter 4 ). The 2015 Recovery Text simplified the process for old buildings to document non-compliances, and established new rules that allow damaged homes located within small lots to be reconstructed (see Article VI, Chapter 4, Appendix A).

Since both text amendments were approved on a temporary, emergency basis in the wake of Hurricane Sandy to speed the recovery process from the storm, they include sunset dates. The 2013 Flood Text expires within one year of the adoption of new FIRMs, which are expected to be revised by FEMA in the next few years. The 2015 Recovery Text expired on July 23, 2020. Therefore, these zoning rules needed to be adopted on a permanent basis to continue to allow buildings to incorporate resiliency improvements and recover from potential future storms.

Additionally, aside from making these rules permanent, they needed to incorporate updates that had been drawn from lessons learned and initiatives implemented through the City’s recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy. These recommendations, which are laid out in the Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency publication, were developed based on analysis of resilient construction in the floodplain, through extensive coordination with partner City agencies, and community feedback that was received during an extensive public engagement process as laid out in the Community Outreach Summary document released in 2018.

Contact Us

For more information or questions, email us at ResilientNeighborhoods@planning.nyc.gov.