Loading...
(A) Variances shall be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum relief necessary, considering the flood hazard and the factors listed in § 153.27 of this chapter.
(B) Variances shall only be issued upon: a showing of good and sufficient cause, a determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship; or a determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, create nuisance, cause fraud on or victimization of the public or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.
(C) Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notice that the issuance of a Variance to construct a structure below the base flood elevation will result in increased premium rates for flood insurance (as high as $25 for $100) coverage, and that such construction below the base flood elevation increases risks to life and property.
(D) The Administrator shall maintain the records of all appeal actions and report any variances to FEMA upon request.
(1994 Code, § 14-406) (Ord. 514, passed 8-8-1994; Ord. 703, passed 5-24-2010)
FLOOD HAZARD REDUCTION
In all areas of special flood hazard, the following provisions are required.
(A) New construction and substantial improvements shall be anchored to prevent flotation, collapse and lateral movement of the structure.
(B) Manufactured homes shall be installed using methods and practices that minimize flood damage. They must be elevated and anchored to prevent flotation, collapse and lateral movement. Methods of anchoring may include, but are not limited to, use of over-the-top or frame ties to ground anchors. This requirement is in addition to applicable state and local anchoring requirements for resisting wind forces.
(C) New construction and substantial improvements shall be constructed with materials and utility equipment resistant to flood damage.
(D) New construction and substantial improvements shall be constructed by methods and practices that minimize flood damage.
(E) All electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, 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) New and replacement water supply systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the system.
(G) New and 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.
(H) On-site waste disposal systems shall be located and constructed to avoid impairment to them or contamination from them during flooding.
(I) Any alteration, repair, reconstruction or improvements to a building that is in compliance with the provisions of this chapter, shall meet the requirements of new construction, as contained in this chapter.
(J) Any alteration, repair, reconstruction or improvements to a building that is not in compliance with the provision of this chapter shall be undertaken only if said non-conformity is not further extended or replaced.
(K) All new construction and substantial improvement proposals shall provide copies of all necessary federal and state permits, including § 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act amendments of 1972, 33 U.S.C. § 1344.
(L) All subdivision proposals and other proposed new development proposals shall meet the standards of § 153.41 of this chapter.
(M) When proposed new construction and substantial improvements are partially located in an area of special flood hazard, the entire structure shall meet the standards for new construction.
(N) When proposed new construction and substantial improvements are located in multiple flood hazard risk zones or in a flood hazard risk zone with multiple base flood elevations, the entire structure shall meet the standards for the most hazardous flood hazard risk zone and the highest base flood elevation.
(1994 Code, § 14-405) (Ord. 514, passed 8-8-1994; Ord. 703, passed 5-24-2010)
In all areas of special flood hazard, the following provisions, in addition to those set forth in § 153.40 of this chapter are required.
(A) Residential structures.
(1) In AE Zones where base flood elevation data is available, new construction and substantial improvement of any residential building (or manufactured home) shall have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated to no lower than one foot above the base flood elevation. Should solid foundation perimeter walls be used to elevate a structure, openings sufficient to facilitate equalization of flood hydrostatic forces on both sides of exterior walls shall be provided in accordance with the standards of division (C) below.
(2) Within approximate A Zones where base flood elevations have not been established and where alternative data is not available, the Administrator shall require the lowest floor of a building to be elevated to a level of at least three feet above the highest adjacent grade (as defined in § 153.05 of this chapter). Should solid foundation perimeter walls be used to elevate a structure, openings sufficient to facilitate equalization of flood hydrostatic forces on both sides of exterior walls shall be provided in accordance with the standards of division (C) below.
(B) Non-residential structures.
(1) In AE Zones, where base flood elevation data is available, new construction and substantial improvement of any commercial, industrial, or non-residential building, shall have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated or floodproofed to no lower than one foot above the level of the base flood elevation. Should solid foundation perimeter walls be used to elevate a structure, openings sufficient to facilitate equalization of flood hydrostatic forces on both sides of exterior walls shall be provided in accordance with the standards of division (C) below.
(2) In approximate A Zones, where base flood elevations have not been established and where alternative data is not available, new construction and substantial improvement of any commercial, industrial or non-residential building, shall have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated or floodproofed to no lower than three feet above the highest adjacent grade (as defined in § 153.05 of this chapter). Should solid foundation perimeter walls be used to elevate a structure, openings sufficient to facilitate equalization of flood hydrostatic forces on both sides of exterior walls shall be provided in accordance with the standards of division (C) below.
(3) Non-residential buildings located in all A Zones may be floodproofed, in lieu of being elevated; provided that, all areas of the building below the required elevation are water-tight, with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water, and are built with structural components having the capability of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and the effects of buoyancy. A state registered professional engineer or architect shall certify that the design and methods of construction are in accordance with accepted standards of practice for meeting the provisions above, and shall provide such certification to the Administrator as set forth in § 153.26 of this chapter.
(C) Enclosures. All new construction and substantial improvements that include fully enclosed areas formed by foundation and other exterior walls below the lowest floor that are subject to flooding, shall be designed to preclude finished living space and designed to allow for the entry and exit of flood waters to automatically equalize hydrostatic flood forces on exterior walls.
(1) Designs for complying with this requirement must either be certified by a state professional engineer or architect or meet or exceed the following minimum criteria:
(a) Provide a minimum of two openings having a total net area of not less than one square inch for every square foot of enclosed area subject to flooding;
(b) The bottom of all openings shall be no higher than one foot above the finished grade; and
(c) Openings may be equipped with screens, louvers, valves or other coverings or devices provided they permit the automatic flow of flood waters in both directions.
(2) The enclosed area shall be the minimum necessary to allow for parking of vehicles, storage or building access.
(3) The interior portion of such enclosed area shall not be finished or partitioned into separate rooms in such a way as to impede the movement of flood waters and all such partitions shall comply with the provisions of this section.
(D) Standards for manufactured homes and recreational vehicles.
(1) All manufactured homes placed, or substantially improved, on:
(a) Individual lots or parcels;
(b) In expansions to existing manufactured home parks or subdivisions; or
(c) In new or substantially improved manufactured home parks or subdivisions, must meet all the requirements of new construction.
(2) All manufactured homes placed or substantially improved in an existing manufactured home park or subdivision must be elevated so that either:
(a) In AE Zones, with base flood elevations, the lowest floor of the manufactured home is elevated on a permanent foundation to no lower than one foot above the level of the base flood elevation; or
(b) In approximate A Zones, without base flood elevations, the manufactured home chassis is elevated and supported by reinforced piers (or other foundation elements of at least equivalent strength) that are at least three feet in height above the highest adjacent grade (as defined in § 153.05 of this chapter).
(3) Any manufactured home, which has incurred substantial damage as the result of a flood, must meet the standards of § 153.40 of this chapter and this section.
(4) All manufactured homes must be securely anchored to an adequately anchored foundation system to resist flotation, collapse and lateral movement.
(5) All recreational vehicles placed in an identified special flood hazard area must either:
(a) Be on the site for fewer than 180 consecutive days;
(b) Be fully licensed and ready for highway use (a recreational vehicle is ready for highway use if it is licensed, on its wheels or jacking system, attached to the site only by quick disconnect type utilities and security devices and has no permanently attached structures or additions); or
(c) The recreational vehicle must meet all the requirements for new construction.
(E) Standards for subdivisions and other proposed new development proposals. Subdivisions and other proposed new developments, including manufactured home parks, shall be reviewed to determine whether such proposals will be reasonably safe from flooding.
(1) All subdivision and other proposed new development proposals shall be consistent with the need to minimize flood damage.
(2) All subdivision and other proposed new development proposals shall have public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems located and constructed to minimize or eliminate flood damage.
(3) All subdivision and other proposed new development proposals shall have adequate drainage provided to reduce exposure to flood hazards.
(4) In all approximate A Zones, it is required that all new subdivision proposals and other proposed developments (including proposals for manufactured home parks and subdivisions) greater than 50 lots or five acres, whichever is the lesser, include within such proposals base flood elevation data. (See § 153.44 of this chapter.)
(1994 Code, § 14-405) (Ord. 514, passed 8-8-1994; Ord. 703, passed 5-24-2010)
(A) (1) Located within the special flood hazard areas established in § 153.07 of this chapter are areas designated as floodways.
(2) A floodway may be an extremely hazardous area due to the velocity of flood waters, debris or erosion potential.
(3) In addition, the area must remain free of encroachment in order to allow for the discharge of the base flood without increased flood heights and velocities.
(B) Therefore, the following provisions shall apply.
(1) Encroachments are prohibited, including earthen fill material, new construction, substantial improvements or other development within the regulatory floodway. Development may be permitted; however, provided, it is demonstrated through hydrologic and hydraulic analyses performed in accordance with standard engineering practices that the cumulative effect of the proposed encroachments or new development shall not result in any increase in the water surface elevation of the base flood elevation, velocities or floodway widths during the occurrence of a base flood discharge at any point within the community. A state registered professional engineer must provide supporting technical data, using the same methodologies as in the effective Flood Insurance Study for the city and certification thereof.
(Ord. 703, passed 5-24-2010)
Located within the special flood hazard areas established in § 153.07 of this chapter, where streams exist with base flood data provided but where no floodways have been designated (Zones AE), the following provisions apply.
(A) No encroachments, including fill material, new construction and substantial improvements shall be located within areas of special flood hazard, unless certification by a state registered professional engineer is provided demonstrating that the cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated development, will not increase the water surface elevation of the base flood more than one foot at any point within the community. The engineering certification should be supported by technical data that conforms to standard hydraulic engineering principles.
(Ord. 703, passed 5-24-2010)
Located within the special flood hazard areas established in § 153.07 of this chapter, where streams exist, but no base flood data has been provided and where a floodway has not been delineated, the following provisions shall apply.
(A) The Administrator shall obtain, review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation and floodway data available from any federal, state or other sources, including data developed as a result of these regulations (see division (B) below), as criteria for requiring that new construction, substantial improvements or other development in approximate A Zones meet the requirements of §§ 153.40 and 153.41 of this chapter.
(B) Require that all new subdivision proposals and other proposed developments (including proposals for manufactured home parks and subdivisions) greater than 50 lots or five acres, whichever is the lesser, include within such proposals base flood elevation data.
(C) Within approximate A Zones, where base flood elevations have not been established and where such data is not available from other sources, require the lowest floor of a building to be elevated or floodproofed to a level of at least three feet above the highest adjacent grade (as defined in § 153.05 of this chapter). All applicable data including elevations or floodproofing certifications shall be recorded as set forth in § 153.26 of this chapter. Openings sufficient to facilitate automatic equalization of hydrostatic flood forces on exterior walls shall be provided in accordance with the standards of § 153.41 of this chapter.
(D) Within approximate A Zones, where base flood elevations have not been established and where such data is not available from other sources, no encroachments, including structures or fill material, shall be located within an area equal to the width of the stream or 20 feet, whichever is greater, measured from the top of the stream bank, unless certification by a state registered professional engineer is provided demonstrating that the cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated development, will not increase the water surface elevation of the base flood more than one foot at any point within the city. The engineering certification should be supported by technical data that conforms to standard hydraulic engineering principles.
(E) New construction and substantial improvements of buildings, where permitted, shall comply with all applicable flood hazard reduction provisions of §§ 153.40 and 153.41 of this chapter. Within approximate A Zones, require that those divisions of § 153.41 of this chapter dealing with the alteration or relocation of a watercourse, assuring watercourse carrying capacities are maintained and manufactured homes provisions are complied with as required.
(Ord. 703, passed 5-24-2010)
Loading...