[Amended 12-4-1997 by Ord. No. 97-44]
It is hereby found that the South Branch of
the Raritan River and the following streams and their tributaries:
Capoolong Creek, Lackatong Creek, Wichecheoke Creek, Assiscong Creek
and Grandin Creek in the Township, are and may be subject to recurring
flooding; that such flooding damages and endangers life and public
and private property and facilities; that this condition is aggravated
by developments and encroachments in the floodplain; and that the
appropriate method of alleviating such condition is through regulation
of such developments and encroachments. It is therefore determined
that the special and paramount public interest in the floodplain justifies
a regulation of property located therein as provided in this chapter,
which is in the exercise of the police power of the municipality for
the protection of the persons and property of its inhabitants and
for the preservation of the public health, safety and general welfare.
A.
This chapter specifically includes by reference thereto
Plates SB-13, 14, 15, 16 and 17, entitled "Delineation of Floodway
and Flood Hazard Area, South Branch Raritan River," contained in Flood
Hazard Report No. 11, published by the Division of Water Policy and
Supply, Department of Conservation and Economic Development, State
of New Jersey, prepared by Anderson-Nichols and Company, Inc., showing
the floodway limit and flood hazard area limit along the South Branch
of the Raritan River, on file in the office of the Clerk of the Township,
together with any official revisions, amendments and supplements thereto
as may be approved from time to time, provided that they are in agreement
with the floodplain criteria and further approved by the State of
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Water
Resources, or its successor agency, together with any other reports
so promulgated covering the above streams located in the Township.
B.
There is also incorporated by reference hereto any
maps defining additional areas of potential flooding for these watercourses
in the Township which may from time to time be prepared by the Soil
Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture, in
which floodplain soils and terrace soils are defined and delineated
in agreement with floodplain criteria approved by the United States
Department of Agriculture. The floodplain soils in such reports shall
be treated as floodways, as herein defined, and the terrace soils
and floodplain soils in such reports shall be treated as flood hazard
areas, as herein defined. This chapter shall also incorporate by reference
any maps now or hereafter prepared by the Corps of Engineers in connection
with any application for flood insurance. Any applicant seeking a
building permit for approval of a subdivision or site plan review
plat may be requested by the Township Land Use Board to secure a precise
delineation by metes and bounds to be made by the Township Engineer
in accordance with this chapter if an undelineated stream crosses
or affects his property. The applicant shall directly pay the fee
of the Township Engineer for said service.
The following regulations shall govern developments
in the floodway and flood hazard area:
A.
No building or structure shall be erected or moved
or externally altered, or added to or enlarged, nor shall any material
or equipment be stored, nor shall any fill be placed, nor shall the
elevation of any land be changed in the floodway, except in accordance
with a permit issued therefor as provided by this chapter; provided,
however, that accepted practice of farming and the harvesting of crops
and other agricultural and horticultural activities are not included
in the foregoing prohibitions.
B.
No building or structure shall be erected or moved
into or externally altered, added to or enlarged in the flood hazard
areas outside the floodway if the elevation of any floor thereof,
including the cellar floor, shall be less than one foot above the
flood hazard area, except in accordance with the permit issued therefor
as provided by this chapter.
C.
If interpretation of the flood maps or any report
with respect to exact limit of the floodway or flood hazard area is
requested by an applicant or necessary to comply with this chapter
for a proposed development, the Township Engineer shall, at the applicant's
expense, determine the precise location by metes and bounds of the
floodway or flood hazard area limit and cause the same to be marked
on the ground by a surveyor's marker and notify the applicant, the
Construction Code Official and the Land Use Board of the results thereof.
The following procedure shall govern the issuance
of such permits:
A.
The property owner shall apply to the Construction
Code Official for approval of development plans which shall be submitted
with the application. Such plans shall include a true and accurate
plot plan drawn by a licensed engineer, submitted in triplicate, drawn
to a scale of not less than one inch equals 50 feet, with contour
lines at intervals of not more than one foot, showing:
(1)
The exact size, shape, location and elevation of existing
and proposed buildings and structures and of any proposed fill or
regrading.
(2)
The exact dimensions and acreage of each lot or plot
to be built upon or otherwise used.
(3)
The location of the floodway and flood hazard area
limits.
(4)
The location, layout and elevation of existing and
proposed parking areas, driveways, drainage, sewer and water facilities
and connections, plantings, seedings, screenings, fences and signs.
(5)
Such other information as shall be reasonably required
for the evaluation of the effect of the development upon flood control.
B.
The Construction Code Official shall, within 10 days
after receiving the application, forward the same and the development
plan submitted therewith, together with his written report thereon,
to the Land Use Board for review. If it is indicated that any variance
is needed from the provisions of this chapter, the Land Use Board
shall nevertheless review the application as herein provided, but
approval thereof by the Land Use Board shall not relieve the applicant
from complying with the provisions of this chapter, nor shall it constitute
a recommendation of any zoning variance that the applicant may hereafter
seek from the Land Use Board.
C.
The Land Use Board shall refer the application to
the State Division of Water Resources for report and recommendation,
and the Board shall not take final action thereon until after such
report and recommendation have been received or until after 30 days
shall have elapsed from the date of such reference without receipt
of such report and recommendation. The Land Use Board shall review
the application and, after giving the applicant an opportunity to
appear and be heard with respect thereto, shall recommend approval
or disapproval of the same, being guided in its action by the standards
set forth in this chapter. Approval may be made conditional upon the
applicant's adoption of specified changes. The Board shall state its
recommendations and the reasons for its action in writing, and a copy
thereof shall be given to the applicant.
In reviewing applications submitted under § 220-17, the Land Use Board shall consider and be guided by the general purposes set forth in § 220-14 and, in addition, shall apply the following standards:
A.
As to developments in the floodway, primary consideration
shall be given to preserving this area as defining the minimum capacity
required for the passage of flood flow without aggravating flood conditions
upstream and downstream. Encroachments therein shall therefore be
permitted most sparingly and only in cases in which the public interest
will be served, such as bridges, roads, utility installations and
the like, the temporary storage of material or equipment in connection
with and during the construction thereof, or where the obstruction
is minimal, such as surface parking or recreation areas, open fencing
and the like; and then, in either case, only in accordance with conditions
designed to limit the obstruction to the practicable minimum.
B.
As to developments in the flood hazard area outside the floodway, primary consideration shall be given to the protection of persons and property involved in the development, and such consideration shall not be avoided by the waiver of the applicant. Exceptions from the prohibitions of § 220-16B shall therefore be permitted only where the building or structure is not designed or intended as a human dwelling place, is not intended to house property of a value greater than its own value and will not by reason of its size, shape, construction or location have any substantial adverse effect upon the functioning of the floodway.
On all undelineated streams in the Township for which the Township Engineer's analysis of alluvial soils does not predicate a larger floodplain area than 30 feet from the center line of the stream on each side thereof, such distance of 30 feet from the center line thereof shall be deemed by the Land Use Board to be the minimum required easement necessary for stream maintenance and protection of the public health, safety and general welfare. This minimum requirement pertains to the river, brooks, creeks and tributaries thereof named in § 220-14.
This article does not imply that areas outside
the FP Floodplain Zone will be free from flooding or flood damage,
and this article shall not create liability on the part of the Township
or any officer or employee thereof for any flood damages that result
from reliance on this article or any administrative decision lawfully
made hereunder.
The foregoing notwithstanding, development within
a floodplain is permitted if authorized by a stream encroachment permit
issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
