Floodways are areas located within areas of special flood hazard. The floodway can be an extremely hazardous area due to the velocity of flood waters which can carry debris, potential projectiles and erosion concerns. Therefore, the following provisions shall apply:
(a) Encroachments are prohibited, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements of non-conforming structures, and other development within the adopted regulatory floodway unless it has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the floodplain administrator by a professional registered engineer through hydrologic and hydraulic analyses performed in accordance with standard engineering practice that the encroachment, individually or collectively, shall not result in any increase in flood flows or damages and shall not increase the base flood elevation during the occurrence of the 1% annual chance storm event for fully developed conditions. The registered professional engineer must submit a no-rise certificate with supporting documentation to the floodplain administrator if a no-rise analysis is completed.
(b) If the provisions of the foregoing subsection (a) are satisfied, all new construction and substantial improvements shall comply with all applicable flood hazard reduction provisions of this article.
(c) Under the provisions of 44 C.F.R. Chapter 1, § 65.2, of the National Flood Insurance Regulations, a community may permit encroachments within the adopted regulatory floodway that would result in an increase in base flood elevations, provided that the community first completes all of the provisions required by § 65.12 of the National Flood Insurance Program regulations.
(d) Exemptions for minor projects. Small projects that are not an obstruction to floodwaters, do not increase the natural grade, and will not increase flood stages can be permitted without requiring a no-rise certification per the discretion of the floodplain administrator. Minor project examples include paving of a driveway or parking area at the existing grade, and small isolated obstructions such as a mailbox, a pitcher's mound, or a single telephone pole.
(e) No person shall proceed with development of property within the floodway until a Floodplain Development Permit has been issued and the development is in compliance with this section.
(Ord. 11998, § 1, passed 6-13-1995; Ord. 25350-03-2022, § 1, passed 3-8-2022, eff. 3-23-2022)