Loading...
The City Council designates the Code Enforcement Officer as Floodplain Administrator to administer and implement the provisions of this article and other appropriate sections of national flood insurance program regulations in C.F.R. Title 44 pertaining to the floodplain management (being 44 C.F.R. part 60 - Criteria for Land Management and Use).
Duties and responsibilities of the Floodplain Administrator shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
1. Become accredited by the OWRB in accordance with 82 O.S. §§ 1601 through 1620.1, as amended;
2. Review permit applications to determine whether the proposed building sites, including the placement of manufactured homes, will be reasonable safe from flooding;
3. Review, approve or deny all applications for development permits required by this article;
4. Review proposed development to assure that all necessary permits have been obtained from those federal, state or local governmental agencies from which prior approval are required;
5. Make the necessary interpretation where interpretation is needed as to the exact location of the boundaries of the areas of special flood hazards (for example, where there appears to be a conflict between a mapped boundary and actual field conditions);
6. Notify, in riverine situations, adjacent communities and the OWRB prior to any alteration or relocation of a watercourse, and submit evidence of such notification to the FEMA;
7. Assure that the flood carrying capacity within the altered or relocated portion of any watercourse is maintained;
8. When base flood elevation data contemplated by § 4-156 has not been provided by FEMA, the Floodplain Administrator shall obtain, review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation data and floodway data available from any federal, state or other source, in order to administer the provisions of this article;
9. When a floodway has not been designated, the Floodplain Administrator must require that no new construction, substantial improvements or other development (including fill) shall be permitted within Zone AE as delineated on the county FIRM, unless it is demonstrated that the cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated development, will not increase the water surface elevation of the base flood more than one foot at any point within the city;
10. After a disaster or other type of damage occurrence to structures in the city, determine if the residential and nonresidential structures and manufactured homes have been substantially damaged, and enforce the substantial improvement requirement;
11. Maintain a record of all actions involving an appeal from a decision of the City Council; and
12. Maintain and hold open for public inspection all records pertaining to the provisions of this article.
1. An application for a development permit shall be presented to the Floodplain Administrator on forms furnished by him or her and may include, but not be limited to, plans in duplicate drawn to scale showing the location, dimensions and elevation of proposed landscape alterations existing and proposed structures, including the placement of manufactured homes, and the location of the foregoing in relation to areas of special flood hazard. Additionally, the following information is required.
a. Elevation in relation to mean sea level of the lowest floor (including basement) of all new and substantially improved structures; and
b. Description of the extent to which any watercourse or natural drainage will be altered or relocated as a result of proposed development.
2. Approval or denial of a development permit by the Floodplain Administrator shall be based on all the provisions of this article and the following relevant factors:
a. The danger to life and property due to flooding or erosion damage;
b. The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;
c. The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others;
d. The compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;
e. The safety of access to the property in times of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
f. The costs of providing governmental services during and after flood conditions including maintenance and repair of streets and bridges, and public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems;
g. The expected heights velocity, duration, rate of rise and sediment transport of the flood waters and the effects of wave action, if applicable, expected at the site;
h. The necessity to the facility of waterfront location, where applicable;
i. The availability of alternative locations, not subject to flooding or erosion damage, for the proposed use; and
j. The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan for that area.
1. General provisions.
a. The City Council may grant variances for uses which do not satisfy the requirements of the State Floodplain Management Act, being O.S. Chapter 23, Title 82, or this article, if the applicant for the variance presents adequate proof that compliance with this article will result in an arbitrary and unreasonable taking of property without sufficient benefit or advantage to the people and satisfies the pertinent provisions of this section; provided, however, no variance shall be granted where the effect of the variance will be to permit the continuance of a condition which unreasonable creates flooding hazards.
b. Any variance so granted shall not be construed as to relieve any person who receives it from any liability imposed by the State Floodplain Management Act, being O.S. Chapter 23, Title 82, or by other laws of the state.
c. In no case shall variances be effective for a period longer than 20 years.
d. Any person seeking a variance shall file a petition with the City Council, accompanied by a filing fee of $25.
e. Variances may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements to be erected on a lot of one-half acres or less in size contiguous to and surrounded by lots with existing structures constructed below the base flood level, providing the relevant factors in § 4-156 and provisions of this section have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond the one-half acres, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.
f. Any person seeking a variance to build a structure below the base flood elevation will be issued a notice signed by the Chairperson of the City Council which states that the cost of flood insurance will be commensurate with the increased risk resulting from permitting the structure to be built lower than the base flood elevation, and such construction below base flood level increases risks to life and property.
g. At such time as the City Council deems the petition ready for notification to the public, the City Council shall schedule a hearing and direct the applicant to publish notice thereof in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least 30 days prior to the hearing.
h. The City Council shall conduct the hearing and make determinations in accordance with the applicable provisions of this section. The City Council shall exercise wide discretion in weighing the equities involved and the advantages and disadvantages to the applicant and to the public at large when determining whether the variance shall be granted.
i. Variances shall only be issued upon:
(1) A showing of good and sufficient cause;
(2) A determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant;
(3) 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, regulations or ordinances; and
(4) A determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
j. Upon consideration of the factors stated in this section and the intent of this article, the City Council may attach such conditions to the granting of a variance as it deems necessary to further the purposes and objectives stated in § 4-152.
k. The Floodplain Administrator shall maintain a record of all variance actions, including justification for their issuance; and a copy of any variance issued by the City Council shall be sent by the Floodplain Administrator to the OWRB and FEMA within 15 days after issuance of the variance.
2. Special provisions.
a. Variances may be issued for the reconstruction, rehabilitation or restoration of structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places or the State Inventory of Historic Places, without regard to the procedures set forth in the remainder of this article.
b. Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
c. Variances may be issued for the repair or rehabilitation of historic structures upon determination that the proposed repair or rehabilitation will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a historic structure and the variance is the minimum necessary to preserve the historic character and design of the structure.
d. Variances may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements and for other development necessary for the conduct of a functionally dependent use probed that:
(1) The criteria of subsections 1.e.; 1.i.; 2.b.; and 2.c. above are met; and
(2) The structure of other development is protected by methods that minimize flood damages during the base flood and create no additional threats to public safety.
In all areas of special flood hazards the following provisions are required for all new construction and substantial improvements:
1. All new construction or substantial improvements shall be designed (or modified) and adequately anchored to prevent flotation, collapse or lateral movement of the structure resulting from hydrodynamic and hydrostatic loads, including the effects of buoyancy;
2. All new construction or substantial improvements shall be constructed by methods and practices that minimize flood damage;
3. All new construction or substantial improvements shall be constructed with materials resistant to flood damage;
4. All new construction or substantial improvements shall be constructed with electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, and air conditioning equipment and other service facilities that are design and/or located so as to prevent water from entering or accumulating within the components during conditions of flooding;
5. All new and replacement water supply systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the system;
6. New and replacement sanitary sewage systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the system and discharge from the systems into flood waters; and
7. On-site waste disposal systems shall be located to avoid impairment to them or contamination from them during flooding.
Loading...