(A) General requirements for other development. All development, including man-made changes to improved or unimproved real estate for which specific provisions are not specified in this chapter or the Florida Building Code, shall:
(1) Be located and constructed to minimize flood damage;
(2) Be anchored to prevent flotation, collapse or lateral movement resulting from hydrostatic loads, including the effects of buoyancy, during conditions of the design flood;
(3) Be constructed of flood damage-resistant materials; and
(4)
Have mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems above the design flood elevation or meet the requirements of ASCE 24, except that minimum electric service required to address life safety and electric code requirements is permitted below the design flood elevation provided it conforms to the provisions of the electrical part of building code for wet locations.
(B) Concrete slabs used as parking pads, enclosure floors, landings, decks, walkways, patios and similar nonstructural uses in coastal high hazard areas (Zone V). In coastal high hazard areas, concrete slabs used as parking pads, enclosure floors, landings, decks, walkways, patios and similar nonstructural uses are permitted beneath or adjacent to buildings and structures provided the concrete slabs are designed and constructed to be:
(1) Structurally independent of the foundation system of the building or structure;
(2) Frangible and not reinforced, so as to minimize debris during flooding that is capable of causing significant damage to any structure; and
(3) Have a maximum slab thickness of not more than four inches.
(C) Decks and patios in coastal high hazard areas (Zone V). In addition to the requirements of the Florida Building Code, in coastal high hazard areas decks and patios shall be located, designed, and constructed in compliance with the following:
(1) A deck that is structurally attached to a building or structure shall have the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member at or above the design flood elevation and any supporting members that extend below the design flood elevation shall comply with the foundation requirements that apply to the building or structure, which shall be designed to accommodate any increased loads resulting from the attached deck.
(2) A deck or patio that is located below the design flood elevation shall be structurally independent from buildings or structures and their foundation systems, and shall be designed and constructed either to remain intact and in place during design flood conditions or to break apart into small pieces to minimize debris during flooding that is capable of causing structural damage to the building or structure or to adjacent buildings and structures.
(3) A deck or patio that has a vertical thickness of more than 12 inches or that is constructed with more than the minimum amount of fill necessary for site drainage shall not be approved unless an analysis prepared by a qualified registered design professional demonstrates no harmful diversion of floodwaters or wave runup and wave reflection that would increase damage to the building or structure or to adjacent buildings and structures.
(4) A deck or patio that has a vertical thickness of 12 inches or less and that is at natural grade or on nonstructural fill material that is similar to and compatible with local soils and is the minimum amount necessary for site drainage may be approved without requiring analysis of the impact on diversion of floodwaters or wave runup and wave reflection.
(D) Other development in coastal high hazard areas (Zone V). In coastal high hazard areas, development activities other than buildings and structures shall be permitted only if also authorized by the appropriate federal, state or local authority; if located outside the footprint of, and not structurally attached to, buildings and structures; and if analyses prepared by qualified registered design professionals demonstrate no harmful diversion of floodwaters or wave runup and wave reflection that would increase damage to adjacent buildings and structures. Such other development activities include but are not limited to:
(1) Bulkheads, seawalls, retaining walls, revetments, and similar erosion control structures;
(2) Solid fences and privacy walls, and fences prone to trapping debris, unless designed and constructed to fail under flood conditions less than the design flood or otherwise function to avoid obstruction of floodwaters; and
(3) On-site sewage treatment and disposal systems defined in 64E-6.002, F.A.C., as filled systems or mound systems.
(E) Nonstructural fill in coastal high hazard areas (Zone V). In coastal high hazard areas:
(1) Minor grading and the placement of minor quantities of nonstructural fill shall be permitted for landscaping and for drainage purposes under and around buildings.
(2) Nonstructural fill with finished slopes that are steeper than one unit vertical to five units horizontal shall be permitted only if an analysis prepared by a qualified registered design professional demonstrates no harmful diversion of floodwaters or wave runup and wave reflection that would increase damage to adjacent buildings and structures.
(3) Where authorized by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection or applicable local approval, sand dune construction and restoration of sand dunes under or around elevated buildings are permitted without additional engineering analysis or certification of the diversion of floodwater or wave runup and wave reflection if the scale and location of the dune work is consistent with local beach-dune morphology and the vertical clearance is maintained between the top of the sand dune and the lowest horizontal structural member of the building.
(Ord. O-2014-13, passed 7-16-14; Am. Ord. O-2020-04, passed 2-19-20)