Building height rule in Patchogue revised in flood zones

The Patchogue Village board of trustees on Monday night amended village code to change the definition of the maximum height of a building in Federal Emergency Management Agency flood zones.

Single-family homes in the flood zones currently are limited to 35 feet and commercial buildings to 45 feet.

The change in code chapter 435 allows residential and commercial building owners to raise their buildings as much as another eight feet — all of which would be uninhabitable space — if required by a FEMA flood map to receive flood insurance against future storms.

The board also voted to amend the flood damage prevention code to standardize the language with FEMA guidelines on such matters as protecting at the time of construction facilities vulnerable to floods and maintaining participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.

The federal agency required the board to adopt the same language, Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri said.