160.01 Statutory Authority, Findings of Fact and Purpose | 160.11 Action on Permit Application |
160.02 Definitions | 160.12 Construction and Use to Be as Provided in Application and Plans |
160.03 General Provisions | 160.13 Conditional Uses, Appeals and Variances |
160.04 Establishment of Zoning Districts | 160.14 Factors Upon Which the Decision of the Board Shall Be Based |
160.05 Floodway (Overlay) District (FW) | 160.15 Conditions Attached to Conditional Uses or Variances |
160.06 Floodway Fringe (Overlay) District (FF) | 160.16 Appeals to the Court |
160.07 General Flood Plain (Overlay) District (FP) | 160.17 Nonconforming Uses |
160.08 Appointment, Duties, and Responsibilities of Zoning Administrator | 160.18 Penalties for Violations |
160.09 Flood Plain Development Permit Required | 160.19 Amendments |
160.10 Application for Permit | |
1. 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.
2. Findings of Fact.
A. The flood hazard areas of the City 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.
B. 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 flood plain causing increases in flood heights and velocities.
C. This chapter relies upon engineering methodology for analyzing flood hazards which is consistent with the standards established by the Department of Natural Resources.
3. Statement of Purpose. It is the purpose of this chapter to protect and preserve the rights, privileges and property of the City 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 paragraph (2)(B) of this section with provisions designed to:
A. Reserve sufficient flood plain area for the conveyance of flood flows so that flood heights and velocities will not be increased substantially.
B. Restrict or prohibit uses that are dangerous to health, safety or property in times of flood or which cause excessive increases in flood heights or velocities.
C. Require that uses vulnerable to floods, including public facilities that serve such uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of initial construction or substantial improvement.
D. Protect individuals from buying lands that may not be suited for intended purposes because of flood hazard.
E. Assure that eligibility is maintained for property owners in the community to purchase flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program.
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable application.
1. “Appurtenant structure” means 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.
2. “Base flood” means the flood having one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
3. “Base flood elevation” means the elevation floodwaters would reach at a particular site during the occurrence of a base flood event.
4. “Basement” means any enclosed area of a building which has its floor or lowest level below ground level (subgrade) on all sides. (Also see “lowest floor.”)
5. “Development” means 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. “Development” does not include minor projects or routine maintenance of existing buildings and facilities, as those terms are defined in this section. It also does not include gardening, plowing, and similar practices that do not involve filling, grading.
6. “Existing factory-built home park or subdivision” means 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 flood plain management regulations adopted by the community.
7. “Expansion of existing factory-built home park or subdivision” means 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).
8. “Factory-built home” means 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 this chapter, factory-built homes include mobile homes, manufactured homes, and modular homes and also include park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than 180 consecutive days.
9. “Factory-built home park” means a parcel or contiguous parcels of land divided into two or more factory-built home lots for rent or sale.
10. “Flood” means 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.
11. “Flood elevation” means the elevation floodwaters would reach at a particular site during the occurrence of a specific flood. For instance, the 100-year flood elevation is the elevation of flood waters related to the occurrence of the 100-year flood.
12. “Flood Insurance Rate Map” (FIRM) means 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.
13. “Flood insurance study” means a study initiated, funded, and published by the Federal Insurance Administration for the purpose of evaluating in detail the existence and severity of flood hazards, providing the City with the necessary information for adopting a flood plain management program and establishing actuarial flood insurance rates.
14. “Flood plain” means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water as a result of a flood.
15. “Flood plain management” means an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damages and promoting the wise use of flood plains, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works, flood proofing and flood plain management regulations.
16. “Flood proofing” means 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 structures.
17. “Floodway” means the channel of a river or stream and those portions of the flood plains adjoining the channel, which are reasonably required to carry and discharge floodwaters or flood flows so that confinement of flood flows to the floodway area will not result in substantially higher flood levels and flow velocities.
18. “Floodway fringe” means those portions of the flood plain, other than the floodway, which can be filled, leveed, or otherwise obstructed without causing substantially higher flood levels or flow velocities.
19. “Highest adjacent grade” means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
20. “Historic structure” means 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 either: (i) by 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.
21. “Lowest floor” means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access, or storage, in an area other than a basement area, is not considered a building’s lowest floor, provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable non-elevation design requirement of this chapter.
22. “Minor projects” means small development activities (except for filling, grading and excavating) valued at less than $500.00.
23. “New construction” (new buildings, factory-built home parks) means those structures or development for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of the Flood Insurance Rate Map.
24. “New factory-built home park or subdivision” means 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 first flood plain management regulations adopted by the community.
25. “100-year flood” means the condition of flooding having a one percent chance of annual occurrence.
26. “Principally above ground” means that at least 51 percent of the actual cash value of the structure, less land value, is above ground.
27. “Recreational vehicle” means a vehicle that 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.
28. “Routine maintenance of existing buildings and facilities” means 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.
29. “Regulatory flood elevation” means the water surface elevation of the 100-year flood.
30. “Special flood hazard area” means the land within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. This land is identified as Zone A and AE on the official map.
31. “Start of construction” (for other than new construction or substantial improvements under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (Pub. L. 97-348)) - Includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement, was within 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 slab or footings, the installation of piles, 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 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 the building.
32. “Structure” means 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, and other similar uses.
33. “Substantial damage” means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the marketable value of the structure before the damage occurred. Substantial damage also means flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a 10-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds 25 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
34. “Substantial improvement” means any improvement to a structure which satisfies either of the following criteria:
A. Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent 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 either 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 or any alteration of a “historic structure,” provided the alteration will not preclude the structure’s designation as a “historic structure.”
B. Any addition which increases the original floor area of a building by 25 percent or more. All additions constructed after February 17, 1993, shall be added to any proposed addition in determining whether the total increase in original floor space would exceed 25 percent.
35. “Variance” means a grant of relief by a community from the terms of the flood plain management regulations.
36. “Violation” means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community’s flood plain management regulations.
1. Lands to Which Chapter Applies. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all lands within the jurisdiction of the City which are shown on the Official Flood Plain Zoning Map as being within the boundaries of the Floodway, Floodway Fringe, General Flood Plain, and Shallow Flooding Districts.
2. Establishment of Official Flood Plain Zoning Map. The Flood Insurance Rate Map for Linn County and Incorporated Areas, City of Ely, Panels 19113C0438D, 0439D, 0551D, 0552D, dated April 5, 2010, which were prepared as part of the Flood Insurance Study for Linn County are hereby adopted by reference and declared to be the Official Flood Plain Zoning Map. The flood profiles and all explanatory material contained within the Flood Insurance Study and Flood Insurance Rate Map are also declared to be a part of this chapter.
3. Rules for Interpretation of District Boundaries. The boundaries of the zoning district shall be determined by scaling distances on the Official Flood Plain Zoning Map. Where interpretation is needed as to the exact location of the boundaries of the district as shown on the Official Zoning Map, the Mayor shall make the necessary interpretation. The person contesting the location of the district boundary shall be given a reasonable opportunity to present their case and submit technical evidence.
4. Compliance. No structure or land shall hereafter be used and no structure shall be located, extended, converted or structurally altered without full compliance with the terms of this chapter and other applicable regulations which apply to uses within the jurisdiction of this chapter.
5. Abrogation and Greater Restrictions. It is not intended by this chapter to repeal, abrogate or impair any existing easements, covenants, or deed restrictions. However, where this chapter imposes greater restrictions, the provision of this chapter shall prevail. All other ordinances inconsistent with this chapter are hereby repealed to the extent of the inconsistency only.
6. Interpretation. In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements and shall be liberally construed in favor of the governing body and shall not be deemed a limitation or repeal of any other powers granted by State statutes.
7. Warning and Disclaimer of Liability. The degree of flood protection required by this chapter is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on engineering and scientific methods of study. Larger floods may occur on rare occasions. Flood heights may be increased by man-made or natural causes, such as ice jams and bridge openings restricted by debris. This chapter does not imply that areas outside the Flood Plain Districts or land uses permitted within such districts will be free from flooding or flood damages. This chapter shall not create liability on the part of Ely or any officer or employee thereof for any flood damages from reliance on this chapter or any administrative decision lawfully made thereunder.
8. Severability. If any section, clause, provision or portion of this chapter is adjudged unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this chapter shall not be affected thereby.
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