Unless otherwise specified, the following standards are applicable in all special flood hazard areas:
(a) Prohibited Uses. The following uses shall be prohibited in special flood hazard areas unless granted through a special permit or as a floodplain variance:
(1) Excavating, grading or filling which disturbs the natural grade of the floodplain. Failure to comply with this prohibition shall constitute a violation of this Zoning Ordinance subject to a civil citation, fine and/or abatement, as provided in Article 5.
(2) Principal or accessory buildings, including, but not limited to, manufactured buildings for residential, business, office, or industrial use.
(b) Permitted Activities. The following uses having low obstructive effect shall be permitted in the floodplain to the extent that they are not prohibited by any other ordinance, and provided that they do not require grading, filling, structures, storage of materials and equipment, or any other obstructive features:
(1) Agricultural uses, such as general farming, pasture, grazing, outdoor plant nurseries, horticulture, viticulture, truck farming, forestry, sod farming, or wild crop harvesting. Agricultural fences necessary for those uses are permitted.
(2) Uses accessory to private and public recreational uses, such as golf courses, driving ranges, archery ranges, picnic grounds, boat-launching ramps, parks, wildlife and nature preserves, game farms, fish hatcheries, shooting preserves, target ranges, trap and skeet ranges, hunting and fishing areas, and hiking and horseback riding trails, pedestrian trails and crossings.
(3) Uses accessory to residential uses, such as lawns, gardens, parking areas, and play areas.
(4) Functionally dependent uses as defined herein.
(5) Detention and retention basins when designed and constructed as per the engineering manuals, and meeting all state and federal regulations.
(c) Lots in a Special Flood Hazard Area. Where a new structure is proposed on an existing lot that includes a regulatory flood area, and no regulatory flood protection elevation is shown on the final record plan for the lot, the lowest floor of the structure shall be at or above the regulatory flood protection elevation as determined through reference to the Federal Insurance Administration report, "The Flood Insurance Study for Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Kentucky". Where a substantial improvement of an existing structure is proposed on a lot that includes a regulatory flood area, and no regulatory flood protection elevation is shown on the final record plan for the lot, the lowest floor of the structure shall be at or above the regulatory flood protection elevation as determined through reference to the Flood Insurance Administration report, "The Flood Insurance Study for Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Kentucky". Where a new structure or substantial improvement of an existing structure is proposed within a special flood hazard area, and neither the final record plan nor the Flood Insurance Study specifies a regulatory flood elevation for the stream, a licensed professional engineer shall determine the regulatory flood elevation, or the applicant may request assistance from the Kentucky Division of Water.
(d) Lots with a Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation. Where a new structure or substantial improvement of an existing structure is proposed on a lot which has a regulatory flood protection elevation noted on the final record plan of the property, the lowest floor shall be at or above the noted elevation.
(e) Utility Standards. All utilities shall be designed and located to minimize their potential for flooding during the regulatory flood. All new and replacement water supply systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of floodwater into the system. New or replacement sanitary sewage systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of floodwaters in the systems and discharges from the systems into floodwaters. On-site waste disposal systems shall be located to avoid impairment to them or contamination from them during flooding.
Electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, and 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) Additions to Existing Structures. Additions to structures that were lawfully constructed on fill or at an elevation which was permitted prior to the adoption or amendment of this Article shall be permitted provided:
(1) The addition does not constitute substantial improvement to the structure;
(2) The addition does not require filling in the floodplain;
(3) The floor elevation of the addition is proposed to be at least at the regulatory flood protection elevation.
(g) General Standards for Major Subdivision Plans and Development Plan Proposals. All stormwater facilities shall be designed and constructed in conformance with the requirements of the Division of Engineering Stormwater Manual. All major subdivision plans and final development plans shall, at a minimum, be subject to the following requirements. Failure to comply with these standards during construction or with requirements established by these standards during or after construction shall be a violation of this Zoning Ordinance, subject to a civil citation, fine and/or abatement, as provided in Article 5.
(1) Preliminary Subdivision and preliminary development plan Requirements. In order to protect the floodplain during infrastructure construction, a preliminary subdivision plan and/or a preliminary development plan shall indicate the location of a Vegetative Buffer Zone. The Vegetative Buffer Zone shall be fifty (50) feet, measured horizontally from the centerline, on each side of intermittent streams and fifty (50) feet, measured horizontally from the edge of the bank, on each side of perennial streams. The fifty (50)-foot criterion for the width of the vegetative buffer zone may be established on an average width basis at a project, as long as the minimum width of the buffer zone is twenty-five (25) feet or more at any measured location. The boundary of the Vegetative Buffer Zone may be located inside or outside the horizontal limits of the floodplain. Within the Vegetative Buffer Zone, there shall be no grading, filling, trenching, soil compaction, removal of vegetation, or other disturbance of the soil or ground cover (including parallel utilities), or the storage of equipment or materials during the construction of the infrastructure.
(2) Floodplain Analysis. A floodplain analysis shall be conducted when required by the Stormwater Manual. Such analysis shall not be required for the subdivision of property in a residential or agricultural zone for which no infrastructure improvements are proposed; however, the Planning Commission may require a floodplain analysis for such a subdivision in locations of known flooding.
(3) Revision of the Special Flood Hazard Area. If the watershed study determines that the proposed development will cause the floodplain to be different than the Special Flood Hazard Area depicted on the Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps, the project engineer shall prepare and submit the appropriate Letter of Map Change (which may include C-LOMR, LOMR, LOMA, LOMR-F, or other appropriate filing) to FEMA.
(4) Final Record Plan and final development plan Requirements. Final record plans and final development plans that include or adjoin a special flood hazard area shall include and show the floodplain boundaries. Regulatory flood elevations (in relation to mean sea level) shall be noted.
a. Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation. The final record plan shall show the Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation (RFPE) for each lot that includes or is adjacent to a floodplain, and the final development plan shall show the RFPE for each such building.
b. Minimum Setback. All lots which contain or adjoin a floodplain shall have a minimum building setback from the floodplain of twenty-five (25) feet depicted on the final record plan and on the final development plan. This building setback shall be measured horizontally from the edge of the floodplain and shall be applicable to all principal and accessory buildings on the lot.
c. Vegetative Buffer Zone. In order to protect the stream from inappropriate activities, there shall be a vegetative buffer zone of fifty (50) feet, measured horizontally from the centerline, on each side of intermittent streams and fifty (50) feet, measured horizontally from the edge of the bank, on each side of perennial streams. The fifty (50)-foot criterion for the width of the vegetative buffer zone may be established on an average width basis at a project, as long as the minimum width of the vegetative buffer zone is twenty-five (25) feet or more at any measured location. The vegetative buffer zone may coincide with greenways or the setback required above. Within the vegetative buffer zone, there shall be no grading, filling, trenching, soil compaction, removal of vegetation, or other disturbance of the soil or ground cover, or construction of principal or accessory buildings.
(5) Subdivision and Development Plan Review Standards. All subdivision and development plans shall be consistent with the need to minimize flood damage and shall have public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical, and water systems located and constructed to minimize flood damage to it and to other uses. The following public facilities shall be permitted in the floodplain.
a. Temporary sediment ponds that will be converted to permanent stormwater management ponds, provided they are located outside the horizontal limits of the vegetative buffer zone.
b. Roadways and utilities that cross at angles within ten (10) degrees of being perpendicular to the water or to the floodplain.
c. Sanitary sewers, which shall be constructed outside the horizontal limits of the ten-year floodplain, with manhole covers set at an elevation one (1) foot above the elevation of the regulatory flood.
d. Storm sewer pipe outlets where the outlet terminates at the edge of the floodplain.
(h) Streams Without Established Base Flood Elevations or Without Floodways. Within Special Flood Hazard Areas, where streams exist but no base flood data has been provided, or where base flood data has been provided without a floodway, the following provisions shall apply:
(1) No encroachments, including fill material or structures shall be located within special flood hazard areas, unless certification by a professional engineer is provided demonstrating the pre-development Base Flood Elevation and 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 (1) foot at any point. The engineering certification must be supported by technical data that conforms to standard hydraulic engineering principles.
(2) New construction, substantial improvement or an addition to an existing structure shall be elevated or floodproofed to at least the regulatory flood protection elevation and shall meet the requirements of Section 19-8, as necessary.
(Code 1983, § 19-7; Ord. No. 371-2000 , § 1, 12-14-2000; Ord. No. 268-2004 , § 1, 11-4-2004; Ord. No. 286-2005 , § 1, 10-20-2005; Ord. No. 138-2008 , §§ 3—5, 6-26-2008; Ord. No. 211-2016 , § 3(19-7), 12-6-2016)
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