(A) Statutory authorization. The Legislature of the State of Utah in Utah Code Ann. § 10-3-701 delegated the responsibility to local governmental units to adopt regulations designed to minimize flood losses. Therefore, the governing body of West Haven City, Utah, does ordain as follows:
(1) The City of West Haven elects to comply with the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-488, as amended). The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is a voluntary program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The National Flood Insurance Program, established in the aforesaid act, provides that areas of the city having a special flood hazard be identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and that floodplain management measures be applied in such flood hazard areas. The National Flood Insurance Program was broadened and modified with the passage of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and other legislative measures. It was further modified by the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994. The National Flood Insurance Program is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a component of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
(B) Findings of fact.
(1) The flood hazard areas located within the boundaries of the city, and as identified on applicable Federal Floodplain Maps, as currently adopted, are subject to periodic inundation which results in loss of life and property, health, and safety hazards, disruption of commerce and governmental services, and extraordinary public expenditures for flood protection and relief, all of which adversely affect the public health, safety, and general welfare.
(2) These potential flood losses are caused by:
(a) The cumulative effect of obstructions in floodplains that are known to cause increases in flood heights and velocities;
(b) The occupancy of flood hazard areas by structures vulnerable to floods because they are inadequately elevated or otherwise unprotected from flood damages; and
(c) Uses deemed unsuitable for floodplain areas or that do not account for the increased flood risk.
(C) Statement of purpose. It is the purpose of this chapter to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare and to minimize public and private losses due to flood conditions in specific areas by provisions designed to:
(1) Protect human life and health;
(2) Minimize the expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects;
(3) Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;
(4) Protect and safeguard the welfare and safety of first responders should an emergency response is needed;
(5) Minimize prolonged business interruptions caused by flooding;
(6) Minimize damage to public infrastructure and facilities including, but not limited to, utilities such as water mains, sanitary sewers, streets, and bridges, as well as natural gas, electric, and telephone lines, streets, and bridges susceptible to flooding;
(7) Help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use and development of flood-prone areas in such a manner as to minimize future flood blight areas; and
(8) Ensure that potential buyers are notified that property is in a flood area.
(D) Methods of reducing flood losses. To accomplish the purposes outlined in § 154.01(C), this chapter applies the following methods:
(1) Restrict or prohibit uses that are dangerous to health, safety, or property in times of flood, or cause excessive increases in flood heights or velocities;
(2) Require that uses vulnerable to floods, including facilities that serve such uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of initial construction;
(3) Control the alteration of natural floodplains, stream channels, and natural protective barriers which are involved in the accommodation of floodwaters;
(4) Control filling, grading, dredging, and other development that may increase flood damage; and
(5) Prevent or regulate the construction of flood barriers which will unnaturally divert floodwaters, or which may increase flood hazards to other lands.
(Prior Code, § 13.20.010) (Ord. 16-2005, passed 11-16-2005; Ord. 22-2023, passed 11-1-2023)