CHAPTER 3167 - FLOOD PLAIN MANAGEMENT

(a) Statutory Authorization. Article XVIII, Section 3, of the Ohio Constitution grants municipalities the legal authority to adopt land use and control measures for promoting the health, safety, and general welfare of its citizens.

(b) Findings of Fact. The City of Cleveland has special flood hazard areas that are subject to periodic inundation which may result in loss of life and property, health and safety hazards, disruption of commerce and governmental services, extraordinary public expenditures for flood protection and relief, and impairment of the tax base. Additionally, structures that are inadequately elevated, floodproofed, or otherwise protected from flood damage also contribute to the flood loss. In order to minimize the threat of such damages and to achieve the purposes hereinafter set forth, these regulations are adopted.

(c) Statement of Purpose. It is the purpose of these regulations to promote the public health, safety and general welfare, and to:

(1) Protect human life and health;

(2) Minimize expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects;

(3) Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;

(4) Minimize prolonged business interruptions;

(5) Minimize damage to public facilities and utilities such as water and gas mains, electric, telephone and sewer lines, streets and bridges located in areas of special flood hazard;

(6) Help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the proper use and development of areas of special flood hazard so as to protect property and minimize future flood blight areas;

(7) Ensure that those who occupy the areas of special flood hazard assume responsibility for their actions;

(8) Minimize the impact of development on adjacent properties within and near flood prone areas;

(9) Ensure that the flood storage and conveyance functions of the floodplain are maintained;

(10) Minimize the impact of development on the natural, beneficial values of the floodplain;

(11) Prevent floodplain uses that are either hazardous or environmentally incompatible; and

(12) Meet community participation requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program.

(d) Methods of Reducing Flood Loss. In order to accomplish its purposes, these regulations include methods and provisions for:

(1) Restricting or prohibiting uses which are dangerous to health, safety, and property due to water hazards, or which result in damaging increases in flood heights or velocities;

(2) Requiring that uses vulnerable to floods, including facilities, which serve such uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of initial construction;

(3) Controlling the alteration of natural floodplains, stream channels, and natural protective barriers, which help accommodate or channel flood waters;

(4) Controlling filling, grading, dredging, excavating, and other development which may increase flood damage; and

(5) Preventing or regulating the construction of flood barriers, which will unnaturally divert flood, waters or which may increase flood hazards in other areas.

(e) Lands to Which These Regulations Apply. These regulations shall apply to all areas of special flood hazard within the jurisdiction of the City of Cleveland as identified in division (f) of this section, including any additional areas of special flood hazard annexed by the City of Cleveland.

(f) Basis for Establishing the Areas of Special Flood Hazard. For the purposes of these regulations, the following studies and/or maps are adopted:

(1) Flood Insurance Study Cuyahoga County, Ohio and Incorporated Areas and Flood Insurance Rate map Cuyahoga County, Ohio and Incorporated Areas both effective August 15, 2019.

(2) Other studies and/or maps, which may be relied upon for establishment of the flood protection elevation, delineation of the one hundred (100) year floodplain, floodways or delineation of other areas of special flood hazard.

(3) Any hydrologic and hydraulic engineering analysis authored by a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Ohio which has been approved by the City of Cleveland as required by division (c) of Section 3167.04, Subdivisions and Other New Developments.

Any revisions to the aforementioned maps and/or studies are hereby adopted by reference and declared to be a part of these regulations. Such maps and/or studies are on file at 601 Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44114.

(g) Abrogation and Greater Restrictions. In the event of a conflict between these regulations and any other ordinance, the more restrictive shall be followed. These regulations shall not impair any deed restriction covenant or easement but the land subject to such interests shall also be governed by the regulations, and whichever imposes the more restrictive shall be followed.

(h) Interpretation. In the interpretation and application of these regulations, all provisions shall be:

(1) Considered as minimum requirements;

(2) Liberally construed in favor of the governing body; and

(3) Deemed neither to limit nor repeal any other powers granted under state statutes. Where a provision of these regulations may be in conflict with a state or Federal law, such state or Federal law shall take precedence over these regulations.

(i) Warning and Disclaimer of Liability. The degree of flood protection required by these regulations is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on scientific and engineering considerations. Larger floods can and will occur on rare occasions. Flood heights may be increased by man-made or natural causes. These regulations do not imply that land outside the areas of special flood hazard or uses permitted within such areas will be free from flooding or flood damage. These regulations shall not create liability on the part of the City of Cleveland, any officer or employee thereof, or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for any flood damage that results from reliance on these regulations or any administrative decision lawfully made thereunder.

(j) Severability. Should any section or provision of these regulations be declared by the courts to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the regulations as a whole, or any part thereof other than the part so declared to be unconstitutional or invalid.

(Ord. No. 857-2019. Passed 7-24-19, eff. 7-26-19)

§ 3167.02 Definitions

Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in these regulations shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give these regulations the most reasonable application.

(a) Accessory Structure. A structure on the same lot with, and of a nature customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal structure.

(b) Appeal. A request for review of the floodplain administrator’s interpretation of any provision of these regulations or a request for a variance.

(c) Base Flood. The flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The base flood may also be referred to as the one percent (1%) chance annual flood or one hundred (100) year flood.

(d) Base (100-Year) Flood Elevation (BFE). The water surface elevation of the base flood in relation to a specified datum, usually the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 or the North American Vertical Datum of 1988, and usually expressed in Feet Mean Sea Level (MSL). In Zone AO areas, the base flood elevation is the lowest adjacent natural grade elevation plus the depth number (from one (1) to three (3) feet).

(e) Basement. Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.

(e.1) Breakaway wall. A wall that is not part of the structural support of the building and is intended through its design and construction to collapse under specific lateral loading forces, without causing damage to the elevated portion of the building or supporting foundation system.

(e.2) Coastal high hazard area. An area of special flood hazard extending from offshore to the inland limit of a primary frontal dune along an open coast, and any other area subject to high velocity wave action from storms or other seismic sources. A coastal high hazard area is identified on a community's FIRM by the designation of zone VE.

(f) Development. Any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.

(g) Enclosure Below the Lowest Floor. See “Lowest Floor.”

(h) Executive Order 11988 (Floodplain Management). Issued by President Carter in 1977, this order requires that no federally assisted activities be conducted in or have the potential to affect identified special flood hazard areas, unless there is no practicable alternative.

(i) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The agency with the overall responsibility for administering the National Flood Insurance Program.

(j) Fill. A deposit of earth material placed by artificial means.

(k) Flood or Flooding. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:

(1) The overflow of inland or tidal waters, and/or

(2) The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.

(l) Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM). Usually the initial map, produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, for a community depicting approximate special flood hazard areas.

(m) Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). An official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has delineated the areas of special flood hazard.

(n) Flood Insurance Risk Zones. Zone designations on FHBMs and FIRMs that indicate the magnitude of the flood hazard in specific areas of a community. Following are the zone definitions:

(1) Zone A: Special flood hazard areas inundated by the one hundred (100) year flood in any given year; base flood elevations are not determined.

(2) Zones A1-30 and Zone AE: Special flood hazard areas inundated by the one hundred (100) year flood in any given year; base flood elevations are determined.

(3) Zone AO: Special flood hazard areas inundated by the one hundred (100) year flood in any given year; with flood depths of one (1) to three (3) feet (usually sheet flow on sloping terrain); average depths are determined.

(4) Zone AH: Special flood hazard areas inundated by the one hundred (100) year flood in any given year; flood depths of one (1) to three (3) feet (usually areas of ponding); base flood elevations are determined.

(5) Zone A99: Special flood hazard areas inundated by the one hundred (100) year flood to be protected from the one hundred (100) year flood by a Federal flood protection system under construction; no base flood elevations are determined.

(6) Zone B and Zone X (shaded): Areas of five hundred (500) year flood; areas subject to the one hundred (100) year flood with average depths of less than one (1) foot or with contributing drainage area less than one (1) square mile; and areas protected by levees from the base flood.

(7) Zone C and Zone X (unshaded): Areas determined to be outside the five hundred (500) year floodplain.

(8) Zone V: Coastal special flood hazard area subject to a 100-year flood from velocity hazard (wave action); base flood elevations are not determined.

(9) Zone VE and V1-30: Coastal special flood hazard area subject to a 100-year flood from velocity hazard (wave action); base flood elevations are determined.

(o) Flood Insurance Study (FIS). The official report in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has provided flood profiles, floodway boundaries (sometimes shown on Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps), and the water surface elevations of the base flood.

(o.1) Floodproofing. Any combination of structural and non-structural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures and their contents.

(p) Flood Protection Elevation. The Flood Protection Elevation, or FPE, is the base flood elevation plus two (2) feet of freeboard. In areas where no base flood elevations exist from any authoritative source, the flood protection elevation can be historical flood elevations, or base flood elevations determined and/or approved by the floodplain administrator.

(q) Floodway. A floodway is the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that have been reserved in order to pass the base flood discharge. A floodway is typically determined through a hydraulic and hydrologic engineering analysis such that the cumulative increase in the water surface elevation of the base flood discharge is no more than a designated height. In no case shall the designated height be more than one (1) foot at any point within the community.

The floodway is an extremely hazardous area, and is usually characterized by any of the following: Moderate to high velocity flood waters, high potential for debris and projectile impacts, and moderate to high erosion forces.

(r) Freeboard. A factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for the purposes of floodplain management. Freeboard tends to compensate for the many unknown factors that could contribute to flood heights greater than the height calculated for a selected size flood and floodway conditions, such as wave action, obstructed bridge openings, debris and ice jams, and the hydrologic effect of urbanization in a watershed.

(s) Historic Structure. Any structure that is:

(1) Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the U.S. Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listings on the National Register;

(2) Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district; or

(3) Individually listed on the State of Ohio’s inventory of historic places maintained by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.

(t) Hydrologic and Hydraulic Engineering Analysis. An analysis performed by a professional engineer, registered in the State of Ohio, in accordance with standard engineering practices as accepted by FEMA, used to determine flood elevations and/or floodway boundaries.

(u) Letter of Map Change (LOMC). A Letter of Map Change is an official FEMA determination, by letter, to amend or revise effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps, Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps, and Flood Insurance Studies. LOMCs are broken down into the following categories:

(1) Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA). A revision based on technical data showing that a property was incorrectly included in a designated special flood hazard area. A LOMA amends the current effective Flood Insurance Rate Map and establishes that a specific property is not located in a special flood hazard area.

(2) Letter of Map Revision (LOMR). A revision based on technical data that, usually due to manmade changes, shows changes to flood zones, flood elevations, floodplain and floodway delineations, and planimetric features. One common type of LOMR, a LOMR-F, is a determination concerning whether a structure or parcel has been elevated by fill above the base flood elevation and is, therefore, excluded from the special flood hazard area.

(3) Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR). A comment by FEMA regarding a proposed project that would, upon construction, affect the hydrologic or hydraulic characteristics of a flooding source and thus result in the modification of the existing floodway, the effective base flood elevations, or the special flood hazard area. A CLOMR does not amend or revise effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps, Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps, or Flood Insurance Studies.

(v) Lowest Floor. The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement) of a structure. This definition excludes an “enclosure below the lowest floor” which is an unfinished or flood resistant enclosure usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage, in an area other than a basement area, provided that such enclosure is built in accordance with the applicable design requirements specified in these regulations for enclosures below the lowest floor.

(w) Manufactured Home. A structure, transportable in one (1) or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The term “manufactured home” does not include a “recreational vehicle”. For the purposes of these regulations, a manufactured home includes manufactured homes and mobile homes as defined in RC Chapter 4781.

(w.1) Mean sea level. For purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.

(x) Manufactured Home Park. As specified in the OAC 4781-12-01(K), a manufactured home park means any tract of land upon which three (3) or more manufactured homes, used for habitation are parked, either free of charge or for revenue purposes, and includes any roadway, building, structure, vehicle, or enclosure used or intended for use as part of the facilities of the park. A tract of land that is subdivided and the individual lots are not for rent or rented, but are for sale or sold for the purpose of installation of manufactured homes on the lots, is not a manufactured home park, even though three (3) or more manufactured homes are parked thereon, if the roadways are dedicated to the local government authority. Manufactured home park does not include any tract of land used solely for the storage or display for sale of manufactured homes.

(y) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP is a Federal program enabling property owners in participating communities to purchase insurance protection against losses from flooding. This insurance is designed to provide an insurance alternative to disaster assistance to meet the escalating costs of repairing damage to buildings and their contents caused by floods. Participation in the NFIP is based on an agreement between local communities and the Federal government that states if a community will adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations to reduce future flood risks to all development in special flood hazard areas, the Federal government will make flood insurance available within the community as a financial protection against flood loss.

(z) New construction. Structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain regulation adopted by the City of Cleveland and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures. For the purposes of determining insurance rates, structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the initial effective date of the City of Cleveland Flood Insurance Rate Map, August 1, 1978 or after December 31, 1974, whichever is later, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

(aa) Person. Includes any individual or group of individuals, corporation, partnership, association, or any other entity, including state and local governments and agencies. An agency is further defined in the RC 111.15 as any governmental entity of the state and includes, but is not limited to, any board, department, division, commission, bureau, society, council, institution, state college or university, community college district, technical college district, or state community college. “Agency” does not include the general assembly, the controlling board, the adjutant general’s department, or any court.

(bb) Recreational Vehicle. A vehicle which is (1) built on a single chassis, (2) four hundred (400) square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection, (3) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck, and (4) designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

(cc) Registered Professional Architect. A person registered to engage in the practice of architecture under the provisions of RC 4703.01 to 4703.19.

(dd) Registered Professional Engineer. A person registered as a professional engineer under RC Chapter 4733.

(ee) Registered Professional Surveyor. A person registered as a professional surveyor under RC Chapter 4733.

(ff) Special Flood Hazard Area. Also known as “Areas of Special Flood Hazard”, it is the land in the floodplain subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Special flood hazard areas are designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Flood Insurance Rate Maps, Flood Insurance Studies, Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps and Flood Hazard Boundary Maps as Zones A, AE, AH, AO, A1-30, A99, V, or VE. Special flood hazard areas may also refer to areas that are flood prone and designated from other federal state or local sources of data including but not limited to historical flood information reflecting high water marks, previous flood inundation areas, and flood prone soils associated with a watercourse.

(gg) Start of Construction. The date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was within one hundred eighty (180) days of the permit date. The actual start means either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing, grading, and filling; nor does it include the installation of streets and/or walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure. For a substantial improvement, the actual start of construction means the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of a building.

(hh) Structure. A walled and roofed building, manufactured home, or gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.

(ii) Substantial Damage. Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

(jj) Substantial Improvement. Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure before the “start of construction” of the improvement. This term includes structures, which have incurred “substantial damage”, regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include:

(1) Any improvement to a structure that is considered “new construction;”

(2) 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 prior to the application for a development permit by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or

(3) Any alteration of a “historic structure,” provided that the alteration would not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a “historic structure”.

(kk) Variance. A grant of relief from the standards of these regulations consistent with the variance conditions herein.

(ll) Violation. The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with these regulations.

(Ord. No. 857-2019. Passed 7-24-19, eff. 7-26-19)

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