A. Purpose: It is the purpose of this chapter to promote the public health, safety and general welfare and to minimize public and private losses due to flood conditions in specific areas by provisions designed to:
1. Protect human life and health;
2. Minimize expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects;
3. Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;
4. Minimize prolonged business interruptions;
5. Minimize damage to public facilities and utilities such as water and gas mains, electric, telephone and sewer lines, streets and bridges located in floodplains;
6. Help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use and development of flood prone areas in such a manner as to minimize future flood blight areas; and
7. Ensure that potential buyers are notified that property is in a flood area.
B. Additional Purpose And Scope: It is the additional purpose of this chapter to improve the promotion of public health, safety and welfare by providing for, acquiring, constructing, operating, equipping, and maintaining within the city, the stormwater management program and to provide a source of funding for the stormwater collection system. It is the further intent of this chapter to protect the general health, safety and welfare from the hazards and damages of flooding from the various drainage areas in the city and to minimize public and private losses due to flood conditions in specific areas by provisions designed to:
1. Provide clean and sanitary channels for runoff, through regulating the design, construction and maintenance of the stormwater handling system;
2. Prevent the encroachment of building or improvements on natural drainage channels;
3. Equitably apportion the cost of improvements;
4. Protect natural scenic areas; and to provide for the conservation of the natural resources of the area;
5. Assure that the movement of emergency vehicles is not prohibited nor inhibited during storm or flood events;
6. Ensure that information is available to potential buyers and developers that property may be located in a flood area;
7. Assure that each lot be provided with a reasonably safe building site with adequate access and that facilities be installed with protection against drainage or flood damage at the time of initial construction;
8. Provide a drainage system and open areas for new developments which are capable of passing the regulatory flood without flooding structures designed for residential, commercial, industrial, and other uses;
9. Control filling, grading, dredging and other development which may increase erosion or flood damages, and otherwise regulate the construction of flood barriers which will unnaturally divert floodwaters or which may increase flood hazards to other lands; and
10. Comply with the regulations of the national flood insurance program as established by the federal insurance administration including, but not limited to, the minimum criteria identified in 44 CFR chapter 1, parts 59 and 60.1 through 60.13. (Ord. 1969, 2011: Ord. 1966, 2010)