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A. Areas designated as restricted height overlay district (RHOD) shall be identified on the official zoning map.
B. The overlay zoning district designation supplements, but does not replace the underlying zoning district except as otherwise provided herein.
C. Such designation shall not affect usage of the property within the parameters of its zoning classification except that no structure shall be allowed to exceed the height above sea level specified in section 16-6-2-2 of this chapter. (Ord. 52-09, 10-19-2009)
The following areas shall be designated as RHO districts, within which the following height limits shall be observed:
A. A strip of land one hundred feet (100') wide from the communication tower at Sunnycrest care facility to the communication tower at the Peosta water tower, insofar as said strip of land exists within the corporate limits of the city. The maximum height allowed in this corridor shall be one thousand feet (1,000') above mean sea level as determined by a qualified engineer licensed under the laws of the state of Iowa.
B. A strip of land one hundred feet (100') wide extending a point which is six hundred seventy feet (670') above mean sea level at the Dubuque Law Enforcement Center to a point which is nine hundred thirty feet (930') above mean sea level at Sunnycrest Manor in which no structure may be built to a height exceeding the relative height of a line drawn between these two (2) elevations. The maximum height allowed in this corridor shall be determined by a qualified engineer licensed under the laws of the state of Iowa. (Ord. 52-09, 10-19-2009)
The SOD signage overlay district has been established along the three (3) mile long Freeway 61/151 corridor to:
A. Acknowledge the importance of the freeway corridor as a unique gateway to and through the city;
B. Identify the lands lying along and adjacent to the freeway and extending to the Mississippi River as requiring special attention in terms of visual aesthetics;
C. Protect and enhance the vistas both from and to the city and the Mississippi River valley along the freeway;
D. Eliminate the potential visual clutter viewable from the freeway while allowing the opportunity for signage, where possible, which is appropriate in terms of size, height and spacing; and
E. Create clearly understandable and enforceable regulations for a specially defined district in the city. (Ord. 52-09, 10-19-2009)
The SOD shall encompass the land as indicated on the official SOD map of the city, adopted separately and incorporated herein by reference, which district is generally described as all land within six hundred sixty feet (660') of the westerly or northerly edge of the Freeway 61/151 right of way, from Grandview Avenue north to and including Schmitt Island, and extending east to the city's corporate limits, and including the area lying east of the upper bluff line between Southern Avenue and 1st Street, excluding the area within the port of Dubuque. The SOD is further divided into subareas, as follows:
A. Area A: All land east of Locust Street from Grandview Avenue north to Camp Street north of the U.S. Highway 61/151 right of way and the extension of Railroad Avenue east of U.S. 61/151 right of way east to the city's corporate limits;
B. Area B: All land west of Locust Street from the intersection of Locust Street and Southern Avenue north to Dodge Street and extending west to the upper bluff line;
C. Area C: All land east of the shoreline of Peosta Channel, including Schmitt Island;
D. Area D: All remaining land within the SOD;
E. Area X: All land east of Locust Street from Camp Street north to Dodge Street and the Julien Dubuque Bridge, and extending east to the railroad right of way;
F. Area Y: All land west of Locust Street from Dodge Street north to 1st Street and east of Locust Street from Dodge Street north to 3rd Street extending west to Freeway 61/151; and
G. Area Z: All land east of Freeway 61/151 from the 3rd Street Overpass, including its extension east to the corporate limits, north to Peosta Channel, and extending easterly and northerly to the city's corporate limits, including all lands within the shoreline of the Dove Harbor Peninsula, except for that land within six hundred sixty feet (660') of the easterly edge of the Freeway 61/151 right of way from the 3rd Street Overpass north to the extension of 8th Street. (Ord. 52-09, 10-19-2009)
A. Signs Not Allowed: Within the SOD signage overlay district, no off premises signs are allowed in the following areas:
1. Area A on the official zoning map generally described as all the land in the SOD east of Locust Street from Grandview Avenue north to Camp Street north of the U.S. Highway 61/151 right of way and the extension of Railroad Avenue east of U.S. 61/151 right of way east to the city's corporate limits;
2. Area B on the official zoning map generally described as all the land in the SOD west of Locust Street from the intersection of Locust Street and Southern Avenue north to Dodge Street and extending west to the upper bluff line;
3. Area C is eliminated as it lies entirely within the Port Of Dubuque PUD; and
4. Area D on the official zoning map generally described as all the land in the SOD east of the shoreline of Peosta Channel, including Schmitt Island.
B. Sign Standards: Within the SOD signage overlay district, off premises signs in the following areas shall be subject to the standards set forth in section 16-15-12 of this title:
1. Area X of the official zoning map generally described as all the land in the SOD east of Locust Street from Camp Street north to Dodge Street and the Julien Dubuque Bridge, and extending east to the railroad right of way;
2. Area Y on the official zoning map generally described as all the land in the SOD west of Locust Street from Dodge Street north to 1st Street and east of Locust Street from Dodge Street north to 3rd Street extending west to Freeway 61/151; and
3. Area Z on the official zoning map generally described as all the land in the SOD east of Freeway 61/151 from the 3rd Street Overpass, including its extension east to the corporate limits, north to Peosta Channel, and extending easterly and northerly to the city's corporate limits, including all lands within the shoreline of the Dove Harbor Peninsula, except for that land within six hundred sixty feet (660') of the easterly edge of the Freeway 61/151 right of way from the 3rd Street Overpass north to the extension of 8th Street (area G on the official zoning map).
C. Other Areas: Off premises signs in all other areas on the official zoning map (E, F, G) in the signage overlay district (SOD) shall meet the standards as set forth in section 16-15-12 of this title or set forth in this section, whichever are more restrictive.
1. Height: No portion of any sign or sign structure within six hundred sixty feet (660') of the Freeway 61/151 right of way shall be visible to a person of normal visual acuity traveling on Freeway 61/151, but in no event higher than twenty five feet (25').
2. Size: Three hundred (300) square feet.
3. Spacing: Five hundred feet (500') (linear measurement for signs visible to oncoming traffic).
D. Variance: The zoning board of adjustment may grant a variance to increase the standards pertaining to height and size or reduce spacing requirements for any lawful sign. (Ord. 52-09, 10-19-2009)
Unless specifically defined below or in Chapter 2 of this title, words or phrases used in Section 16-6-4 shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give Section 16-6-4 its most reasonable application.
APPURTENANT STRUCTURE: | A structure which is on the same parcel of the property as the principal structure to be insured and the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure. |
BASE FLOOD: | The flood having one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. (Also commonly referred to as the "100-year flood"). |
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE): | The elevation floodwaters would reach at a particular site during the occurrence of a base flood event. |
BASEMENT: | Any enclosed area of a building which has its floor or lowest level below ground level (subgrade) on all sides. Also see "lowest floor." |
DEVELOPMENT: | Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials. "Development" does not include "minor projects" or "routine maintenance of existing buildings and facilities" as defined in this section. It also does not include gardening, plowing, and similar practices that do not involve filling or grading. |
ENCLOSED AREA BELOW LOWEST FLOOR: | The floor of the lowest enclosed area in a building when all the following criteria are met: A. The enclosed area is designed to flood to equalize hydrostatic pressure during flood events with walls or openings that satisfy the provisions of Section 16-6-4-7B.4.a. of Title 16; and B. The enclosed area is unfinished (not carpeted, drywalled, etc.) and used solely for low damage potential uses such as building access, parking or storage; and C. Machinery and service facilities (e.g., hot water heater, furnace, electrical service) contained in the enclosed area are located at least one foot (1') above the base flood elevation; and D. The enclosed area is not a "basement" as defined in this section. |
EXISTING CONSTRUCTION: | Any structure for which the "start of construction" commenced before the effective date of the first floodplain management regulations adopted by the community. |
EXISTING FACTORY-BUILT HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION: | A factory-built home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the factory-built homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of the first floodplain management regulations adopted by the community. |
EXPANSION OF EXISTING FACTORY-BUILT HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION: | The preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the factory-built homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads). |
FACTORY-BUILT HOME: | Any structure, designed for residential use which is wholly or in substantial part, made, fabricated, formed or assembled in manufacturing facilities for installation or assembly and installation, on a building site. For the purpose of Section 16-6-4, factory-built homes include mobile homes, manufactured homes, and modular homes; and also include "recreational vehicles" which are placed on a site for greater than one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days and not fully licensed for and ready for highway use. |
FACTORY-BUILT HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION: | A parcel or contiguous parcels of land divided into two (2) or more factory-built home lots for sale or lease. |
FIVE HUNDRED (500) YEAR FLOOD: | A flood, the magnitude of which has a two-tenths (0.2) percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year or which, on average, will be equaled or exceeded at least once every five hundred (500) years. |
FLOOD: | A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas resulting from the overflow of streams or rivers or from the unusual and rapid runoff of surface waters from any source. |
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM): | The official map prepared as part of (but published separately from) the Flood Insurance Study which delineates both the flood hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the community. |
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS): | A report published by FEMA for a community issued along with the community's Flood Insurance Rate Map(s). The study contains such background data as the base flood discharge and water surface elevations that were used to prepare the FIRM. |
FLOODPLAIN: | Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water as a result of a flood. |
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT: | An overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damages and promoting the wise use of floodplains, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works, floodproofing and floodplain management regulations. |
FLOODPROOFING: | Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures, including utility and sanitary facilities, which will reduce or eliminate flood damage to such structures. |
FLOODWAY: | The channel of a river or stream and those portions of the floodplains adjoining the channel, which are reasonably required to carry and discharge flood waters or flood flows so that confinement of flood flows to the floodway area will not cumulatively increase the water surface elevation of the base flood by more than one foot (1'). |
FLOODWAY FRINGE: | Those portions of the special flood hazard area outside the floodway. |
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE: | The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure. |
HISTORIC STRUCTURE: | Any structure that is: A. Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places, maintained by the Department of Interior, or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing of the National Register; |
B. 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; C. Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or D. Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified by either: i) an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or ii) directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs. | |
LOWEST FLOOR: | The floor of the lowest enclosed area in a building including a basement except when the criteria listed in the definition of enclosed area below lowest floor are met. |
MAXIMUM DAMAGE POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT: | Hospitals and like institutions; buildings or building complexes containing documents, data, or instruments of great public value; buildings or building complexes containing materials dangerous to the public or fuel storage facilities; power installations needed in emergency or other buildings or building complexes similar in nature or use. |
MINOR PROJECTS: | Small development activities (except for filling, grading and excavating) valued at less than five hundred dollars ($500.00). |
NEW CONSTRUCTION (New buildings, factory-built home parks): | Those structures or development for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of the first floodplain management regulations adopted by the community. |
NEW FACTORY-BUILT HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION: | A factory-built home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the factory-built homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date of the first floodplain management regulations adopted by the community. |
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE: | A vehicle which is: A. Built on a single chassis; B. Four hundred (400) square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection; C. Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and D. Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use. |
ROUTINE MAINTENANCE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES: | Repairs necessary to keep a structure in a safe and habitable condition that do not trigger a building permit, provided they are not associated with a general improvement of the structure or repair of a damaged structure. Such repairs include: A. Normal maintenance of structures such as re-roofing, replacing roofing tiles and replacing siding; B. Exterior and interior painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work; C. Basement sealing; D. Repairing or replacing damaged or broken window panes; E. Repairing plumbing systems, electrical systems, heating or air conditioning systems and repairing wells or septic systems. |
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA (SFHA): | The land within a community subject to the "base flood". This land is identified on the community's Flood Insurance Rate Map as Zone A, A1-30, AE, AH, AO, AR, and/or A99. |
START OF CONSTRUCTION: | Includes substantial improvement, and means the date the development 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 or permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as pouring of a slab or footings, the installation of pile, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of a factory-built 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 the building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building. |
STRUCTURE: | Anything constructed or erected on the ground or attached to the ground, including, but not limited to, buildings, factories, sheds, cabins, factory-built homes, storage tanks, grain storage facilities and/or other similar uses. |
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE: | Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damage condition would equal or exceed fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. Volunteer labor and donated materials shall be included in the estimated cost of repair. |
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT: | Any improvement to a structure which satisfies either of the following criteria: A. Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure either: (i) before the "start of construction" of the improvement; or (ii) if the structure has been "substantially damaged" and is being restored, before the damage occurred. The term does not, however, include 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. The term also does not include any alteration of an "historic structure", provided the alteration will not preclude the structure's designation as an "historic structure". |
B. Any addition which increases the original floor area of a building by twenty-five percent (25%) or more. All additions constructed after the effective date of the first floodplain management regulations adopted by the community shall be added to any proposed addition in determining whether the total increase in original floor space would exceed twenty-five percent (25%). | |
VARIANCE: | A grant of relief by a community from the terms of the floodplain management regulations. |
VIOLATION: | The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations. (Ord. 24-21, 6-21-2021) |
A. The Legislature of the State of Iowa has in Chapter 414, Code of Iowa, as amended, delegated the power to cities to enact zoning regulations to secure safety from flood and to promote health and the general welfare.
B. Findings Of Fact:
1. The flood hazard areas of the City of Dubuque are subject to periodic inundation which can 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 all of which adversely affect the public health, safety and general welfare of the community.
2. These flood losses, hazards, and related adverse effects are caused by: (i) the occupancy of flood hazard areas by uses vulnerable to flood damages which create hazardous conditions as a result of being inadequately elevated or otherwise protected from flooding; and (ii) the cumulative effect of obstructions on the floodplain causing increases in flood heights and velocities.
3. Section 16-6-4 relies upon engineering methodology for analyzing flood hazards which is consistent with the standards established by the Department of Natural Resources.
C. Statement Of Purpose: It is the purpose of Section 16-6-4 to protect and preserve the rights, privileges and property of the City of Dubuque and its residents and to preserve and improve the peace, safety, health, welfare, and comfort and convenience of its residents by minimizing those flood losses described in Section 16-6-4-2B.1. of Title 16 Unified Development Code with provisions designed to:
1. Reserve sufficient floodplain area for the conveyance of flood flows so that flood heights and velocities will not be increased substantially.
2. Restrict or prohibit uses which are dangerous to health, safety or property in times of flood or which cause excessive increases in flood heights or velocities.
3. Require that uses vulnerable to floods, including public facilities which serve such uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of initial construction or substantial improvement.
4. Protect individuals from buying lands which may not be suited for intended purposes because of flood hazard.
5. Assure that eligibility is maintained for property owners in the community to purchase flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program. (Ord. 24-21, 6-21-2021)
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