(A) Located within SFHAs, established in § 152.13 of this chapter, are areas designated as floodways. A floodway is an extremely hazardous area due to the velocity of floodwaters, which carry debris and potential projectiles and have erosion potential.
(B) (1) If a site is in an identified floodway, then the Floodplain Administrator shall require the applicant to forward the application along with all pertinent plans and specifications to the state’s Department of Natural Resources and apply for a permit for construction in a floodway.
(2) Under the provisions of I.C. 14-28-1, a permit for construction in a floodway from the state’s Department of Natural Resources is required prior to the issuance of a local building permit for any excavation, deposit, construction or obstruction activity located in the floodway. This includes land preparation activities such as filling, grading, clearing, paving and the like which are undertaken before the actual start of construction of the structure but excludes non-substantial additions or improvements to existing, lawful residences in a non-boundary river floodway, as the construction of non-substantial additions or improvements to a residence in a non- boundary river floodway is allowed without obtaining said permit from the state’s Department of Natural Resources per I.C. 14-28-1-26. If fill is needed to elevate an addition above the existing grade, then prior approval for the fill is required from the state’s Department of Natural Resources.
(C) No action shall be taken by the Floodplain Administrator until a permit or letter of authorization, when applicable, has been issued by the state’s Department of Natural Resources granting approval for construction in the floodway. Once a permit for construction in a floodway or a letter of authorization has been issued by the state’s Department of Natural Resources, the Floodplain Administrator may issue the local floodplain development permit provided that the provisions contained in this subchapter have been met. The floodplain development permit cannot be less restrictive than the permit for construction in a floodway that is issued by the state’s Department of Natural Resources. However, a community’s more- restrictive regulations, if any, shall take precedence.
(D) No development acting alone or in combination with existing or future development shall be allowed which will adversely affect the efficiency of or unduly restrict the capacity of the floodway. This adverse effect is defined as an increase in the elevation of the regulatory flood of at least fifteen- hundredths of a foot as determined by comparing the regulatory flood elevation under project conditions to that under the natural or pre-floodway conditions as proven with hydraulic analyses.
(E) For projects involving channel modifications or fill, including levees, the town shall submit the data and request that the Federal Emergency Management Agency revise the regulatory flood data per mapping standard regulations found in 44 C.F.R. § 65.12.
(Ord. 2015-1, passed 1-6-2015) Penalty, see § 152.99