Quick answer
In East Aurora, NY, Dig Out WNY digs, demolishes and builds on both sides of the village line: inside the Village of East Aurora and across the Town of Aurora in Erie County. The work covers teardowns of older houses and garages, basement and foundation digs, yard drainage, utility trenches, land clearing and ponds, for homes and commercial properties. Estimates start with a call or text to (716) 444-6613.
East Aurora is really two digging jobs. Inside the village, nearly half the homes were built before 1940, and taking even a porch off a designated landmark needs the Historic Preservation Commission's sign-off. The ground under much of it is gravel and sand left by glacial meltwater, which drains fast but won't hold a steep trench wall. Beyond the village line, out through West Falls, Jewettville and Griffins Mills, the Town of Aurora's most common ground is silty glacial till over soft shale, often wet into spring.
We work both sides of that line, for homeowners and for commercial properties. No number gets quoted until we've been on the property, watched where water runs and worked out what's likely under the lawn, because a basement dig in Palmyra gravel and one in Rhinebeck clay are different jobs. We answer our own phone, tell you plainly which office has to sign off, and lay out the plan before the first bucket goes in. Use the contact form to send the address, or pick up the phone.
Outwash gravel, Tannery Brook and shale uplands
The Village of East Aurora is its own municipality inside the Town of Aurora, in Erie County, but a single Building and Code Enforcement office at the Aurora Municipal Center on Oakwood Avenue handles permits for both. The village housing is old. The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 survey puts the village's median construction year at 1942, and 1,296 of its 2,715 homes date to 1939 or earlier. Under the Village's preservation rules, the Roycroft Campus counts as a historic district.
Beneath much of the village, the Erie County soil survey maps Palmyra and Phelps gravelly loams: glacial outwash of gravel and sand, with bedrock five feet down or deeper. Palmyra's lower layers pass water very quickly. Mixed in are Varysburg and Rhinebeck soils, where a gravel cap sits on varved silty clay and a perched water table rises in spring, from January through May on Rhinebeck ground.
Water is the other local story. The Town's climate vulnerability assessment names Tannery Brook, most of which runs inside the village, as flood-prone, along with the East Branch of Cazenovia Creek south of the village and the West Branch south of West Falls. It also notes that US Route 20A may be affected by a 1 percent annual chance flood. The lowest creek-bottom soils in the village are mapped as Wayland, with water at or near the surface from November through June.
Farther out, the ground changes. Across the rest of the town, home to West Falls, Jewettville, Griffins Mills and part of South Wales, the most common soils are Derb and Orpark, both formed in silty glacial till over soft shale bedrock. Orpark ground reaches shale 20 to 40 inches down. In the Town's comprehensive plan survey, nearly 30 percent of respondents reported drainage or flooding trouble, with West Falls and Jewettville/Griffins Mills hit hardest.
Services in East Aurora
What we do in East Aurora
In the village, the older housing points to house and building demolition, detached garage tear-downs behind prewar homes, and basement and footing digs for rebuilds and additions. Out in the town, the work shifts toward storm water and yard drainage, driveway culverts, water service trenches and site prep for new houses. Residential or commercial, every job starts the same way: we walk it, work out the soil and the water, and tell you who has to approve it before anything is dug.
Demolition & Removal
Excavation & Earthwork
Building & Foundations
Sewer, Water & Utilities
Driveways & Finish Work
Teardowns on prewar village streets and landmark lots
With a median build year of 1942, plenty of village houses and garages are old enough to hide asbestos in pipe wrap, siding or floor tile, so suspect materials get tested before a machine touches the structure. Utilities are shut off and capped, 811 gets called so the utilities mark their lines, and the sewer connection is dealt with before the basement is broken out and filled.
Landmarks add a step. Under the Village's preservation ordinance, demolishing a designated landmark, or making a major exterior change to one that shows from a public street, can't go ahead until the Historic Preservation Commission grants a certificate of appropriateness, and that sign-off sits on top of the building permit rather than replacing it. If the property is a landmark or part of a historic district such as the Roycroft Campus, settle that with the Commission before you book a garage removal or a full house demolition.
Rebuilding on the same spot? The soil survey rates Palmyra gravel well suited to many urban uses, and it drains well, but a basement cut in loose gravel won't stand straight for long, so the walls get laid back or shored. On the Varysburg pockets, the survey warns that basements are hard to keep dry and says subsurface drains around the foundation plus proper grading keep that in check. Backfill and footing drains get planned around whichever soil the dig actually exposes.
Where water collects: Tannery Brook and the creek flats
If your yard sits low near Tannery Brook or on the Cazenovia Creek flats, the water standing there in April can be groundwater, not just runoff. Where those bottoms are mapped as Wayland soil, the water table sits near the surface from November into June, and the Building Department notes that both the Town and the Village have floodplains and state or federal wetlands. Look at the FEMA flood map and the DEC wetland mapper before planning anything big. If wetlands turn up on the lot, the Building Department wants them delineated before you apply for a building permit.
On higher village ground the fix is often simpler. Palmyra gravel takes water quickly, so a French drain or buried downspout line can usually put roof water into the ground instead of across a neighbor's yard. Where Rhinebeck clay lies under the gravel, that same water perches and lingers, and the drain needs a real outlet: a ditch, a storm connection the municipality allows, or daylight downhill.
A few rules we hold to on these lots:
- Grade soil away from the foundation before adding any pipe.
- Keep sump and footing water out of the sanitary sewer.
- Never fill a low spot that the neighbors' water already drains through.
Rural Aurora parcels: shale, culverts, ponds and septic
Outside the village the jobs spread out: clearing a building site, cutting in a driveway, trenching a water line or digging a pond. On Orpark ground the bucket meets soft shale somewhere between 20 and 40 inches. The survey notes the rock is usually rippable, so a machine can break it, but it makes drain trenches slow to cut, and these soils often take on runoff and seepage from higher ground. Interceptor drains on the uphill side of a house are the survey's own answer.
A new house out here brings its own paperwork. If the lot has no public sewer, the septic system for a new dwelling needs an Erie County Health Department permit before the town issues the building permit. For a driveway culvert on a county or town road, the Building Department sends you to the Erie County Highway Department or the Town Highway Department, depending on whose road it is. Water tap applications for town properties go through the Erie County Water Authority, and ponds are on the Building Department's permit list.
We handle the land clearing, pond digging and water service trenching, then get bare silt covered fast, since the survey calls silty Orpark ground erosive and says construction sites on it should be revegetated quickly.
Aurora's shared building office, sewer district and 811
Village and town properties both go through the Town of Aurora Building and Code Enforcement office at the Aurora Municipal Center, 575 Oakwood Avenue, which accepts applications online through Cloudpermit. Its permit list includes demolition, excavation and fill, foundation repair or replacement, ponds, garages and sheds, and every in-ground pool. Tearing down a designated village landmark, or making major exterior changes to one, also takes the Preservation Commission's certificate, and new curb cuts in the village go through the Village Department of Public Works. Sewers in the village and parts of the town are served by Erie County Sewer District No. 8, run by the county's Division of Sewerage Management, so call the district before a lateral is repaired, replaced or capped. 811 gets called before any digging starts. Because requirements shift with each job, check yours with the Town of Aurora Building Department before anything is scheduled.
Questions & answers
Questions from East Aurora homeowners
Which office handles a garage or house demolition in East Aurora village?
The Town of Aurora Building and Code Enforcement office handles it, even for properties inside the village. That single office issues permits on either side of the village line, and demolition is on its permit list, along with garages and other accessory buildings. If the building is a designated village landmark, the Historic Preservation Commission has to issue a certificate of appropriateness as well. When you're not sure whether a property is designated, ask before anything is scheduled.
What does East Aurora's Historic Preservation Commission have to approve?
It approves demolition, additions, new construction and other major exterior changes to a designated landmark that can be seen from a public street or right-of-way. Removing a porch and building an addition are the Commission's own examples. Ordinary repairs that don't change design, material, color or appearance don't need its sign-off. Its certificate of appropriateness doesn't replace a building permit; you need both. The Village counts the Roycroft Campus as a historic district, so talk to the Commission early if your project touches it.
Why is there so much gravel when you dig in the village of East Aurora?
Much of the village sits on glacial outwash, gravel and sand laid down by meltwater. The Erie County soil survey maps Palmyra and Phelps gravelly loams across large parts of it, with very gravelly sand and loamy sand below the subsoil and bedrock at least five feet down. Palmyra ground drains well and suits most building, but trench walls in loose gravel slough, so deeper cuts get sloped or shored. In spots the gravel is only a cap over varved silty clay, which holds water and slumps when it's wet.
Is a house lot near Tannery Brook a problem for a new foundation?
It can be, so pull up FEMA's flood map and the state wetland mapper before the house is designed. The Town's climate vulnerability assessment lists Tannery Brook as flood-prone, and most of the brook runs through the village. The lowest creek-bottom soils in the village, mapped as Wayland, hold water at or near the surface from November through June, and the soil survey rates that wetness and flooding a very serious limitation for most building. If the lot sits in a mapped flood zone, ask the Building Department what that means for the foundation. If wetlands show up, they have to be delineated before you apply for a building permit.
My driveway is on a county road outside the village. Who handles the culvert?
On a county road, the Building Department sends you to the Erie County Highway Department for the culvert; on a town road, it's the Town of Aurora Highway Department. The Building Department can tell you which kind of road your parcel fronts. Once you know whose road it is and what that office requires, we can dig the ditch crossing, set the culvert and build the stone driveway base over it. Getting that answer first keeps anyone from buying the wrong pipe or setting it at the wrong grade.
Do I need a septic permit before building a house outside the village?
If the house will be on a septic system, yes. Parts of the town are in Erie County Sewer District No. 8, so first check whether public sewer reaches the lot. Otherwise, in the Town of Aurora, a septic system for a new dwelling needs a permit through the Erie County Health Department before the town will issue the building permit. Soil matters here. The Erie County soil survey lists septic absorption fields among the uses severely limited on Orpark soils, which combine seasonal wetness with shale 20 to 40 inches down. Expect the septic layout to shape where the house, driveway and grading go, and start that process early.
Service areas
Other towns we serve
The same crew and the same approach across Erie and Niagara counties.
Sources and further reading
- Town of Aurora: Building & Code Enforcement (serves Town and Village; permit list) (opens in a new tab)
- Town of Aurora Building Department: FAQ and Quick Facts (septic, culverts, water taps, wetlands) (opens in a new tab)
- Village of East Aurora: Historic Preservation Commission (opens in a new tab)
- Erie County Division of Sewerage Management: Sewer District Information (District No. 8) (opens in a new tab)
- US Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024: Year Structure Built (B25034; median in B25035), East Aurora village (opens in a new tab)
- Town of Aurora Comprehensive Plan: Climate Vulnerability Assessment (opens in a new tab)
- USDA Soil Conservation Service: Soil Survey of Erie County, New York (1986) (opens in a new tab)
Old garage, wet yard or new house site in Aurora?
Call (716) 444-6613, or text the address with a couple of pictures. We'll check the ground, the water and the approvals, then price the job.