(A) No person, firm, corporation, or governmental body not exempted by law shall commence any development in the floodplain without first obtaining a development permit from the Director of the County Department of Zoning and Building Safety.
(B) The Director of the County Department of Zoning and Building Safety shall not issue a development permit if the proposed development does not meet the requirements of this subchapter.
(C) The application for a development permit shall be accompanied by:
(1) Drawings of the site, drawn to scale showing property line dimensions;
(2) Existing grade elevations and all changes in grade resulting from excavation or filling;
(3) The location and dimensions of all buildings and additions to buildings;
(4) The elevation of the lowest floor (including basement) of all proposed buildings subject to the requirements of § 154.616; and
(5) Cost of project or improvements as estimated by a licensed engineer or architect. A signed estimate by a registered contractor may also meet this requirement.
(D) (1) Upon receipt of an application for a development permit, the Director of the County Department of Zoning and Building Safety shall compare the elevation of the site to the base flood elevation. Any development located on land that can be shown by survey data to be higher than the current base flood elevation and which has not been filled after the date of the site’s first flood insurance rate map is not in the floodplain, and therefore not subject to the requirements of this subchapter. Conversely, any development located on land shown to be below the base flood elevation and hydraulically connected, but not shown on the current flood insurance rate map, is subject to the provisions of this subchapter.
(2) The Director of the County Department of Zoning and Building Safety shall maintain documentation of the existing ground elevation at the development site and certification that this ground elevation existed prior to the date of the site’s first flood insurance rate map identification.
(3) (a) The Director of the County Department of Zoning and Building Safety shall be responsible for obtaining from the applicant copies of all other federal, state, and local permits, approvals, or permit-not-required letters that may be required for this type of activity.
(b) The Director of the County Department of Zoning and Building Safety shall not issue a permit unless all other federal, state, and local permits have been obtained.
(E) (1) A signed non-conversion agreement shall be recorded in the public records prior to issuance of the certificate of occupancy or certificate of completion for the following:
(a) An enclosure below an elevated building;
(b) A crawl/underfloor space that are more than four feet in height (measured from the lowest interior grade or floor to the bottom of the floor system above); and
(c) A detached structure that is not elevated and is larger than 70 square feet in area.
(2) (a) This agreement shall state that the enclosed area below FPE shall not be converted for use other than for parking, building access or for allowable storage as detailed in this subchapter and verified with annual inspections.
(b) The applicant agrees to notify prospective purchasers of the existence of the non-conversion agreement.
(F) Established procedures for administering and documenting determinations, as outlined below, of substantial improvement and substantial damage.
(1) Determine the market value or require the applicant to obtain an appraisal of the market value prepared by a qualified independent appraiser of the building before the start of construction of the proposed work. In the case of repair, the market value of the building shall be the market value before the damage occurred and before any repairs are made.
(2) Compare the cost to perform the improvement, the cost to repair a damaged building to its pre-damaged condition, or the combined costs of improvements and repairs, if applicable, to the market value of the building.
(3) Determine and document whether the proposed work constitutes substantial improvement or substantial damage.
(4) Notify the applicant if it is determined that the work constitutes substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage and that compliance with the flood resistant construction requirements of this subchapter.
(5) A form shall be used to document the actual calculations for projects and may be required to be recorded in the County Recorder office if the improvements exceed 20%.
(Ord. passed 5-16-2023)