Designation of Floodplain Administrator: The city engineer is hereby appointed as the floodplain administrator to administer and implement the provisions of this chapter and other appropriate sections of the NFIP regulations and 44 CFR pertaining to floodplain management. The floodplain administrator is responsible for overseeing the following division of responsibilities:
A. Director: The director is hereby appointed to jointly administer and implement this chapter by granting or denying development permit applications in accordance with its provisions.
B. Officials; Responsibilities: Each application for subdivision and site development permit approval shall be submitted to the director and applications for building permits shall be submitted to the building official. Respectively, said officials shall be responsible to:
1. Verify if the location of the proposed development or construction site or any portion thereof is situated within the area of shallow flooding or area of special flood hazard;
2. Determine that the reviews and approvals required by this chapter have been obtained to satisfy its requirements;
3. Determine that all necessary permits have been obtained from the Federal, state or local governmental agencies from which prior approval is required;
4. Maintain for public inspection the following records pertaining to the provisions of this chapter:
a. The actual elevation (in relation to mean sea level elevation) of the lowest floor (including basement or crawlspace) of all new or substantially improved structures, and specifying whether or not the structure includes a basement;
b. For all new or substantially improved floodproofed structures, verification and record of the actual elevation of the lowest floor (in relation to mean sea level elevation) and the floodproofing certification, including data supporting such certification, required in provisions of this chapter;
c. Records of any variance granted in accordance with the NFIP regulations.
C. City Engineer; Evaluations: The director in the administration of this chapter shall rely on the expertise of the City Engineer for technical evaluation to:
1. Identify designated water passage areas or regulated floodways per the information shown on the FIRMs;
2. Obtain, review and utilize any BFE and floodway data which may be or become available for assistance in administering these regulations;
3. At the request of the building official or director, review applications for permits within the area of shallow flooding or area of special flood hazard;
4. Review as provided below, any requests by said officials or others for interpretation of the boundaries of the area of shallow flooding or area of special flood hazard where conflicts appear between the mapped boundaries of the area of shallow flooding or area of special flood hazard and actual field conditions. Said requests shall include the data and conclusions of an investigation performed by the licensed civil engineer retained by the applicant or property owner;
5. Review and process, as provided below, requests for amendments to the FIRM;
6. Maintain two (2) copies of the official FIRM, as amended;
7. Notify the Utah floodplain manager, the Utah Division of Water Resources, FEMA and any affected adjacent communities of alterations or relocation of any course or drainageway which results from the permitted development when in the opinion of the city engineer the alterations or relocations are substantial in nature and effect. Notification of any work to alter any drainageway must be made prior to work being commenced. The carrying capacity of altered or relocated watercourses shall be maintained, however.
8. Make the necessary interpretation when needed as to the exact location of the boundaries of areas of special flood hazards (for example, where there appears to be a conflict between a mapped boundary and actual field conditions).
9. When BFE data has not been provided by FEMA, the floodplain administrator shall obtain, review, and reasonably utilize any BFE data and floodway data available from a Federal, state, or other source, including data provided by the applicant, in order to administer the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 2015-21, 5-26-2015; amd. Ord. 2023-61, 11-14-2023)