A. Designation Of Floodplain Ordinance Administrator:
1. The city manager is hereby appointed as the floodplain administrator who is responsible for administering and implementing the provisions of this chapter.
B. Duties And Responsibilities Of The Administrator:
1. Duties of the floodplain administrator shall include, but shall not be limited to:
a. Review all development permit applications to determine whether proposed new development will be located in areas of special flood hazard;
b. Review applications for modifications of any existing development in areas of special flood hazard for compliance with the requirements of this chapter;
c. Interpret flood hazard area boundaries, provide available flood hazard information, and provide base flood elevations, where they exist;
d. Review proposed development to assure that necessary permits have been received from governmental agencies from which approval is required by federal or state law, including, but not limited to, section 404 of the federal water pollution control act amendments of 1972, 33 USC 1334; the endangered species act of 1973, 16 USC 1531-1544; and state of Oregon removal-fill permits. Copies of such permits shall be maintained on file;
e. Review all development permit applications to determine if the proposed development is located in the floodway, and if so, ensure that the encroachment standards of subsection 12-1-5B of this chapter are met;
f. When base flood elevation data or floodway data are not available, then the floodplain administrator shall obtain, review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation and floodway data available from a federal, state or other authoritative source in order to administer the provisions of this chapter;
g. When base flood elevations or other engineering data are not available from an authoritative source, the floodplain administrator shall take into account the flood hazards, to the extent they are known, to determine whether a proposed building site or subdivision will be reasonably safe from flooding;
h. Where interpretation is needed of the exact location of boundaries of the areas of special flood hazard including regulatory floodway (for example, where there appears to be a conflict between a mapped boundary and actual field conditions) the floodplain administrator shall make the interpretation. Any person contesting the location of the boundary shall be given a reasonable opportunity to appeal the interpretation as provided in subsection 12-1-6D of this chapter;
i. Issue floodplain development permits when the provisions of this chapter have been met, or disapprove the same in the event of noncompliance;
j. Coordinate with the building official to assure that applications for building permits comply with the requirements of this chapter;
k. Obtain, verify and record the actual elevation in relation to the vertical datum used on the effective FIRM, or highest adjacent grade where no BFE is available, of the lowest floor level, including basement, of all new construction or substantially improved buildings and structures;
l. Obtain, verify and record the actual elevation, in relation to the vertical datum used on the effective FIRM, or highest adjacent grade where no BFE is available, to which any new or substantially improved buildings or structures have been floodproofed. When floodproofing is utilized for a structure, the floodplain administrator shall obtain certification of design criteria from a registered professional engineer or architect;
m. Ensure that all records pertaining to the provisions of this chapter are permanently maintained in the office of the city/county clerk or his/her designee and shall be open for public inspection;
n. Make inspections in areas of special flood hazard to determine whether development has been undertaken without issuance of a floodplain development permit, ensure that development is undertaken in accordance with the floodplain development permit and this chapter, and verify that existing buildings and structures maintain compliance with this chapter;
o. Coordinate with the building official to inspect areas where buildings and structures in flood hazard areas have been damaged, regardless of the cause of damage, and notify owners that permits may be required prior to repair, rehabilitation, demolition, relocation, or reconstruction of the building or structure;
p. Make substantial improvement or substantial damage determinations based on criteria set forth in subsection D of this section.
C. Permit Procedures:
1. Application for a floodplain development permit shall be made to the floodplain administrator on forms furnished by the administrator or the administrator's designee prior to starting development activities. Specifically, the following information is required:
a. Application Stage:
(1) Plans in duplicate drawn to scale with elevations of the project area and the nature, location, dimensions of existing and proposed structures, earthen fill placement, storage of materials or equipment and drainage facilities;
(2) Delineation of flood hazard areas, floodway boundaries including base flood elevations, or flood depth in AO zones, where available;
(3) For all proposed structures, elevation in relation to the highest adjacent grade and the base flood elevation, or flood depth in AO zones, of the:
(A) Lowest enclosed area, including crawl space or basement floor;
(B) Bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member in coastal high hazard areas (V zones);
(C) Top of the proposed garage slab, if any; and
(D) Next highest floor.
(4) Locations and sizes of all flood openings in any proposed building;
(5) Elevation to which any nonresidential structure will be floodproofed;
(6) Certification from a registered professional engineer or architect that any proposed nonresidential floodproofed structure will meet the floodproofing criteria of the NFIP and building codes;
(7) Description of the extent to which any watercourse will be altered or relocated as a result of a proposed development.
b. Construction Stage:
(1) For all new construction and substantial improvements, the permit holder shall provide to the floodplain administrator an as built certification of the floor elevation or floodproofing level immediately after the lowest floor or floodproofing is placed and prior to further vertical construction;
(2) Any deficiencies identified by the floodplain administrator shall be corrected by the permit holder immediately and prior to work proceeding. Failure to submit certification or failure to make the corrections shall be cause for the floodplain administrator to issue a stop work order for the project.
c. Certificate Of Occupancy:
(1) In addition to the requirements of the building codes pertaining to certificate of occupancy, prior to the final inspection the owner or authorized agent shall submit the following documentation that has been prepared and sealed by a registered surveyor or engineer:
(A) For elevated buildings and structures in noncoastal areas of special flood hazard (A zones), the as built elevation of the lowest floor, including basement or where no base flood elevation is available the height above highest adjacent grade of the lowest floor;
(B) For buildings and structures in coastal areas of special flood hazard (V zones), the elevation of the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member supporting the lowest floor; and
(C) For buildings and structures that have been floodproofed, the elevation to which the building or structure was floodproofed.
(2) Failure to submit certification or failure to correct violations shall be cause for the floodplain administrator to withhold a certificate of occupancy until such deficiencies are corrected.
d. Expiration Of Floodplain Development Permit:
(1) A floodplain development permit shall expire one hundred eighty (180) days after issuance unless the permitted activity has been substantially begun and thereafter is pursued to completion.
(2) Commencement of work includes start of construction, when the permitted work requires a building permit.
D. Substantial Damage And Substantial Improvement Determination:
1. For applications for permits to improve buildings and structures, including additions, repairs, renovations, and alterations, the floodplain administrator, shall:
a. Estimate the market value, or require the applicant to obtain a professional appraisal of the market value, of the building or structure before the proposed work is performed; when repair of damage is proposed, the market value of the building or structure shall be the market value before the damage occurred;
b. Compare the cost of improvement, the cost to repair the damaged building to its predamaged condition, or the combined costs of improvements and repairs, if applicable, to the market value of the building or structure;
(1) Except as indicated in subsections D1b(2) through D1b(4) of this section, all costs to repair substantial damage, including emergency repairs, including the costs of complying with any county, state, federal or other regulation must be included;
(2) The costs associated with the correction of preexisting violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications that were identified by the building official, the director of environmental health, or any other local code enforcement official prior to the improvement or repair and that are the minimum necessary to ensure safe living conditions shall not be included;
(3) Costs associated with the following items are not included:
(A) The preparation and approval of all required plans, calculations, certifications, and specifications;
(B) The performance of surveys or other geotechnical or engineering studies and resulting reports;
(C) Permit and review fees; and
(D) The construction, demolition, repair, or modification of outdoor improvements, including landscaping, fences, swimming pools, detached garages and sheds, etc.;
(4) Proposed alterations of a designated historic building or structure is not to be considered substantial improvement unless the alteration causes a loss of said designation.
2. The city manager shall make the final determination of whether the proposed improvement and/or repair constitutes a substantial improvement or substantial damage.
3. The city manager shall notify the applicant of the results of the determination by letter.
4. Applicant has the right to appeal the determination pursuant to subsection 12-1-6D of this chapter. (Ord. 760, 8-17-2010)
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