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An application for a development permit shall not be required for:
(a) Maintenance work such as roofing, painting and basement sealing, or for small nonstructural development activities (except for filling and grading) valued at less than five thousand dollars ($5,000);
(b) Development activities in an existing or proposed manufactured home park that are under the authority of the Ohio Department of Health and subject to the flood damage reduction provisions of the Ohio Administrative Code Section 3701;
(c) Major utility facilities permitted by the Ohio Power Siting Board under Section 4906 of the Ohio Revised Code;
(d) Hazardous waste disposal facilities permitted by the Hazardous Waste Siting Board under Section 3734 of the Ohio Revised Code; and
(e) Development activities undertaken by a federal agency and which are subject to Federal Executive Order 11988 – Floodplain Management.
Any proposed action exempt from filing for a development permit is also exempt from the standards of these regulations.
(Ord. 32-07. Passed 5-14-07)
The duties and responsibilities of the Floodplain Administrator shall include but are not limited to:
(a) Evaluate applications for permits to develop in special flood hazard areas;
(b) Interpret floodplain boundaries and provide flood hazard and flood protection elevation information;
(c) Issue permits to develop in special flood hazard areas when the provisions of these regulations have been met, or refuse to issue the same in the event of noncompliance;
(d) Inspect buildings and lands to determine whether any violations of these regulations have been committed;
(e) Make and permanently keep all records for public inspection necessary for the administration of these regulations including Flood Insurance Rate Maps, Letters of Map Amendment and Revision, records of issuance and denial of permits to develop in special flood hazard areas, determinations of whether development is in or out of special flood hazard areas for the purpose of issuing floodplain development permits, elevation certificates, variances, and records of enforcement actions taken for violations of these regulations;
(f) Enforce the provisions of these regulations;
(g) Provide information, testimony, or other evidence as needed during variance hearings;
(h) Coordinate map maintenance activities and FEMA follow-up; and
(i) Conduct substantial damage determinations to determine whether existing structures, damaged from any source and in special flood hazard areas identified by FEMA, must meet the development standards of these regulations.
(Ord. 32-07. Passed 5-14-07)
(a) Appeals Board. City Council of the City of Reynoldsburg shall hear all requests for variances and appeals, and in such capacity shall hereinafter be referred to as the "Appeals Board". All meetings of the Appeals Board shall be open to the public except that the Appeals Board may deliberate in executive sessions as part of quasi-judicial hearings in accordance with law. The Appeals Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member upon each question and shall keep records of all official actions. Records of the Appeals Board shall be kept and filed in the office of the Clerk of Council.
(b) Powers and Duties
(1) The Appeals Board shall hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is an error in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Floodplain Administrator in the enforcement or administration of these regulations.
(2) Authorize variances in accordance with Section 1335.16(d) of these regulations.
(3) Those aggrieved by the decision of the Appeals Board may appeal such decision to the Franklin County, Fairfield County, or Licking Court of Common Pleas, as provided in Ohio R.C. Chapter 2506.
(c) Appeals.
(1) Any person affected by any notice and order, or other official action of the Floodplain Administrator may request and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the Appeals Board provided that such person shall file, within 30 days of the date of such notice and order, or other official action, a brief statement of the grounds for such hearing or for the mitigation of any item appearing on any order of the Floodplain Administrator's decision. Such appeal shall be in writing, signed by the applicant, and be filed with the Floodplain Administrator. Upon receipt of the appeal, the Floodplain Administrator shall transmit said notice and all pertinent information on which the Floodplain Administrator's decision was made to the Appeals Board, or their designated representative.
(2) Upon receipt of the notice of appeal, the Appeals Board shall fix a reasonable time for the appeal, give notice in writing to parties of interest, and decide the appeal within a reasonable time after it is submitted.
(d) Variances. Any person believing that the use and development standards of these regulations would result in unnecessary hardship may file an application for a variance. The Appeals Board shall have the power to authorize, in specific cases, such variances from the standards of these regulations, not inconsistent with Federal regulations, as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owning to special conditions of the lot or parcel, a literal enforcement of the provisions of these regulations would result in unnecessary hardship.
(1) Application for a Variance.
A. Any owner, or agent thereof, of property for which a variance is sought shall make an application for a variance by filing it with the Floodplain Administrator, who upon receipt of the variance shall transmit it to the Appeals Board, or their designated representative.
B. Such application at a minimum shall contain the following information: Name, address, and telephone number of the applicant; legal description of the property; parcel map; description of the existing use; description of the proposed use; location of the floodplain; description of the variance sought; and reason for the variance request.
C. All applications for a variance shall be accompanied by a variance application fee set in the fee schedule adopted by the City.
(2) Notice for Public Hearing. The Appeals Board shall schedule and hold a public hearing within thirty (30) days after the receipt of an application for a variance from the Floodplain Administrator. Prior to the hearing, a notice of such hearing shall be given in one (1) or more newspapers of general circulation in the community at least ten (10) days before the date of the hearing.
(3) Public Hearing.
A. At such hearing the applicant shall present such statements and evidence as the Appeals Board requires. In considering such variance applications, the Appeals Board shall consider and make findings of fact on all evaluations, all relevant factors, standards specified in other sections of these regulations and the following factors:
1. The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others;
2. The danger to life and property due to flooding or erosion damage;
3. The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;
4. The importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community;
5. The availability of alternative locations for the proposed use that are not subject to flooding or erosion damage;
6. The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable;
7. The compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;
8. The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and floodplain management program for that area;
9. The safety of access to the property in times of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
10. The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the floodwaters and the effects of wave action, if applicable, expected at the site; and
11. The costs of providing governmental services during and after flood conditions, including maintenance and repair of public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical, and water systems, and streets and bridges.
B. Variances shall only be issued upon:
1. A showing of good and sufficient cause;
2. A determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship due to the physical characteristics of the property. Increased cost or inconvenience of meeting the requirements of these regulations does not constitute an exceptional hardship to the applicant;
3. A determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights beyond that which is allowed in these regulations; additional threats to public safety; extraordinary public expense, nuisances, fraud on or victimization of the public, or conflict with existing local laws;
4. A determination that the structure or other development is protected by methods to minimize flood damages; and
5. A determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
Upon consideration of the above factors and the purposes of these regulations, the Appeals Board may attach such conditions to the granting of variances, as it deems necessary to further the purposes of these regulations.
C. Other Conditions for Variances.
1. Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
2. Generally, variances may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements to be erected on a lot of one-half acre or less in size contiguous to and surrounded by lots with existing structures constructed below the base flood level, providing items in Section 1335.16(d)(3)A.1. through 11. have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond one-half acre, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.
3. Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notice that the structure will be permitted to be built with a lowest floor elevation below the base flood elevation and the cost of flood insurance will be commensurate with the increased risk resulting from the reduced lowest floor elevation.
D. Procedure at Hearings.
1. All testimony shall be given under oath;
2. A complete record of the proceedings shall be kept, except confidential deliberations of the Appeals Board, but including all documents presented and a verbatim record of the testimony of all witnesses;
3. The applicant shall proceed first to present evidence and testimony in support of the appeal or variance;
4. The administrator may present evidence or testimony in opposition to the appeal or variance;
5. All witnesses shall be subject to cross-examination by the adverse party or their counsel;
6. Evidence that is not admitted may be proffered and shall become part of the record for appeal;
7. The Appeals Board shall issue subpoenas upon written request for the attendance of witnesses. A reasonable deposit to cover the cost of issuance and service shall be collected in advance; and
8. The Appeals Board shall prepare conclusions of fact supporting its decision. The decision may be announced at the conclusion of the hearing and thereafter issued in writing or the decision may be issued in writing within a reasonable time after the hearing.
(Ord. 32-07. Passed 5-14-07; Ord. 05-16. Passed 2-8-16.)
To meet National Flood Insurance Program minimum requirements to have flood data reviewed and approved by FEMA, and to ensure that Reynoldsburg's flood maps, studies and other data identified in Section 1335.07 accurately represent flooding conditions so appropriate floodplain management criteria are based on current data, the following map maintenance activities are identified:
(a) Requirement to Submit New Technical Data.
(1) For all development proposals that impact floodway delineations or base flood elevations, the community shall ensure that technical data reflecting such changes be submitted to FEMA within six months of the date such information becomes available. These development proposals include:
A. Floodway encroachments that increase or decrease base flood elevations or alter floodway boundaries;
B. Fill sites to be used for the placement of proposed structures where the applicant desires to remove the site from the special flood hazard area;
C. Alteration of watercourses that result in a relocation or elimination of the special flood hazard area, including the placement of culverts; and
D. Subdivision or large scale development proposals requiring the establishment of base flood elevations in accordance with Section 1335.28(c).
(2) It is the responsibility of the applicant to have technical data, required in accordance with Section 1335.17(a), prepared in a format required for a Conditional Letter of Map Revision or Letter of Map Revision, and submitted to FEMA. Submittal and processing fees for these map revisions shall be the responsibility of the applicant.
(3) The Floodplain Administrator shall require a Conditional Letter of Map Revision prior to the issuance of a floodplain development permit for:
A. Proposed floodway encroachments that increase the base flood elevation; and
B. Proposed development which increases the base flood elevation by more than one foot in areas where FEMA has provided base flood elevations but no floodway.
(4) Floodplain development permits issued by the Floodplain Administrator shall be conditioned upon the applicant obtaining a Letter of Map Revision from FEMA for any development proposal subject to Section 1335.17(a)(1).
(b) Right to Submit New Technical Data. The Floodplain Administrator may request changes to any of the information shown on an effective map that does not impact floodplain or floodway delineations or base flood elevations, such as labeling or planimetric details. Such a submission shall include appropriate supporting documentation made in writing by the Mayor of Reynoldsburg, and may be submitted at any time.
(c) Annexation/Detachment. Upon occurrence, the Floodplain Administrator shall notify FEMA in writing whenever the boundaries of the City have been modified by annexation or the community has assumed authority over an area, or no longer has authority to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations for a particular area. In order that the City of Reynoldsburg’s Flood Insurance Rate Map accurately represent the City boundaries, include within such notification a copy of a map of the City suitable for reproduction, clearly showing the new corporate limits of the new area for which the City has assumed or relinquished floodplain management regulatory authority.
(Ord. 32-07. Passed 5-14-07; Ord. 05-16. Passed 2-8-16.)
The following guidelines shall apply to the use and interpretation of maps and other data showing areas of special flood hazard:
(a) In areas where FEMA has not identified special flood hazard areas, or in FEMA identified special flood hazard areas where base flood elevation and floodway data have not been identified, the Floodplain Administrator shall review and reasonably utilize any other flood hazard data available from a federal, state, or other source.
(b) Base flood elevations and floodway boundaries produced on FEMA flood maps and studies shall take precedence over base flood elevations and floodway boundaries by any other source that reflect a reduced floodway width and/or lower base flood elevations. Other sources of data, showing increased base flood elevations and/or larger floodway areas than are shown on FEMA flood maps and studies, shall be reasonably used by the Floodplain Administrator.
(c) When Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps and/or Flood Insurance Study have been provided by FEMA:
(1) Upon the issuance of a Letter of Final Determination by the FEMA, the preliminary flood hazard data shall be used and replace all previously existing flood hazard data provided from FEMA for the purposes of administering these regulations.
(2) Prior to the issuance of a Letter of Final Determination by FEMA, the use of preliminary flood hazard data shall only be required where no base flood elevations and /or floodway areas exist or where the preliminary base flood elevations or floodway area exceed the base flood elevations and/or floodway widths in existing flood hazard data provided from FEMA. Such preliminary data may be subject to change and/or appeal to FEMA.
(d) The Floodplain Administrator shall make interpretations, where needed, as to the exact location of the flood boundaries and areas of special flood hazard. A person contesting the determination of the location of the boundary shall be given a reasonable opportunity to appeal the interpretation as provided in Section 1335.16, Appeals and Variances Procedures.
(e) Where a map boundary showing an area of special flood hazard and field elevations disagree, the base flood elevations or flood protection elevations (as found on an elevation profile, floodway data table, established high water marks, etc.) shall prevail.
(Ord. 32-07. Passed 5-14-07)
(a) Damages to structures may result from a variety of causes including flood, tornado, wind, heavy snow, fire, etc. After such a damage event, the Floodplain Administrator shall:
(1) Determine whether damaged structures are located in special flood hazard areas;
(2) Conduct substantial damage determinations for damaged structures located in special flood hazard areas; and
(3) Make reasonable attempt to notify owners of substantially damaged structures of the need to obtain a floodplain development permit prior to repair, rehabilitation, or reconstruction.
(b) Additionally, the Floodplain Administrator may implement other measures to assist with the substantial damage determination and subsequent repair process. These measures include issuing press releases, public service announcements, and other public information materials related to the floodplain development permits and repair of damaged structures; coordinating with other federal, state, and local agencies to assist with substantial damage determinations; providing owners of damaged structures materials and other information related to the proper repair of damaged structures in special flood hazard areas; and assist owners of substantially damaged structures with Increased Cost of Compliance insurance claims.
(Ord. 32-07. Passed 5-14-07)
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