Permeable Resin-Bound Surfacing in Binghamton, NY

Urban Runoff Reduction Plans under Chapter 227

Section 227-10 of the city code requires an Urban Runoff Reduction Plan for projects that do not need a full SWPPP but meet any of these thresholds: any new or expanded ancillary or public parking area; on-lot parking or loading of 20 or more spaces or 5,000 square feet or more; commercial, mixed-use, industrial or multifamily (three or more units) projects creating, replacing or adding 1,000 square feet or more of impervious surface; one- and two-family projects creating, replacing or adding 2,500 square feet or more; any new or replaced impervious area in the FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area; and subdivisions under one acre.

Plans follow the state Design Manual and must retain the 10-year, 24-hour storm with green infrastructure. In addition, all off-street parking areas must be able to contain 4 inches of precipitation in 24 hours, and pervious pavement is listed as one way to meet it. A committee can grant a waiver where retention is physically or economically impossible.

River valley soils, floodplain and winter: what to plan for

Binghamton sits where the Chenango River meets the Susquehanna, and the code notes that combined sewers serve over 30 percent of the city and that FEMA expanded the 100-year floodplain. Valley-floor soils and river deposits vary, and groundwater can be high near the rivers. For porous pavement the state manual sets three gates: soil infiltration of at least 0.5 inch per hour, an underdrain if the rate is below 2 inches per hour, and enough depth between the stone layer and the seasonal high water table or bedrock. That depth is normally 2 feet, but Binghamton sits over a federally designated sole source aquifer, where the manual requires 4 feet.

Winters bring freeze-thaw and heavy plowing. The manual prohibits sand on porous pavement and its use at stormwater hotspots, and caps run-on at three times the paved area. Retaining the 10-year storm usually takes a deeper reservoir than water quality alone, so the engineer will size the open-graded stone reservoir to that volume, under Rock Crete or another permeable base.

Where it fits in Binghamton

• Small commercial and mixed-use lots downtown and along Main Street and Court Street, where replacing 1,000 square feet of paving triggers a plan.
• Parking areas of any size that must hold 4 inches of rain; a permeable section can provide much of that storage.
• Two-family homes on the North and South Sides adding 2,500 square feet of driveway, patio or roof.
• Properties in the Special Flood Hazard Area, where any new or replaced impervious surface needs a plan.
• Student housing and campus-area walks where low-glare, well-drained paths matter.

Getting a plan approved by the Stormwater Management Officer

If the project needs site plan approval, a variance or a special use permit, submit a preliminary Urban Runoff Reduction Plan with the zoning application for review by the Planning Department, Planning Commission or Zoning Board of Appeals. The final plan goes to the Building Department, and the Stormwater Management Officer approves it before any grading, building or demolition permit issues. Plans must be certified by a licensed engineer or landscape architect, and a recorded maintenance agreement or easement may be required.

Resin Rock provides the materials behind the plan: binder, stone blends, trims and Rock Crete, with technical data sheets the certifying engineer can attach. We are not an installer. Owners are matched with an approved contractor, and New York crews can take our installer training. The Stormwater Management Officer has the final word.