The Floodplain Overlay Zone (or "Floodplain Zone") and its subdistricts referred to in this Part shall be considered a mandatory zoning overlay zone, and shall be subject to the requirements contained in this Part as well as the qualifications and restrictions of the underlying zoning districts and any other applicable overlay zones. The Floodplain Overlay Zone shall consist of the following subdistricts:
A. The floodway subdistricts shall be those areas identified as floodway areas on the FIRM as well as those floodway areas which have been identified in other available studies or sources of information for those special floodplain areas where no floodway has been identified in the FIS. The floodway represents the channel of a watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation by more than one foot at any point.
(1) Within any floodway subdistrict, no encroachments, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements, or other development shall be permitted unless it has been demonstrated through hydrologic and hydraulic analysis performed in accordance with standard engineering practice that the proposed encroachment would not result in any increase in flood levels within the community during the occurrence of the base flood discharge. Such technical data should be submitted to the Floodplain Administrator and to FEMA. The analyses shall be prepared by a licensed professional engineer in a format required by FEMA for a Conditional Letter of Map Revision or Letter of Map Revision. Submittal requirements and processing fees shall be the responsibility of the applicant.
(2) The following uses and activities are permitted, provided that they are in compliance with the provisions of the underlying district and are not prohibited by any other applicable overlay zone or ordinance, and provided the use does not require a structure, fill or storage of materials and equipment.
(a) Accessory residential uses such as yard areas, gardens, play areas and parking areas.
(b) Accessory industrial and commercial uses such as yard areas, parking and loading areas and airport landing strips.
(3) The following uses and activities may be permitted by special exception, provided that they are in compliance with the provisions of the underlying district and provided they will not present a flood hazard, or an obstruction to flood flow or a movable hazard, and are not prohibited by any other applicable overlay zone or ordinance:
(a) Utilities and public facilities and improvements such as railroads, streets, bridges, transmission lines, pipe lines, water and sewage plants, and other similar or related uses;
(b) Water-related uses such as boat landings that do not present an encroachment;
(c) Extraction of sand, gravel and other materials;
(d) Temporary uses such as circuses, carnivals and similar events;
(e) Storage of certain materials in underground storage tanks provided they are not buoyant, flammable, explosive or contain any materials listed in § 600-1825.
(4) No new construction or development shall be allowed, unless a permit is obtained from the Department of Environmental Protection Regional Office. The proposed development activity may be permitted if the analyses demonstrate that the activity:
(a) Will not result in any increase in the base flood elevation; or
(b) Will result in an increase in the base flood elevation, provided a Conditional Letter of Map Revision has been issued by FEMA and the applicant completes all of the following:
[1] Submits technical data required in § 600-1810;
[2] Evaluates alternatives which would not result in increased base flood elevations and an explanation why these alternatives are not feasible;
[3] Certifies that no structures are located in areas which would be impacted by the increased base flood elevation;
[4] Documents that individual legal notices have been delivered to all impacted property owners to explain the impact of the proposed action on their properties;
[5] Requests and receives concurrence of the Floodplain Administrator for the City of Reading and the Floodplain Administrator for any other community impacted by the proposed actions; and
[6] Notifies the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
B. The Zone AE Without Floodway Subdistrict (previously referred to as the "Flood-Fringe District") shall include those areas within Zone AE and outside of the floodway area as identified on the FIRM included in the FIS prepared by FEMA. The Zone AE Without Floodway Subdistrict comprises those areas that lie between the Zone AE floodplain boundary and the floodway boundary as indicated on the FIRM.
(1) In the Zone AE Without Floodway Subdistrict, no permit shall be granted for any construction, development, use, or activity unless it is demonstrated that the cumulative effect of the proposed development would not, together with all other existing and anticipated development, increase the BFE more than one foot at any point.
(2) Development and use may be permitted in accordance with the regulations of the underlying district and with other applicable overlay zones provided that the proposed use, activity and/or development complies with the restrictions included herein. Refer to the prohibited and special exception restrictions included in §§ 600-1829 and 600-1830.
C. The Zone A Subdistrict shall be those areas identified within the Zone A areas on the FIRM included in the FIS prepared by FEMA, and for which no base flood elevations have been provided, if applicable. For these areas, elevation and floodway information shall be obtained from other federal agencies, state, or other acceptable published sources when available. When other acceptable published information is not available, the base flood elevation shall be determined by using the methods prescribed in the FEMA Guide for Approximate Zone A Manual, latest edition.
(1) If the above determination is insufficient to adequately define the base flood elevation, the City will require a determination utilizing detailed engineering methods. Under this requirement, the applicant shall determine the base flood elevation utilizing hydrologic and hydraulic engineering techniques, and shall submit such technical data to the Floodplain Administrator and to FEMA. Hydrologic and hydraulic analyses shall be prepared by professional engineers, or in certain cases professional licensed surveyors, who shall certify that the technical methods used correctly reflect currently accepted engineering procedures. Studies, analyses, computations, etc., shall be submitted in sufficient detail and in a format required by FEMA for a Conditional Letter of Map Revision or Letter of Map Revision to allow a thorough technical review by the municipality. Submittal requirements and processing fees shall be the responsibility of the applicant.
(2) The proposed development activity may be permitted if the analysis demonstrates that the cumulative effect of the proposed development activity, when combined with all other existing and potential flood hazard area encroachments, will not increase the base flood elevation more than one foot at any point.
(3) Development and use may be permitted in accordance with the regulations of the underlying district and with other applicable overlay zones, provided that the proposed use, activity and/or development complies with the restrictions included herein. Refer to the prohibited and special exception restrictions included in §§ 600-1829 and 600-1830.
D. The Shallow Flooding Subdistrict shall be those areas identified as Zones AO and AH on the FIRM and in the FIS, as well as those shallow flooding areas which have been identified in other studies or sources. These areas are subject to inundation by one-percent- annual-chance shallow flooding where average depths are between one foot and three feet. In Zones AO and AH, drainage paths shall be established to guide floodwaters around and away from structures on slopes. Development and use may be permitted in accordance with the regulations of the underlying district and with other applicable overlay zones, provided that the proposed use, activity and/or development complies with the restrictions included herein. Refer to the prohibited and special exception restrictions included in §§ 600-1829 and 600-1830.