(A) Community Development Department. The Community Development Department or other official designated by the City Council shall administer and enforce this chapter. If the Community Development Department finds a violation of the provisions of this chapter the Community Development Department shall notify the person responsible for such violation in accordance with the procedures stated in § 154.999 of this chapter.
(B) Permit requirements.
(1) Permit required. A permit issued by the Community Development Department in conformity with the provisions of this chapter shall be secured prior to the erection, addition, modification, rehabilitation (including normal maintenance and repair), or alteration of any building, structure, or portion thereof; prior to the use or change of use of a building, structure, or land; prior to the construction of a dam, fence, or on-site septic system; prior to the change or extension of a nonconforming use; prior to the repair of a structure that has been damaged by flood, fire, tornado, or any other source; and prior to the placement of fill, excavation of materials, or the storage of materials or equipment within the flood plain.
(2) Application for permit. Following established process in place per the City Zoning and Building Codes an application for a permit shall be made in duplicate to the Community Development Department on forms furnished by the Community Development Department and shall include the following where applicable: plans in duplicate drawn to scale, showing the nature, location, dimensions, and elevations of the lot; existing or proposed structures, fill, or storage of materials; and the location of the foregoing in relation to the stream channel.
(3) State and federal permits. Prior to granting a permit or processing an application for a conditional use permit or variance, the Community Development Department shall determine that the applicant has obtained all necessary state and federal permits.
(4) Certificate of compliance and building permit for a new, altered, or nonconforming use. It shall be unlawful to use, occupy, or permit the use or occupancy of any building or premises or part thereof hereafter created, erected, changed, converted, altered, or enlarged in its use or structure until a certificate of compliance or building permit shall have been issued by the Community Development Department stating that the use of the building or land conforms to the requirements of this chapter.
(5) Construction and use to be as provided on applications, plans, permits, variances and certificates of zoning compliance. Building permits, conditional use permits, or certificates of zoning compliance issued on the basis of approved plans and applications authorize only the use, arrangement, and construction set forth in such approved plans and applications, and no other use, arrangement, or construction. Any use, arrangement, or construction at variance with that authorized shall be deemed a violation of this chapter, and punishable as provided by § 154.999 of this chapter.
(6) Certification. The applicant shall be required to submit certification by a registered professional engineer, or registered land surveyor that the finished fill and building elevations were accomplished in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. Flood proofing measures shall be certified by a registered professional engineer or registered architect.
(7) Record of first floor elevation. The Community Development Department shall maintain a record of the elevation of the lowest floor (including basement) of all new structures and alterations or additions to existing structures in the flood plain. The Community Development Department shall also maintain a record of the elevation to which structures or alterations and additions to structures are flood proofed.
(8) Notifications for watercourse alterations. The Community Development Department shall notify, in riverine situations, adjacent communities and the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources prior to the community authorizing any alteration or relocation of a watercourse. If the applicant has applied for a permit to work in the beds of public waters pursuant to M.S. Ch. 103G, as it may be amended from time to time, this shall suffice as adequate notice to the Commissioner of Natural Resources. A copy of said notification shall also be submitted to the Chicago Regional Office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
(9) Notification to FEMA when physical changes increase or decrease the 100-year flood elevation. As soon as is practicable, but not later than 6 months after the date such supporting information becomes available, the Community Development Department shall notify the Chicago Regional Office of FEMA of the changes by submitting a copy of said technical or scientific data.
(C) Board of Adjustment.
(1) The City Council shall act as the Board of Adjustment and Appeals.
(2) Administrative review. The Board of Adjustment shall hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by an administrative official in the enforcement or administration of this chapter.
(3) Variances. Applications for variances shall be in accordance with § 153.036 of the City Code and may be granted in cases where it will not be contrary to the public interest and only for those circumstances such as hardship, practical difficulties or circumstances unique to the property under consideration, as provided for in the Zoning Code. In the granting of such variance, the City Council shall clearly identify in writing the specific conditions that existed consistent with the criteria specified in this chapter and Chapter 153 of the City Code. No variance shall have the effect of allowing in any district uses prohibited in that district, permit a lower degree of flood protection than the regulatory flood protection elevation for the particular area, or permit standards lower than those required by state law. The following additional variance criteria of the Federal Emergency Management Agency must be satisfied:
(a) Variances shall not be issued by the city within any designated regulatory floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
(b) Variances shall only be issued by the city upon (i) a showing of good and sufficient cause, (ii) a determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant, and (iii) a determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, create nuisances, cause fraud on or victimization of the public, or conflict with existing local laws or chapters.
(c) Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
(d) The city shall submit by mail to the Commissioner of Natural Resources a copy of the application for proposed variances sufficiently in advance so that the Commissioner will receive at least 10 days notice of the hearing.
(e) A copy of all decisions granting variances shall be forwarded by mail to the Commissioner of Natural Resources within 10 days of such action.
(4) Appeals. Appeals from any decision of the Board of Adjustment may be made, and as specified in the city’s official controls and also by Minnesota Statutes.
(5) Flood insurance notice and record keeping. The Community Development Department shall notify the applicant for a variance that: 1) The issuance of a variance to construct a structure below the base flood level will result in increased premium rates for flood insurance up to amounts as high as $25 for $100 of insurance coverage and 2) Such construction below the 100-year or regional flood level increases risks to life and property. Such notification shall be maintained with a record of all variance actions. The city shall maintain a record of all variance actions, including justification for their issuance, and report such variances issued in its annual or biennial report submitted to the administrator of the National Flood Insurance Program.
(D) Conditional uses. Applications for a conditional use permit shall be processed in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in § 153.034 of the City Code.
(1) Additional procedures to be followed by the Planning Commission and City Council in passing on conditional use permit applications within all flood plain districts are:
(a) The applicant shall be required to furnish such of the following information and additional information as deemed necessary by the Planning Commission and City Council for determining the suitability of the particular site for the proposed use:
1. Plans in triplicate drawn to scale showing the nature, location, dimensions, and elevation of the lot, existing or proposed structures, fill, storage of materials, flood proofing measures, and the relationship of the above to the location of the stream channel; and
2. Specifications for building construction and materials, flood proofing, filling, dredging, grading, channel improvement, storage of materials, water supply and sanitary facilities.
(b) Transmit 1 copy of the information described in division (D)(1)(a) to a designated engineer or other expert person or agency for technical assistance, where necessary, in evaluating the proposed project in relation to flood heights and velocities, the seriousness of flood damage to the use, the adequacy of the plans for protection, and other technical matters.
(c) The city shall submit by mail to the Commissioner of Natural Resources a copy of the application for proposed conditional use sufficiently in advance so that the Commissioner will receive at least 10 days notice of the hearing.
(d) Based upon the technical evaluation of the designated engineer or expert, the City Council shall determine the specific flood hazard at the site and evaluate the suitability of the proposed use in relation to the flood hazard.
(4) Factors upon which the decision of the City Council shall be based. In passing upon conditional use applications, the City Council shall consider all relevant factors specified in other sections of this chapter, and:
(a) The danger to life and property due to increased flood heights or velocities caused by encroachments.
(b) The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands or downstream to the injury of others or they may block bridges, culverts or other hydraulic structures.
(c) The proposed water supply and sanitation systems and the ability of these systems to prevent disease, contamination, and unsanitary conditions.
(d) The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner.
(e) The importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community.
(f) The requirements of the facility for a waterfront location.
(g) The availability of alternative locations not subject to flooding for the proposed use.
(h) The compatibility of the proposed use with existing development and development anticipated in the foreseeable future.
(i) The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and flood plain management program for the area.
(j) The safety of access to the property in times of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles.
(k) The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the flood waters expected at the site.
(l) Such other factors which are relevant to the purposes of this chapter.
(5) Conditions attached to conditional use permits. Upon consideration of the factors listed above and the purpose of this chapter, the City Council shall attach such conditions to the granting of conditional use permits as it deems necessary to fulfill the purposes of this chapter. Such conditions may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) Modification of waste treatment and water supply facilities.
(b) Limitations on period of use, occupancy, and operation.
(c) Imposition of operational controls, sureties, and deed restrictions.
(d) Requirements for construction of channel modifications, compensatory storage, dikes, levees, and other protective measures.
(e) Flood proofing measures, in accordance with the State Building Code and this chapter. The applicant shall submit a plan or document certified by a registered professional engineer or architect that the flood proofing measures are consistent with the regulatory flood protection elevation and associated flood factors for the particular area.
(6) A copy of all decisions granting conditional use permits shall be forwarded by mail to the Commissioner of Natural Resources within 10 days of such action.
(Ord. 597, passed 7-12-2010) Penalty, see § 154.999