(A) Purpose.
(1) The floodplains of the city are subject to periodic inundation of floodwaters, which result in loss of property, health, and safety hazards, disruption of commerce and governmental service, and impairment of tax base.
(2) It is the purpose of this section to comply with the provisions and requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program, as constituted in accordance with the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, being 42 U.S.C. §§ 4001 through 4218, and subsequent enactments and rules and regulations promulgated in furtherance of this program by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as published in the Federal Register, Vol. 41, No. 207, October 26, 1976, and redesignated at 44 F.R. 31177, May 31, 1979.
(3) The provisions of this section are intended to:
(a) Help protect human life, prevent or minimize material losses, and reduce the cost to the public for rescue and relief efforts;
(b) Restrict or prohibit uses which are dangerous to health, safety, or property in times of flooding or cause excessive increases in flood heights or velocities;
(c) Require that uses vulnerable to floods, including public facilities which serve such uses, shall be protected against flood damage at the time of initial construction;
(d) Protect individuals from buying lands which are designated to be unsuited for intended purposes because of flooding; and
(e) Permit reasonable economic use of property located within a designated floodplain area.
(B) Delineation of floodplain areas.
(1) Designated floodplain areas shall overlay existing zoning districts delineated on the zoning district map of the city. The boundaries of the floodplain areas are identified in the report entitled the “Flood Insurance Study, City of Linden” prepared by FEMA with an effective date of 1980, as may be revised from time to time. The study and accompanying maps are adopted by reference, appended, and declared to be part of this chapter.
(2) The standard applied to establishing the floodplain area is the base floodplain delineated by the base flood. In areas associated with riverine flooding, a floodway is designated within the floodplain area.
(C) Application of regulations.
(1) In addition to other requirements of this chapter applicable to development in the underlying zoning district, compliance with the requirements of this section shall be necessary for all development occurring within designated floodplain areas. Conflicts between the requirements of this section and other requirements of this chapter or any other ordinance shall be resolved in favor of this section, except where the conflicting requirement is more stringent and would further the objectives of this section. In such cases, the more stringent requirement shall be applied.
(2) Upon application for land use permits, the Zoning Administrator shall determine whether said use is located within a designated floodplain area utilizing the documents cited in division (B) above. The issuance of a land use permit within the floodplain area shall comply with the following standards:
(a) The requirements of this section shall be met;
(b) The requirement of the underlying districts and all other applicable provisions of this chapter shall be met; and
(c) All necessary development permits shall have been issued by appropriate local, state, and federal authorities, including a floodplain permit, approval, or letter of authority from the state’s Floodplain Regulatory Authority, found in Part 31, Water Resources Protection, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA), Public Act 451 of 1994, being M.C.L.A. §§ 324.11501 et seq., as amended. Where a development permit cannot be issued prior to the issuance of a zoning compliance permit, a letter from the issuing agency indicating intent to issue contingent only upon proof of zoning compliance shall be acceptable.
(3) Floodplain management administrative duties are as follows.
(a) With regard to the National Flood Insurance Program, and the regulation of development within the flood hazard area zone as prescribed in division (D) below, the duties of the Zoning Administrator shall include, but are not limited to:
1. Notification to adjacent communities and the Department of Environmental Quality of the proposed alteration or relocation of any watercourse, and the submission of such notifications to the Federal Insurance Administration;
2. Verification and recording of the actual elevation in relation to National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of the lowest floor, including basement, of all new or substantially improved structures constructed within the flood hazard area, and in the case of flood proofed structures, the elevation to which the structure was flood proofed; and
3. Recording of all certificates of flood proofing, and written notification to all applicants to whom variances are granted in flood hazard area zone indicating the terms of the variance. A record of all variance notifications and variance actions shall be maintained together with the justification for each variance.
(b) All records and maps pertaining to the National Flood Insurance Program shall be maintained in the office of the Zoning Administrator and shall be open for public inspection.
(c) It shall be the responsibility of the Zoning Administrator to obtain and utilize the best available flood hazard data for purposes of administering the ordinance in the absence of data from FEMA.
(D) Floodplain standard and requirements.
(1) The following general standards and requirements shall be applied to all uses proposed to be located within the floodplain area:
(a) All new construction and substantial improvements within a floodplain, including the placement of prefabricated buildings and mobile homes, shall:
1. Be designed and anchored to prevent flotation, collapse, or lateral movement of the structure;
2. Be constructed with materials and utility equipment resistant to flood damage; and
3. Be constructed by methods and practices that minimize flood damage.
(b) All new and replacement water supply systems shall minimize or eliminate infiltration of floodwaters into the systems;
(c) All new and replacement sanitary sewage systems shall minimize or eliminate infiltration of floodwaters into the systems and discharges from systems into floodwaters;
(d) All public utilities and facilities shall be designed, constructed, and located to minimize or eliminate flood damage;
(e) Adequate drainage shall be provided to reduce exposure to flood hazards;
(f) The City Engineer or his or her representative shall review development proposals to determine compliance with the standards in this section, and shall transmit his or her determination to the Zoning Administrator;
(g) Land shall not be divided in a manner creating parcels or lots which cannot be used in conformance with the requirements of this subchapter;
(h) The flood carrying capacity of any altered or relocated watercourse not subject to state and federal regulations designed to ensure flood carrying capacity shall be maintained; and
(i) Available flood hazard data from federal, state, or other sources shall be reasonably utilized in meeting the standards of this section. Data furnished by FEMA shall take precedence over data from other sources.
(2) The following specific standards shall be applied to all uses proposed to be located within the floodplain area but not within the floodway portion of the floodplain area. All new construction and substantial improvements of non-residential structures shall have either:
(a) The lowest floor, including basement, elevated at least one-tenth foot above the base flood level; and
(b) Be constructed such that below base flood level, together with attendant utility and sanitary facilities, the structure is watertight with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water and with structural components having the capability of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and effects of buoyancy. A professional engineer or architect shall certify that the standards of this subparagraph are satisfied, and that the floodproofing methods employed are adequate to withstand the flood depths, pressures, velocities, impact, and uplift forces and other factors associated with base flood in the location of the structure.
(3) The following general standards and requirements shall be applied to mobile homes located within floodplain areas:
(a) Anchoring must meet HUD specifications, per rule 605;
(b) An evacuation plan indicating alternate vehicular access and escape routes shall be filed with the County Sheriff Department for mobile home parks and mobile home subdivisions; and
(c) Mobile homes within Zones A1-30 on the Flood Insurance Rate Map shall be located in accord with the following standards.
1. All mobile homes shall be placed on stands or lots which are elevated on compacted fill or on pilings so that the lowest floor of the mobile home will be at or above the base flood level.
2. Adequate surface drainage away from all structures and access for a mobile home hauler shall be provided.
3. In the instance of elevation on pilings, lots shall be large enough to permit steps, piling foundations shall be placed in stable soil no more than ten feet apart, and reinforcement shall be provided for piers more than six feet above ground level.
4. In mobile home parks and mobile home subdivisions which exist at the time this division (D)(3) is adopted, where repair, reconstruction, or improvement of streets, utilities, and pads equals or exceeds 50% of the value of the streets, utilities, and pads before the repair, the standards in the divisions above shall be complied with.
(4) The following standards shall be applied to all uses proposed to be located within the floodway portion of the floodplain area.
(a) Encroachments, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements, and other development shall be prohibited. Exception to this prohibition shall only be made upon certification by a registered professional engineer or the Department of Environmental Quality that the development proposed will not result in any increases in flood levels during a base flood discharge, and compliance with Part 31, Water Resources Protection, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA), Public Act 451 of 1994, being M.C.L.A. §§ 324.11501 et seq., as amended.
(b) The placement of mobile homes shall be prohibited.
(c) The uses of land permitted in an underlying zoning district shall not be construed as being permitted within the regulatory floodway, except upon compliance with the provisions of this section.
(E) Warning and disclaimer of liability.
(1) The degree of flood protection required by provisions of this section is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on engineering and scientific methods of study.
(2) Larger floods may occur on rare occasions.
(3) These provisions do not imply that areas outside the floodplain or land uses permitted within such districts will be free from flooding or flood damages nor shall the city or any officer or employee thereof be liable for any flood damages that result from reliance on the provisions of this section or any administrative decision lawfully made thereunder.
(Ord. 285, passed 12-8-2003) Penalty, see § 154.999