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The boundaries of the floodplain district shall be determined by scaling distances on the Official Floodplain Zoning District Map. Where interpretation is needed as to the exact location of the boundaries of the floodplain district, the city’s Zoning Administrator shall make the necessary interpretation based on the ground elevations that existed on the site at the time the community adopted this chapter, or the date of the first National Flood Insurance Program map that placed the site in the floodplain if earlier, and the regional (100-year) flood profile, if available. If the 100-year flood elevations are not available, the community shall require a floodplain evaluation consistent with § 152.26(C) of this chapter to determine a 100-year flood elevation for the site; or base its decision on available hydraulic/hydrologic, or site elevation, survey data which demonstrates the likelihood the site is within, or outside of, the floodplain.
(Ord. 262, passed 10-12-2009)
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACCESSORY USE OR STRUCTURE. A use or structure on the same lot with, and of a nature customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal use or structure.
BASEMENT. Any area of a structure, including crawl spaces, having its floor or base subgrade (below ground level) on all four sides, regardless of the depth of excavation below ground level.
FLOOD FRINGE. The portion of the floodplain outside of the floodway.
FLOODPLAIN. The channel or beds proper, and the areas adjoining, a wetland, lake, or watercourse that have been, or hereafter may be, covered by the regional flood. FLOODPLAIN AREAS within the city shall encompass all areas designated as Zone A, Zone AE, Zone AO, or Zone AH on the Flood Insurance Rate Map adopted in § 152.05 of this chapter.
FLOODWAY. The bed of a wetland or lake, and the channel of a watercourse, and those portions of the adjoining floodplain, that are reasonably required to carry or store the regional flood discharge.
LOWEST FLOOR. The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).
MANUFACTURED HOME. A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities. The term MANUFACTURED HOME does not include the term RECREATIONAL VEHICLE.
OBSTRUCTION. Any dam, wall, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, projection, excavation, dredged spoil, channel modification, culvert, building, wire, fence, stockpile, refuse, fill, structure, stockpile of sand or gravel, or other material, or matter in, along, across, or projecting into any channel, watercourse, lake bed, or regulatory floodplain which may impede, retard, or change the direction of flow, either in itself or by catching or collecting debris carried by floodwater.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE. A vehicle that is built on a single chassis, is 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest projection, is designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck, and is designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use. For the purposes of this chapter, the term RECREATIONAL VEHICLE shall be synonymous with the term TRAVEL TRAILER/TRAVEL VEHICLE.
REGIONAL FLOOD. A flood which is representative of large floods known to have occurred generally in the state and reasonably characteristic of what can be expected to occur on an average frequency in magnitude of the 100-year recurrence interval. REGIONAL FLOOD is synonymous with the term BASE FLOOD used on the Flood Insurance Rate Map.
REGULATORY FLOOD PROTECTION ELEVATION. An elevation no lower than one foot above the elevation of the regional flood, plus any increases in flood elevation caused by encroachments on the floodplain that result from designation of a floodway.
STRUCTURE. Anything constructed or erected on the ground, or attached to the ground or on-site utilities, including, but not limited to, buildings, factories, sheds, detached garages, cabins, manufactured homes, travel trailers/vehicles not meeting the exemption criteria specified in § 152.29 of this chapter, and other similar items.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. Damage of any origin sustained by a structure where the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT. Within any consecutive 365-day period, any reconstruction, rehabilitation (including normal maintenance and repair), repair after damage, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement. This term includes structures that have incurred SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either:
(1) Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications, which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
(2) Any alteration of a HISTORIC STRUCTURE, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a HISTORIC STRUCTURE. For the purpose of this chapter, HISTORIC STRUCTURE shall be as defined in 44 C.F.R. part 59.1.
(Ord. 262, passed 10-12-2009)
The Flood Insurance Rate Map panels adopted by reference into § 152.05 may include floodplain areas that lie outside of the corporate boundaries of the city at the time of adoption of this chapter. If any of these floodplain land areas are annexed into the city after the date of adoption of this chapter, the newly annexed floodplain lands shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter immediately upon the date of annexation into the city.
(Ord. 262, passed 10-12-2009)
(A) Permit required. A permit issued by the Building Official shall be secured prior to the erection, addition, modification, rehabilitation (including normal maintenance and repair), or alteration of any building or structure, or portion thereof, prior to the use, or change of use, of a building, structure, or land; prior to the construction of a dam, fence, or on-site septic system; prior to the change or extension of a non-conforming use; prior to the repair of a structure that has been damaged by flood, fire, tornado, or any other source; and prior to the placement of fill, excavation of materials, or the storage of materials or equipment within the floodplain.
(B) State and federal permits. Prior to granting a permit or processing an application for a variance, the Zoning Administrator shall determine that the applicant has obtained all necessary state and federal permits.
(C) Certification of lowest floor elevations. The applicant shall be required to submit certification by a registered professional engineer, registered architect, or registered land surveyor that the finished fill and building elevations were accomplished in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. The Building Official shall maintain a record of the elevation of the lowest floor (including basement) for all new structures and alterations, or additions to existing structures, in the floodplain district.
(D) Notifications for watercourse alterations. The Zoning Administrator shall notify, in riverine situations, adjacent communities and the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources prior to the community authorizing any alteration or relocation of a watercourse. If the applicant has applied for a permit to work in the beds of public waters pursuant to M.S. Chapter 103G, as it may be amended from time to time, this shall suffice as adequate notice to the Commissioner of Natural Resources. A copy of the notification shall also be submitted to the Chicago Regional Office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
(E) Notification to FEMA when physical changes increase or decrease the 100-year flood elevation. As soon as is practicable, but not later than six months after the date the supporting information becomes available, the Zoning Administrator shall notify the Chicago Regional Office of FEMA of the changes by submitting a copy of the technical or scientific data.
(Ord. 262, passed 10-12-2009)
(A) A VARIANCE means a modification of a specific permitted development standard required in an official control, including this chapter, to allow an alternative development standard not stated as acceptable in the official control, but only as applied to a particular property for the purpose of alleviating a hardship, practical difficulty, or unique circumstance as defined, and elaborated upon, in a community’s respective planning and zoning enabling legislation, and this chapter.
(B) The Board of Adjustment may authorize, upon appeal in specific cases, the relief or variance from the terms of this chapter as will not be contrary to the public interest, and only for those circumstances such as hardship, practical difficulties, or circumstances unique to the property under consideration, as provided for in the respective enabling legislation for planning and zoning for cities or counties as appropriate. In the granting of the variance, the Board of Adjustment shall clearly identify, in writing, the specific conditions that existed consistent with the criteria specified in this chapter, any other zoning regulations of the community, and the criteria specified in the respective enabling legislation which justified the granting of the variance. The following additional variance criteria of the Federal Emergency Management Agency must be satisfied:
(1) Variances shall not be issued by a community within any designated regulatory floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result;
(2) Variances shall only be issued by a community upon:
(a) A showing of good and sufficient cause;
(b) A determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant; and
(c) A determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, create nuisances, cause fraud on, or victimization of, the public, or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.
(3) Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
(C) Variances from the provisions of this chapter may be authorized where the Board of Adjustment has determined the variance will not be contrary to the public interest and the spirit and intent of this chapter. No variance shall allow, in any district, a use prohibited in that district, or permit a lower degree of flood protection then the regulatory flood protection elevation. Variances may be used to modify permissible methods of flood protection.
(D) The Board of Adjustment shall submit, by mail, to the Commissioner of Natural Resources a copy of the application for proposed variance sufficiently in advance so that the Commissioner will receive at least ten days’ notice of the hearing. A copy of all decisions granting a variance shall be forwarded, by mail, to the Commissioner of Natural Resources within ten days of the action.
(E) Appeals from any decision of the Board of Adjustment may be made, and as specified in this community’s official controls, and also state statutes.
(F) The Zoning Administrator shall notify the applicant for a variance that:
(1) The issuance of a variance to construct a structure below the base flood level will result in increased premium rates for flood insurance in an amount as set by Council from time to time; and
(2) The construction below the 100-year, or regional, flood level increases risks to life and property. The notification shall be maintained with a record of all variance actions. This community shall maintain a record of all variance actions, including justification for their issuance, and report the variances issued in its annual or biennial report submitted to the Administrator of the National Flood Insurance Program.
(Ord. 262, passed 10-12-2009)
A structure, or the use of a structure or premises, which was lawful before the passage or amendment of this chapter, but which is not in conformity with the provisions of this chapter, may be continued subject to the following conditions. Historic structures, as defined in § 152.08, shall be subject to the provisions of divisions (A) through (D) below.
(A) No use shall be expanded, changed, enlarged, or altered in a way which increases its non-conformity.
(B) A structural alteration within the inside dimensions of a non-conforming use or structure is permissible provided it utilizes flood-resistant materials so as not to result in increasing the flood damage potential of that use or structure. A structural addition to a structure must be elevated to the regulatory flood protection elevation in accordance with § 152.26(B)(5).
(C) The cost of all structural alterations or additions to any non-conforming structure over the life of the structure shall not exceed 50% of the market value of the structure unless the conditions of this section are satisfied. The cost of all structural alterations and additions must include all costs such as construction materials, and a reasonable cost placed on all manpower or labor. If the cost of all previous and proposed alterations and additions exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure, then the structure must meet the standards of § 152.26(A)(2) for new structures.
(D) If any non-conforming use of a structure or land, or non-conforming structure, is substantially damaged, as defined by § 152.08, it shall not be reconstructed except in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. The Building Official may issue a permit for reconstruction if the use is located outside the floodway and, upon reconstruction, is adequately elevated on fill in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
(E) If a substantial improvement occurs, as defined in § 152.08, from any combination of a building addition to the outside dimensions of the existing building, or a rehabilitation, reconstruction, alteration, or other improvement to the inside dimensions of an existing non-conforming building, then the building addition and the existing non-conforming building must meet the requirements of § 152.26(A)(2) for new structures, depending upon whether the structure is in the floodway or flood fringe, respectively.
(Ord. 262, passed 10-12-2009)
(A) A violation of the provisions of this chapter, or failure to comply with any of its requirements (including violations of conditions and safeguards established in connection with grants of variance), shall constitute a misdemeanor.
(B) In responding to a suspected chapter violation, the Zoning Administrator and the community may utilize the full array of enforcement actions available to it, including, but not limited to, prosecution and fines, injunctions, after-the-fact permits, orders for corrective measures, or a request to the National Flood Insurance Program for denial of flood insurance availability to the guilty party. The community must act in good faith to enforce these official controls, and to correct chapter violations to the extent possible so as not to jeopardize its eligibility in the National Flood Insurance Program.
(C) When a chapter violation is either discovered by, or brought to the attention of, the Zoning Administrator, he or she shall immediately investigate the situation and document the nature and extent of the violation of the official control. As soon as is reasonably possible, this information will be submitted to the appropriate Department of Natural Resources and Federal Emergency Management Agency Regional Office, along with the community’s plan of action to correct the violation to the degree possible.
(D) The Zoning Administrator shall notify the suspected party of the requirements of this chapter and all other official controls, and the nature and extent of the suspected violation of these controls. If the structure and/or use is under construction or development, the Zoning Administrator may order the construction or development immediately halted until a proper permit or approval is granted by the community. If the construction or development is already completed, then the Zoning Administrator may either issue an order identifying the corrective actions that must be made within a specified time period to bring the use or structure into compliance with the official controls, or notify the responsible party to apply for an after-the-fact permit/development approval within a specified period of time not to exceed 30 days.
(E) If the responsible party does not appropriately respond to the Zoning Administrator within the specified period of time, each additional day that lapses shall constitute an additional violation of this chapter, and shall be prosecuted accordingly. The Zoning Administrator shall also, upon the lapse of the specified response period, notify the landowner to restore the land to the condition that existed prior to the violation of this chapter.
(Ord. 262, passed 10-12-2009) Penalty, see § 10.99
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