In SFHA or floodplains, where no floodways have been identified and no base flood or 100-year frequency flood elevations have been established by FEMA, and draining more than a square mile, no development shall be permitted unless the cumulative effect of the proposals, when combined with all other anticipated uses and structures shall not significantly impede or increase the flow and passage of the floodwaters nor significantly increase the base flood or 100-year frequency flood elevation.
(A) Development permit. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or governmental body, not exempted by state law, to commence any development in a SFHA or floodplain without first obtaining a development permit from the Comptroller. Application for a development permit shall be made on a form provided by the Comptroller. The application shall be accompanied by drawings of the site, drawn to scale showing property line dimensions; existing grade elevations and all changes in grade resulting from excavation or drilling, sealed by a licensed engineer architect or surveyor; the location and dimensions of all buildings and additions to buildings; and the elevation of the lowest floor (including basement) of all proposed buildings subject to the requirements of this section. The application for a development permit shall also include the following information:
(1) A detailed description of the proposed activity, its purpose, and intended use;
(2) Site location (including legal description) of the property, drawn to scale, on the regulatory floodway maps, indicating whether it is proposed to be in an incorporated or unincorporated area;
(3) Anticipated dates of initiation and completion of activity;
(4) Plans of the proposed activity shall be provided which include at a minimum:
(a) A vicinity map showing the site of the activity, name of the waterway, boundary lines, names of roads in the vicinity of the site, graphic or numerical scale, and north arrow;
(b) A plan view of the project and engineering study reach showing existing and proposed conditions including principal dimensions of the structure or work, elevations in mean sea level (1929 adjustment) datum or N.G.V.D., adjacent property lines and ownership, drainage and flood control easements, distance between proposed activity and navigation channel (when the proposed constriction is near a commercially navigable body of water), floodplain limit, location and orientation of cross-sections, north arrow, and a graphical or numerical scale;
(c)
Cross-section views of the project and engineering study reach showing existing and proposed conditions including principal view, existing and proposed elevations, normal water elevation, 10-year frequency flood elevation, 100-year frequency flood elevation, and graphical or numerical scales (horizontal and vertical); and
(d) A soil erosion and sedimentation control plan for disturbed areas. This plan shall include a description of the sequence of grading activities and the temporary sediment and erosion control measures to be implemented to mitigate their effects. This plan shall also include a description of final stabilization and revegetation measures, and the identification of a responsible party to ensure post-construction maintenance;
(5) Engineering calculations and supporting data shall be submitted showing that the proposed work will meet the criteria of § 152.05(D); and
(6) Any and all other local, state, and federal permits of approvals that may be required for this type of development.
(B) Comparison of elevation. Based on the best available existing data according to the Illinois State Water Survey’s Floodplain Information Repository, the Comptroller shall compare the elevation of the site to the base flood or 100-year frequency flood elevation. Should no elevation information exist for the site, the developer’s engineer shall calculate the elevation according to § 152.03(D). Any development located on land that can be shown to have been higher than the base flood elevation as of the site’s first Flood Insurance Rate Map identification is not in the SFHA and, therefore, not subject to the requirements of this chapter. The Comptroller shall maintain documentation of the existing ground elevation at the development site and certification that this ground elevation existed prior to the date of the site’s first Flood Insurance Rate Map identification.
(C) Copies of permits. The Comptroller shall be responsible for obtaining from the applicant copies of all other local, state, and federal permits, approvals or permit-not-required letters that may be required for this type of activity. The Comptroller shall not issue the development permit unless all required local, state, and federal permits have been obtained.
(D) Preventing increased damages. No development in the SFHA, where a floodway has not been determined, shall create a damaging or potentially damaging increase in flood heights or velocity or threat to public health, safety and welfare or impair the natural hydrologic and hydraulic functions of the floodway or channel, or impair existing water quality or aquatic habitat. Construction impacts shall be minimized by appropriate mitigation methods as called for in this chapter.
(E) Required standards. Within all riverine SFHAs where the floodway has not been determined, the following standards shall apply:
(1) Engineering requirements. The developer shall have a registered professional engineer state in writing and show through supporting plans, calculations, and data that the project meets the engineering requirements of § 152.50(E)(1) through (11) for the entire floodplain as calculated under the provisions of § 152.03(D). As an alternative, should the developer have an engineering study performed to determine a floodway and submit an engineering study to IDNR/OWR for acceptance of their floodway, the developer shall then demonstrate that the project meets the requirements of § 152.40 for the regulatory floodway. The floodway shall be defined according to the definition in § 152.01.
(2) IDNR/OWR permits. A development permit shall not be issued unless the applicant first obtains a permit from IDNR/OWR or written documentation that a permit is not required from IDNR/OWR.
(3) Village responsibility. No permit from IDNR/OWR shall be required if IDNR/OWR has delegated permit responsibility to the village per 17 Ill. Adm. Code Part 3708 for regulatory floodways, per IDNR/OWR’s state-wide permit entitled Construction in Floodplains with No Designated Floodways in Northeastern Illinois.
(4) Dam safety permits. Any work involving the construction, modification, or removal of a dam or an on-stream structure to impound water as defined in § 152.01 shall obtain a state IDNR/OWR Dam Safety permit or a letter indicating a permit is not required prior to the start of construction of a dam. If the Comptroller finds a dam that does not have an IDNR/OWR permit, the Comptroller shall immediately notify the IDNR/OWR. If the Comptroller finds a dam which is believed to be in unsafe condition, the Comptroller shall immediately notify the owner of the dam and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and IDNR/OWR.
(5) Exempted activities. The following activities may be permitted without a registered professional engineer's review or calculation of a base flood elevation and regulatory floodway. Such activities shall still meet the other requirements of this chapter:
(a) Underground and overhead utilities that:
1. Do not result in any increase in existing ground elevations; or
2. Require the placement of aboveground structures in the floodway; or
3. In the case of underground stream crossings, the top of the pipe or encasement is buried a minimum of three feet below the existing streambed; and
4. In the case of overhead utilities, no support towers are placed in the watercourse and are designed in such a fashion as not to catch debris.
(b) Storm and sanitary sewer outfalls that:
1. Do not extend riverward or lakeward of the existing adjacent natural bank slope; and
2. Do not result in an increase in ground elevation; and
3. Are designed so as not to cause stream bank erosion at the outfall location.
(c) Construction of shoreline and streambed protection that:
1. Does not exceed 1,000 feet in length or two cubic yards per lineal foot of streambed;
2. Materials are not placed higher than the existing top of bank;
3. Materials are placed so as not to reduce the cross-sectional area of the stream channel by more than 10%; or
4. Vegetative stabilization and gradual side slopes are the preferred mitigation methods for existing erosion problems. Where high channel velocities, sharp bends or wave action necessitate the use of alternative stabilization measures, natural rock or rip-rap are preferred materials. Artificial materials such as concrete, construction rabble, and gabions should be avoided unless there are no practicable alternatives.
(d) Temporary stream crossings in which:
1. The approach roads will be one-half foot or less above natural grade;
2. The crossing will allow stream flow to pass without backing up the water above the stream bank vegetation line or above any drainage tile or outfall invert;
3. The top of the roadway fill in the channel will be at least two feet below the top of the lowest bank. Any fill in the channel shall be non-erosive material, such as rip-rap or gravel;
4. All disturbed stream banks will be seeded or otherwise stabilized as soon as possible upon installation and again upon removal of construction; or
5. The access road and temporary crossings will be removed within one year after authorization.
(e) The construction of light poles, sign posts, and similar structures.
(f) The construction of sidewalks, driveways, athletic fields (excluding fences), patios and similar surfaces which are built at grade.
(g) The construction of properly anchored, unwalled, open structures such as playground equipment pavilions, and carports built at or below existing grade that would not obstruct the flow of flood waters.
(h) The placement of properly anchored buildings not exceeding 70 square feet in size, nor ten feet in any one dimension (for example, animal shelters and tool sheds).
(i) The construction of additions to existing buildings which do not increase the first floor area by more than 20%, which are located on the upstream or downstream side of the existing building, and which do not extend beyond the sides of the existing building that are parallel to the floor of flood waters.
(j) Minor maintenance dredging of a stream channel where:
1. The affected length of stream is less than 1,000 feet;
2. The work is confined to reestablishing flows in natural stream channels; or
3. The cross-sectional area of the dredged channel conforms to that of the natural channel upstream and downstream of the site.
(6) The flood carrying capacity within any altered or relocated watercourse shall be maintained.
(F) Compensatory storage. Whenever any portion of a floodplain is authorized for use, the volume of space which will be occupied by the authorized fill or structure below the base flood or 100-year frequency flood elevation shall be compensated for and balanced by a hydraulically equivalent volume of excavation taken from below the base flood or 100-year frequency flood elevation. The excavation volume shall be at least equal to 1.5 times the volume of storage lost due to the fill or structure. In the case of stream and watercourses, such excavation shall be made opposite or adjacent to the area so filled or occupied. All floodplain storage lost below the existing 10-year flood elevation shall be replaced below the proposed 10-year flood elevation. All floodplain storage lost above the existing 10-year flood elevation shall be replaced above the proposed 10-year flood elevation. All such excavations shall be constructed to drain freely and openly to the watercourse. Subject to the review and approval of village staff which includes the Building Department, Public Works and the Village Engineer, compensation of lost storage will not be required for a Public Flood Control Project meeting the definition set forth in § 152.01. Public Flood Control Projects not demonstrating an absence of adverse impact to adjacent property owners shall comply with the compensatory storage requirements of the code.
(Ord. 7-28, passed 5-9-07; Am. Ord. 8-70, passed 7-16-08; Am. Ord. 19-12, passed 3-20-19) Penalty, see § 152.99