(A) Designation of Development Director. The Development Director is appointed to administer and implement the provisions of this subchapter.
(B) Permit procedures. Application for a development permit shall be made to the Development Director on forms furnished by him or her prior to any development activity. The development permit may include, but is not limited to the following: plans in duplicate drawn to scale showing the nature, location, dimensions and elevations of the area in question; existing or proposed structure, earthen fill, storage of materials or equipment, drainage facilities. Specifically, the following information is required.
(1) Application stage.
(a) Elevation in relation to mean sea level of the proposed lowest floor (including basement) of all buildings. (See subsection (2) below.)
(b) Elevation in relation to mean sea level to which non-residential building will be flood- proofed, where base flood elevation data is available. (See subsection (2) below.)
(c) Certificate from a registered professional engineer or architect that the non-residential flood-proofed building will meet the flood-proofing criteria in subsection (B)(2) below, where base flood elevation data is available.
(d) Description of the extent to which any watercourse will be altered or relocated as a result of proposed development.
(2) Construction stage.
(a) Within unnumbered A Zones, where flood elevation data are not available, the Development Director shall record the elevation of the lowest floor on the development permit. The elevation of the lowest floor shall be determined as the measurement of the lowest floor of the building and the highest adjacent grade. USGS Quadrangle maps may be utilized when no more detailed reference exists to establish reference elevations.
(b) Within all flood zones where base flood elevation data are utilized, the Development Director shall require that upon placement of the lowest floor, or flood-proofing by whatever construction means, whichever is applicable, it shall be the duty of the permit holder to submit to the Development Director a certification of the elevation of the lowest floor, or flood-proofed elevation, whichever is applicable, as built, in relation to mean sea level. The certification shall be prepared by, or under the direct supervision of, a registered land surveyor, professional engineer or architect and certified by same. When flood-proofing is utilized for a particular building, the certification shall be prepared by, or under the direct supervision of, a professional engineer or an architect and certified by same. Any work undertaken prior to submission of the certification shall be at the permit holder’s risk. The Development Director shall review the floor elevation survey data submitted. Deficiencies detected by such review shall be corrected by the permit holder immediately and prior to further progressive work being permitted to proceed. Failure to submit the survey or failure to make the corrections required hereby shall be a cause to issue a stop-work order for the project.
(C) Duties and responsibilities of the Development Director. Duties of the Development Director shall include, but not limited to:
(1) Review of all development permits to assure that the requirements of this subchapter have been satisfied, and that proposed building sites will be reasonably safe from flooding;
(2) Advice to permittee that additional federal or state permits may be required, and if specific federal or state permit requirements are known, require that copies of such permits be provided and maintained on file with the development permit. This shall include Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Act Amendments of 1972, 33 USC 1334;
(3) Notification to adjacent communities and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, prior to any alteration or relocation of a watercourse and submission of evidence of such notification to the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
(4) Record the actual elevation (in relation to mean sea level or highest adjacent grade, whichever is applicable) of the lowest floor (including basement) of all new or substantially improved buildings, in accordance with subsection (B)(2);
(5) Record the actual elevation (in relation to mean seal level or highest adjacent grade, whichever is applicable) to which the new substantially improved buildings have been flood-proofed, in accordance with subsection (B)(2);
(6) Where flood-proofing is utilized, the Development Director shall obtain certification from a registered professional engineer or architect, in accordance with subsection (B)(2);
(7) Where interpretations are needed as to the exact location of boundaries of the areas of special flood hazard (for example, where there appears to be a conflict between a mapped boundary and actual field conditions) the Development Director shall make the necessary interpretation. The person contesting the location of the boundary shall be given a reasonable opportunity to appeal the interpretation as provided in § 151.101;
(8) When base flood elevation data or floodway data have not been provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, then the Development Director shall obtain review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation and floodway data available from a federal, state or other source, including data developed as a result of these regulations as criteria for requiring that new construction, substantial improvements or other development in Zone A on the Community FHBM or FIRM meet the requirements of this subchapter. (Optional additional requirements: within unnumbered A Zones, where base flood elevations have not been established and where alternative data is not available, the Development Director shall require the lowest floor of a building to be elevated or flood-proofed to level of at least two feet above the highest adjacent grade (lowest floor and highest adjacent grade being defined in § 151.091). All applicable data including the highest adjacent grade elevation and the elevation of the lowest floor of flood-proofing shall be recorded as set forth in division (B) of this section;
(9) All records pertaining to the provisions of this subchapter shall be maintained in the office of the Development Director and shall be open for public inspection. Permits issued under the provisions of this subchapter shall be maintained in a separate file or marked for expedited retrieval within combined files;
(10) Assure that the flood carrying capacity within an altered or relocated portion of any watercourse is maintained.
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(`00 Code, § 11-704) (Am. Ord. 2012-19, passed 1-14-13)