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(A) Whenever the standards of this chapter place undue hardship on a specific development proposal, the applicant may apply to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a variance. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall review the applicant’s request for a variance and shall submit its recommendation to City Council.
(B) No variance shall be granted unless the applicant demonstrates that:
(1) The development activity cannot be located outside the SFHA;
(2) A substantial economic hardship would result if the variance were not granted;
(3) The relief requested is the minimum necessary;
(4) There will be no additional threat to public health or safety or creation of a nuisance;
(5) There will be no additional public expense for flood protection, rescue or relief operations, policing or repairs to roads, utilities or other public facilities; and
(6) The provisions of § 152.20(D) of this chapter can still be met.
(C) The Building Inspector shall notify an applicant in writing that a variance from the requirements of § 152.37 of this chapter that would lessen the degree of protection to a building will:
(1) Result in increased premium rates for flood insurance up to amounts as high as $25 for $100 of insurance coverage;
(2) Increase the risks to life and property; and
(3) Require that the applicant proceed with knowledge of these risks and that he or she will acknowledge in writing that he or she assumes the risk and liability.
(D) A variance from the requirements of § 152.37 of this chapter may be granted to permit a wet flood-proofed building, that is, a building to be intentionally flooded during a flood; provided:
(1) No part of a building below the FPE may be subject to flood damage;
(2) The variance shall be conditioned on the contents being:
(a) Of materials resistant to flood damage;
(b) Items declared “property not covered” by a standard flood insurance policy of the National Flood Insurance Program; or
(c) Readily moveable to place of protection during a flood; provided, there will be personnel available and adequate warning.
(3) Any future alteration of the area below the FPE that violates the conditions of the variance shall be deemed a violation of this chapter. The Building Inspector shall inform the applicant that any alteration is considered a willful act to increase flood damages and, therefore, will cause coverage by a standard flood insurance policy to be suspended.
(E) Variances requested in connection with restoration of a site or building documented as worthy of preservation by the state’s Department of Conservation may be granted using criteria more permissive than the requirements of division (B) above.
(1994 Code, § 152.06) (Ord. 323, passed 3-28-1983)
PERMITS
(A) (1) No person, firm or corporation shall commence any development in the SFHA without first obtaining a development permit from the Building Inspector.
(2) The Building Inspector shall not issue a development permit if the proposed development does not meet the requirements of this chapter.
(B) Application for a development permit shall be made on a form provided by the Building Inspector. The application shall be accompanied by drawings of the site, drawn to scale showing property line dimensions and, in those parts of the site that are below the base flood elevation, the following:
(1) Existing grade elevations and all changes in grade resulting from excavation or filling;
(2) The direction of flow of surface drainage and flood flows;
(3) The location of all watercourses and drainage facilities;
(4) The location and dimensions of all buildings and additions to buildings; and
(5) The elevation of the lowest floor (including basement) of all buildings subject to the requirements of § 152.37 of this chapter.
(C) Upon receipt of an application for a development permit, the Building Inspector shall compare the elevation of the site to the base flood elevation. Any development located on land higher than the base flood elevation is not in the SFHA and, therefore, not subject to the requirements of this chapter.
(D) The Building Inspector shall inform the applicant of any and all other local, state and federal permits that may be required for this type of development activity. The development permit will only be issued on the condition that the other specified permits are obtained. The Building Inspector shall not issue a use permit/certificate of use or occupancy unless all required permits have been obtained.
(1994 Code, § 152.15) (Ord. 323, passed 3-28-1983)
FLOOD HAZARD REDUCTION
(A) This chapter’s protection standard is the base flood according to the best data available to the state’s Water Survey’s Floodplain Information Repository. Whenever a party disagrees with the best available data, he or she may finance the detailed engineering study needed to replace existing data with better data and submit it to the state’s Water Survey.
(B) The base flood elevation for each of the SFHAs delineated as an “A Zone” on the Flood Insurance Rate Map, with the effective date of 8-24-1984, shall be the 100-year flood depth calculated according to the formulas presented in Depth & Frequency of Floods in Illinois, published by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1976.
(1994 Code, § 152.25) (Ord. 323, passed 3-28-1983)
(A) No proposed development in the SFHA shall increase the base flood elevation unless:
(1) It is determined by the city’s Building Inspector that the total cumulative effect on the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated development, will not increase the base flood elevation more than one foot for the affected hydraulic reach of the stream and will not increase flood damages or potential flood damages;
(2) A permit has been issued by the state’s Department of Transportation, Division of Water Resources, pursuant to 615 ILCS 5/23, or a waiver of the permit has been obtained; and
(3) For all projects involving channel modifications or fill (including levees), the city shall submit sufficient data to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to revise the regulatory flood maps and profiles.
(B) For development proposals located in flood fringe, AO Zone or AH Zone, identified as such on an SFHA map or in a lakefront floodplain, ponding area, area of sheet flow or other SFHA not subject to overbank flooding from an identified channel, the requirement of division (A) above shall not apply.
(C) No development in the SFHA shall include locating or storing chemicals, explosives, buoyant materials, flammable liquids, pollutants or other hazardous or toxic materials below the FPE unless the materials are stored in a storage tank or flood-proofed building constructed according to the requirements of § 152.37(B)(3) of this chapter.
(D) New and replacement sanitary sewer lines and on-site waste disposal systems may be permitted providing all manholes or other above ground openings located below the FPE are water-tight.
(1994 Code, § 152.26) (Ord. 323, passed 3-28-1983)
(A) In addition to the damage prevention requirements of § 152.36 of this chapter, all buildings to be located in the SFHA shall be protected from flood damage below the FPE. This building protection requirement applies to the following situations:
(1) Construction or placement of a new building valued at more than $1,000;
(2) Improvements made to an existing building that increase the first floor area by more than 20%;
(3) Reconstruction or repairs made to a damaged building that are valued at or more than 50% of the value of the building before the damage occurred; and
(4) Installing a manufactured home on a site or new manufactured home on an existing site. This building protection requirement does not apply to returning a manufactured home to the same site it formerly lawfully occupied.
(B) This building protection requirement may be met by any one of the following methods.
(1) A building may be constructed on permanent landfill in accordance with the following.
(a) The area to be filled shall be cleared of all standing trees, brush, down timber, trash and other growth or objects unsuitable for use as foundation material.
(b) The fill shall be placed in layers no greater than one foot deep before compaction.
(c) The surface of the fill shall be at or above the FPE. The fill shall extend at least ten feet beyond the foundation of the building before sloping below the FPE. The bottom of the lowest floor, including joists, if any, and all utility meters shall be located at or above the FPE.
(d) The fill shall be protected against erosion and scour during flooding by vegetative cover, riprap or bulk-heading. If vegetative cover is used, the slopes shall be no steeper than three horizontal to one vertical.
(e) The fill shall not adversely affect the flow of surface drainage from or onto neighboring properties.
(f) The Building Inspector shall maintain a record of the as-built elevation of the lowest floor of the building.
(2) A building may be elevated in accordance with the following.
(a) The building or improvements shall be elevated on stilts, piles, walls, crawl spaces or other foundation that is permanently open to flood waters and not subject to damage by hydrostatic pressures.
(b) All electrical, plumbing, ventilating, heating and air conditioning equipment, related ductwork and utility meters shall be located at or above the flood protection election beneath the lowest elevated floor of an elevated residential building.
(c) All elevated residential buildings shall have permanent openings no more than one foot above grade; all walls and floor must not be subject to damage by hydrostatic pressures of the base flood.
(d) The foundation and supporting members shall be anchored, shaped and aligned so as to minimize exposure to known hydrodynamic forces such as current, waves and floating debris. All manufactured homes in the SFHA shall be anchored to resist flotation, collapse or laterals movement by providing over-the-top and frame ties to around anchors. Specific requirements shall be that:
1. Over-the-top ties be provided at each of the four corners of the manufactured home, with two additional ties per side at intermediate locations and manufactured homes less than 50 feet long requiring one additional tie per side;
2. Frame ties be provided at each corner of the home with five additional ties per side at intermediate points and manufactured homes less than 50 feet long requiring four additional ties per side;
3. All components of the anchoring system be capable of carrying a force of 4,800 pounds; and
4. Any additions to the manufactured home be similarly anchored.
(e) All areas below the FPE shall be constructed of materials resistant to flood damage. The bottom of the lowest floor or joists, if any, and all utility meters shall be located at or above the FPE.
(f) The Building Inspector shall maintain a record of the building elevation of the lowest floor.
(g) No area below the FPE shall be used for storage of items or materials subject to flood damage unless the items or materials are declared property not covered by a standard flood insurance policy of the National Flood Insurance Program.
(h) Any future alteration of the area below the FPE that violates the requirements of this division (B)(2) shall be deemed a violation of this chapter. The Building Inspector shall inform the applicant that any alteration is considered a willful act to increase flood damages and therefore will cause coverage by a standard flood insurance policy to be suspended.
(i) No manufactured home may be placed on a new site located within an identified floodway.
(3) A non-residential building may be flood-proofed in accordance with the following.
(a) A registered professional engineer shall certify that the building has been designed so that below the FPE, the structure and attendant utility facilities are water-tight and capable of resisting the effects of the base flood. The building design shall take into account flood velocities, duration, rate of rise, hydrostatic and hydrodynamic forces, the effects of buoyancy and impacts from debris or ice.
(b) Flood-proofing measures shall be operable without human intervention and without an outside source of electricity.
(c) The Building Inspector shall maintain the Engineer’s certificate and record of the as-built elevation to which the building was flood-proofed.
(1994 Code, § 152.27) (Ord. 323, passed 3-28-1983)
(A) The City Council shall take into account flood hazards, to the extent that they are known, in all official actions related to land management, use and development.
(B) The City Council shall not approve any annexation agreement or plat or subdivision located outside the corporate limits unless the agreement or plat is in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The Building Inspector shall obtain the best available SFHA maps and data for the unincorporated areas.
(C) New subdivisions, manufactured home parks and planned unit developments (PUDs) shall meet the requirements of §§ 152.36 and 152.37 of this chapter. Plats or plans for new subdivisions, manufactured home parks and planned unit developments (PUDs) shall include a signed statement by a registered professional engineer that the plat or plans account for changes in the drainage of surface waters in accordance with the Plat Act (765 ILCS 205/2).
(D) Plats or plans for new subdivisions, manufactured home parks and planned unit developments (PUDs) shall display the following flood data:
(1) The boundary of the SFHA;
(2) The boundary of the floodway, if shown on available SFHA maps;
(3) Easements of lands dedicated to the city for access for channel maintenance purposes; and
(4) The FPE for each building site. Where the base flood elevation is not available from an existing study filed with the state’s Water Survey, the applicant shall be responsible for calculating the FPE and submitting it to the state’s Water Survey for review and approval as best available elevation data.
(E) Plans for the development activities to be undertaken by the city in the SFHA shall be reviewed by the Building Inspector to ensure that they comply with this chapter. Except as exempted by law, no other local government shall commence any development activity in the SFHA without first obtaining a development permit from the Building Inspector.
(F) The City Council shall take the following into consideration when preparing or revising the Comprehensive Plan, community development program, housing assistance plan and other land use or development programs:
(1) Preserving SFHA land for open space uses such as farming or recreation;
(2) Acquiring and removing frequently flooded buildings;
(3) Prohibiting hospitals, water treatment plans, natural gas storage and other critical or especially hazardous facilities from locating in the SFHA;
(4) Identifying the elevations of the base flood and past flood at entrances to public buildings, on street signs or other prominent locations; and
(5) Other flood hazard mitigation or floodplain management activities that could help accomplish the purposes of this chapter.
(1994 Code, § 152.28) (Ord. 323, passed 3-28-1983; Ord. 409, passed 9-9-1991)
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