Unless otherwise specified, the following standards are applicable in all Special Flood Hazard Areas, all post-development floodplains, and all Ecological Hazard Districts (EHD) and General Floodplain Districts (GFD).
(a) Prohibited uses. The following uses shall be prohibited Special Flood Hazard Areas and in post-development floodplains, unless granted through a special permit or as a floodplain variance.
(1) Excavating, grading or filling which disturbs the natural grade of the floodplain.
(2) Principal or accessory buildings for residential, business, office or industrial use.
(b) Permitted activities. The following uses having low obstructive effect shall be permitted in the floodplain, to the extent that they are not prohibited by any other ordinance or are not prohibited in the vegetative buffer strip; and provided that they do not require grading, filling, structures, storage of materials and equipment, or any other obstructive features.
(1) Agricultural uses, such as general farming, pasture, grazing, outdoor plant nurseries, horticulture, viticulture, truck farming, forestry, sod farming, or wild crop harvesting. Agricultural fences necessary for these uses are permitted.
(2) Uses accessory to private and public recreational uses, such as golf courses, driving ranges, archery ranges, picnic grounds, boat-launching ramps, parks, wildlife and nature preserves, game farms, fish hatcheries, shooting preserves, target ranges, trap and skeet ranges, hunting and fishing areas, and hiking and horseback-riding trails, pedestrian trails and crossings.
(3) Uses accessory to residential uses, such as lawns, gardens, parking areas, and play areas.
(4) Functionally dependent uses as defined herein.
(c) Lots or buildings in a Special Flood Hazard Area. Where a new structure or substantial improvement of an existing structure is proposed on a lot that includes a Special Flood Hazard Area, and no regulatory flood protection elevation is shown on the final record plan or the site plan for the lot, the lowest opening of the structure shall be at or above the regulatory flood protection elevation, as determined through reference to the Federal Insurance Administration report. Where a new structure or substantial improvement of an existing structure is proposed within a Special Flood Hazard Area, and neither the final record plan, the site plan, nor the Flood Insurance Study specify a regulatory flood elevation for the stream, a licensed professional engineer shall determine the regulatory flood elevation, or the applicant may request assistance from the Kentucky Division of Water. The engineer may use the contour interpolation method, contained in the Stormwater Manual, to determine the regulatory flood elevation, which shall be the basis for establishing the regulatory flood protection elevation.
(d) Lots with a regulatory flood protection elevation. Where a new structure or substantial improvement of an existing structure is proposed on a lot which has a regulatory flood protection elevation noted on the final record plan, or on the site plan, of the property, the lowest floor and the lowest opening of the structure shall be at or above the noted elevation.
(e) Utility standards. All utilities shall be designed and located to minimize their potential for flooding during the regulatory flood. All new and replacement water supply systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood water into the systems. New or replacement sanitary sewage systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems, and discharges from the systems into flood waters. On-site waste disposal systems shall be located to avoid impairment to them or contamination from them during flooding. Electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, and air-conditioning equipment and other service facilities shall be designed and/or located so as to prevent water from entering or accumulating within the components during conditions of flooding.
(f) Additions to existing structures. Additions to structures that were lawfully constructed on fill, or at an elevation which was permitted prior to the adoption or amendment of this article, shall be permitted; provided:
(1) The addition does not constitute substantial improvement to the structure;
(2) The addition does not require filling in the floodplain;
(3) The floor elevation of the addition is proposed to be at least at the regulatory flood protection elevation.
(g) General standards for major subdivision plans and site plan proposals. All stormwater facilities shall be designed and constructed, and all post-development floodplains shall be calculated, in conformance with the requirements of the Stormwater Manual. All major subdivision plans and site plans shall, at a minimum, be subject to the following requirements.
(1) Preliminary subdivision and site plan requirements. In order to protect the floodplain during infrastructure construction, a preliminary subdivision plan and/or a site plan shall indicate the location of a vegetative buffer strip. The vegetative buffer strip shall be twenty-five (25) feet, measured horizontally from the centerline, on each side of intermittent streams; and twenty-five (25) feet, measured horizontally from the edge of the bank, on each side of perennial streams. The boundary of the vegetative buffer strip may be located inside or outside the horizontal limits of the floodplain. Within the vegetative buffer strip, there shall be no mowing, grading, filling, trenching, soil compaction, removal of vegetation, or other disturbance of the soil or ground cover (including parallel utilities), or the storage of equipment or materials during the construction of the infrastructure. Sediment ponds, and detention ponds along perennial streams, shall be prohibited within the horizontal limits of the vegetative buffer strip.
(2) Floodplain analysis. For any property one (1) acre in size or larger, containing or adjacent to a Special Flood Hazard Area as defined herein, or adjoining a stream having minimum drainage area of one hundred (100) acres or greater, a floodplain analysis shall be required, in conformance with the Stormwater Manual, to determine the post-development floodplain. Such analysis shall not be required for the subdivision of property in a residential or agricultural zone for which no infrastructure improvements are proposed; however the Planning Commission may require a floodplain analysis for such a subdivision in locations of known flooding.
(3) Revision of the Special Flood Hazard Area. If the watershed study determines that the proposed development will cause the post-development floodplain to be at a higher elevation or outside the limits of the Special Flood Hazard Area, the project engineer shall prepare and submit a Letter of Map Revision in conformance with the Stormwater Manual. If the post-development floodplain is a lower elevation or inside the limits of the Special Flood Hazard Area, and the developer wishes to base the regulatory flood protection elevations on the lower elevations or narrower limits, then the project engineer shall prepare, submit and obtain approval of the Letter of Map Revision prior to the issuance of building permits utilizing the lower elevations.
(4) Final record plan and site plan requirements. Final record plans and site plans that include or adjoin a Special Flood Hazard Area or a post-development floodplain shall include and show the floodplain boundaries. Regulatory flood elevations (in relation to mean sea level) shall be noted on the plan.
a. Regulatory flood protection elevation. The final record plan shall show the regulatory flood protection elevation (RFPE) for each lot that includes or is adjacent to a floodplain, and the site plan shall show the RFPE for each such building.
b. Minimum setback. All lots which contain or adjoin a floodplain shall have a minimum building setback from the floodplain of ten (10) feet depicted on the final record plan and on the site plan. This building setback shall be measured horizontally from the edge of the floodplain and shall be applicable to all principal and accessory buildings on the lot.
c. Vegetative buffer strip. In order to protect the stream from inappropriate activities, there shall be a vegetative buffer strip of twenty-five (25) feet, measured horizontally from the centerline, on each side of intermittent streams, and twenty-five (25) feet, measured horizontally from the edge of the bank, on each side of perennial streams. The vegetative buffer strip may coincide with the setback required above. Within the vegetative buffer strip, there shall be no mowing, grading, filling, removal of vegetation, or other disturbance of the soil or ground cover; no construction of principal or accessory buildings; and no construction of other facilities, including but not limited to, swimming pools, tennis courts, fences, trails, baseball fields, soccer fields, playground equipment, decks, gazebos, shelters, or parking lots, whether temporary or permanent.
(5) Subdivision and site plan review standards. All subdivision and site plans shall be consistent with the need to minimize flood damage, and shall have public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems located and constructed to minimize flood damage to it and to other uses. The following public facilities shall be permitted in the floodplain.
a. Temporary sediment ponds that will be converted to permanent stormwater management ponds, provided they are located outside the horizontal limits of the vegetative buffer strip.
b. Roadways and utilities that cross at angles within ten (10) degrees of being perpendicular to the water or to the floodplain.
c. Sanitary sewers, which shall be constructed outside the horizontal limits of the ten (10) year post-development floodplain, with manhole covers set at an elevation one (1) foot above the elevation of the regulatory flood.
d. Storm sewer pipe outlets where the outlet terminates at the edge of the post-development floodplain.
(Ord. No. 1675, 2-28-05)