(1) Zoning Administrator. The Zoning Administrator shall administer this chapter.
(2) Permit requirements.
(a) Permit required. A permit must be obtained from the Zoning Administrator prior to conducting the following activities, in the floodplain:
1. The erection, addition, modification, rehabilitation, or alteration of any building, structure or portion thereof. Normal maintenance and repair also requires a permit if such work, separately or in conjunction with other planned work, constitutes a substantial improvement as defined in this chapter;
2. The use or change of use of a building, structure or land;
3. The construction of a dam, fence, or on-site septic system, although a permit is not required for a farm fence as defined by this chapter;
4. The change or extension of a nonconforming use;
5. The repair of a structure that has been damaged by flood, fire, tornado, or any other source;
6. The placement of fill, excavation of materials or the storage of materials or equipment within the floodplain;
7. Relocation or alteration of a watercourse, including new or replacement culverts and bridges, unless a public waters work permit has been applied for; and/or
8. Any other type of development as defined in this chapter.
(b) Application for permit. Permit applications must be submitted to the Zoning Administrator on forms provided by the Zoning Administrator. The permit application must include the following as applicable:
1. A site plan showing all pertinent dimensions, elevations, existing or proposed buildings, structures, and significant natural features having an influence on the permit.
2. Location of fill or storage of materials in relation to the stream channel.
3. Copies of any required municipal, county, state or federal permits or approvals.
4. Other relevant information requested by the Zoning Administrator as necessary to properly evaluate the permit application.
(c) Certificate of zoning compliance for new, altered, or nonconforming use. No building, land or structure may be occupied or used in any manner until a certificate of zoning compliance has been issued by the Zoning Administrator stating that the use of the building or land conforms to the requirements of this chapter.
(d) Certification. The applicant is required to submit certification by a registered professional engineer, registered architect or registered land surveyor that the finished fill and building elevations were accomplished in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. Floodproofing measures must be certified by a registered professional engineer or registered architect.
(e) Record of first floor elevation. The Zoning Administrator shall maintain a record of the elevation of the lowest floor (including basement) of all new structures and alterations or additions to existing structures in the floodplain. The Zoning Administrator must also maintain a record of the elevations to which structures and alterations or additions to structures are floodproofed.
(f) Notification for watercourse alterations. Before authorizing any alteration or relocation of a river or stream, the Zoning Administrator must notify adjacent communities. If the applicant has applied for a permit to work in public waters pursuant to the M.S. § 103G.245, this will suffice as adequate notice. A copy of the notification must also be submitted to the Chicago Regional Office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
(g) Notification to FEMA when physical changes increase or decrease base flood elevations. As soon as practicable, but not later than six months after the date such supporting information becomes available, the Zoning Administrator must notify the Chicago Regional Office of FEMA of the changes by submitting a copy of the relevant technical or scientific data.
(3) Variances. An application for a variance to the provisions of this chapter will be processed in accordance with Ch. 1007: Zoning Code and reviewed in accordance with the following:
(a) Adherence to state floodplain management standards. A variance must not allow a use that is not allowed in that district, permit a lower degree of flood protection than the regulatory flood protection elevation for the particular area, or permit standards lower than those required by state law.
(b) Additional variance criteria. The following additional variance criteria of the Federal Emergency Management Agency must be satisfied:
1. Variances must not be issued by a community within any designated regulatory floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
2. Variances may only be issued by a community upon:
a. Showing of good and sufficient cause;
b. Determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant; and
c. Determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, create nuisances, cause fraud on or victimization of the public, or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.
3. Variances may only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
(c) Flood insurance notice. The Zoning Administrator must notify the applicant for a variance that:
1. The issuance of a variance to construct a structure below the base flood level will result in increased premium rates for flood insurance up to amounts as high as $25 for $100 of insurance coverage; and
2. Such construction below the base or regional flood level increases risks to life and property. Such notification must be maintained with a record of all variance actions.
(d) Factors used in decision making. In passing variance applications, the City Council must consider all relevant factors specified in other sections of this chapter and those factors identified in division (5) of this section.
(e) Submittal of hearing notices to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The Zoning Administrator must submit hearing notices for proposed variances to the DNR sufficiently in advance to provide at least ten days' notice of the hearing. The notice may be sent by electronic mail or U.S. Mail to the respective DNR area hydrologist.
(f) Submittal of final decisions to the DNR. A copy of all decisions granting variances must be forwarded to the DNR within ten days of such action. The notice may be sent by electronic mail or U.S. Mail to the respective DNR area hydrologist.
(g) Record-keeping. The Zoning Administrator must maintain a record of all variance actions, including justification for their issuance, and must report such variances in an annual or biennial report to the Administrator of the National Flood Insurance Program, when requested by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(4) Conditional uses.
(a) Application. An application for a conditional use permit under the provisions of this chapter will be processed and reviewed in accordance with Chapter 1007: Zoning Code, in addition to the following supplemental information:
1. Determination of flood hazards. Upon receipt of an application for a conditional use permit for a use within the Flood Plain Overlay District where the regulatory flood protection elevation is unknown, the applicant shall be required to furnish the following information as is deemed necessary by the Zoning Administrator for the determination of the regulatory flood protection elevation:
a. A typical cross section showing the channel of the stream, elevation of land areas adjoining each side of the channel, cross-sectional areas to be occupied by the proposed development and high water information;
b. Plan (surface view) showing elevations or contours of the ground; pertinent structures, fill or storage elevations; size, location and spatial arrangement of all proposed and existing structures on the site; location and elevation of streets; photographs showing existing land uses and vegetation upstream and downstream; and soil type; and
c. Profile showing the slope of the bottom of the channel or flow line of the stream for at least 500 feet in either direction from the proposed development.
2. One copy of the above information shall be transmitted to a designated engineer or other expert person or agency for technical assistance in determining whether the proposed use adversely affects the capacity of the flood plain and to determine the regulatory flood protection elevation. Procedures consistent with Minnesota Regulations NR 86-87 shall be followed in this expert evaluation. The designated engineer or expert shall:
a. Estimate the peak discharge of the regional flood;
b. Calculate the water surface profile of the regional flood based upon a hydraulic analysis of the stream channel and overbank areas; and
c. Compute the area necessary to convey the regional flood without increasing flood stages more than one-half foot. An equal degree of encroachment on both sides of the stream within the reach shall be assumed in computing the area of the regional flood.
3. Based upon the technical evaluation of the designated engineer or expert, the City Council shall determine whether the proposed use adversely affects the capacity of the flood plain or the regional flood protection elevation at the site.
(b) Factors used in decision making. In passing upon conditional use applications, the City Council must consider all relevant factors specified in other sections of this chapter and those factors identified in division (5) of this section.
(c) Conditions attached to conditional use permits. The City Council may attach such conditions to the granting of the conditional use permits as it deems necessary to fulfill the purpose of this chapter. These conditions may include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Modification of waste treatment and water supply facilities;
2. Limitations on period of use, occupancy and operation;
3. Imposition of operations, controls, sureties and deed restrictions;
4. Requirements of construction of channel modifications, compensatory storage, dikes, levees and other protective measures; and
5. Flood-proofing measures, in accordance with the State Building Code and this chapter. The applicant must submit a plan or document certified by a registered professional engineer or architect that the flood-proofing measures are consistent with the regulatory flood protection elevation, the local water management plan and associated flood factors for the particular area.
(d) Submittal of hearing notices to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The Zoning Administrator must submit hearing notices for proposed conditional uses to the DNR sufficiently in advance to provide at least ten days' notice of the hearing. The notice may be sent by electronic mail or U.S. Mail to the respective DNR area hydrologist.
(e) Submittal of final decisions to the DNR. A copy of all decisions granting conditional uses must be forwarded to the DNR within ten days of such action. The notice may be sent by electronic mail or U.S. Mail to the respective DNR area hydrologist.
(5) General considerations. The community shall consider the following factors in granting variances and imposing conditions on variances and conditional uses in floodplains:
(a) The potential danger to life and property due to increased flood heights or velocities caused by encroachments;
(b) The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands or downstream to the injury of others;
(c) The proposed water supply and sanitation systems, if any, and the ability of these systems to minimize the potential for disease, contamination and unsanitary conditions;
(d) The susceptibility of any proposed use and its contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;
(e) The importance of the services to be provided by the proposed use to the community;
(f) The requirements of the facility for a waterfront location;
(g) The availability of viable alternative locations for the proposed use that are not subject to flooding;
(h) The compatibility of the proposed use with existing development and development anticipated in the foreseeable future;
(i) The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive land use plan and flood plain management program for the area;
(j) The safety of access to the property in times of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
(k) The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise and sediment transport of the flood waters expected at the site.
(Ord. 10-15, passed 11-23-2015)