The Building Inspector is hereby appointed to administer and
implement these regulations and is referred to herein as the "floodplain
administrator." The floodplain administrator is authorized to:
A.
Fulfill the duties and responsibilities set forth in these regulations;
B.
Delegate duties and responsibilities set forth in these regulations
to qualified technical personnel, plan examiners, inspectors, and
other employees; or
C.
Enter into a written agreement or written contract with another jurisdiction
or agency or private-sector entity to administer specific provisions
of these regulations. Administration of any part of these regulations
by another entity shall not relieve the community of its responsibilities
pursuant to the participation requirements of the National Flood Insurance
Program as set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations at 44 CFR
59.22.
The duties and responsibilities of the floodplain administrator
shall include but are not limited to:
A.
Review applications for permits to determine whether proposed activities
will be located in special flood hazard areas.
B.
Interpret floodplain boundaries and provide flood elevation and flood
hazard information.
C.
Advise applicants for new construction or substantial improvement
of structures that are located on any coastal barrier within the Coastal
Barrier Resources System established by the Coastal Barrier Resources
Act that federal flood insurance is not available on such structures;
areas subject to this limitation are shown on Flood Insurance Rate
Maps as identified undeveloped coastal barriers or otherwise protected
areas.
D.
Review applications to determine whether proposed activities will
be reasonably safe from flooding.
E.
Review applications to determine whether all necessary permits have
been obtained from those federal, state or local agencies from which
prior or concurrent approval is required.
F.
Verify that applicants proposing to alter or relocate a watercourse
have notified adjacent communities and the Delaware Department of
Natural Resources and Environmental Control (Division of Watershed
Stewardship) and have submitted copies of such notifications to the
Federal Emergency Management Agency.
G.
Issue permits to develop in special flood hazard areas when the provisions
of these regulations have been met, or disapprove the same in the
event of noncompliance.
H.
Inspect buildings and lands to determine compliance with these regulations
or to determine if noncompliance has occurred or violations have been
committed.
I.
Review submitted elevation certificates for completeness.
J.
Submit to FEMA data and information necessary to maintain flood hazard
maps, including hydrologic and hydraulic engineering analyses prepared
by or for the Town of Bethany Beach, corrections to labeling or planimetric
details, etc.
K.
Maintain and permanently keep all records for public inspection that
are necessary for the administration of these regulations, including
Flood Insurance Rate Maps, letters of map amendment and revision,
records of issuance and denial of permits, determinations of whether
development is in or out of special flood hazard areas for the purpose
of issuing permits, elevation certificates, other required certifications,
variances, and records of enforcement actions taken for violations
of these regulations.
L.
Enforce the provisions of these regulations.
M.
Assist with and coordinate flood hazard map maintenance activities.
N.
Conduct determinations as to whether existing buildings and structures
damaged by any cause and located in special flood hazard areas have
been substantially damaged.
O.
Make reasonable efforts to notify owners of substantially damaged
buildings and structures of the need to obtain a permit prior to repair,
rehabilitation, or reconstruction and prohibit the noncompliant repair
of substantially damaged buildings except for temporary emergency
protective measures necessary to secure a property or stabilize a
structure to prevent additional damage.
P.
Undertake, as determined appropriate by the floodplain administrator
due to the circumstances, other actions which may include but are
not limited to: issuing press releases, public service announcements,
and other public information materials related to permit requests
and repair of damaged structures; coordinating with other federal,
state, and local agencies to assist with substantial damage determinations;
providing owners of damaged structures materials and other information
related to the proper repair of damaged structures in special flood
hazard areas; and assisting owners with National Flood Insurance Program
claims for increased cost of compliance payments.
Q.
Notify the Federal Emergency Management Agency when the corporate
boundaries of the Town of Bethany Beach have been modified.
It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to begin construction or other development which is wholly within, partially within, or in contact with any identified special flood hazard area, as established in § 453-4, including but not limited to: subdivision of land, filling, grading, or other site improvements and utility installations; construction, alteration, remodeling, improvement, replacement, reconstruction, repair, relocation, or expansion of any building or structure; recreational vehicles; installation or replacement of storage tanks; or alteration of any watercourse, until a permit is obtained from the Town of Bethany Beach. No such permit shall be issued until the requirements of these regulations have been met.
Application for a permit shall be made by the owner of the property
or his/her authorized agent, herein referred to as the "applicant,"
prior to the actual start of construction. The application shall be
on a form furnished for that purpose.
A.
Application contents. At a minimum, applications shall include:
(1)
The name and address of the applicant; the name and address of the
owner of the land on which the proposed development is to occur; the
name and address of the contractor; the site location; and a brief
description of the proposed work and the estimated cost.
(3)
Site plans, drawn to scale, showing the nature, location, dimensions,
and existing and proposed topography of the area in question, the
limits of any portion of the site that was previously filled, and
the location of existing and proposed structures, excavation, filling,
storage of materials, drainage facilities, and other proposed activities.
(4)
Elevation of the existing natural ground where structures are proposed,
referenced to the datum on the Flood Insurance Rate Map, and an elevation
certificate that shows the ground elevation and proposed building
elevations (identified in Section C of the elevation certificate as
"construction drawings").
(5)
Delineation of special flood hazard areas, flood zones, and base flood elevations. Where surveyed natural ground elevations are lower than the base flood elevations, base flood elevations shall be used to delineate the boundary of special flood hazard areas. If proposed, changes in the delineation of special flood hazard areas shall be submitted to and approved by FEMA in accordance with § 453-13B. Where special flood hazard areas are not delineated or base flood elevations are not shown on the flood hazard maps, the floodplain administrator has the authority to require the applicant to use information provided by the floodplain administrator, information that is available from other sources, or to determine such information using accepted engineering practices.
(6)
Elevation of the lowest floor, including basement, or elevation of
the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member, as applicable
to the flood zone, of all proposed structures, referenced to the datum
on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps.
(7)
Such other material and information as may be requested by the floodplain
administrator necessary to determine conformance with these regulations.
(8)
For work on an existing structure, including any improvement, addition,
repairs, alterations, rehabilitation, or reconstruction, sufficient
information to determine if the work constitutes substantial improvement,
including:
(a)
Documentation of the market value of the structure before the
improvement is started or before the damage occurred.
(b)
Documentation of the actual cash value of all proposed improvement
work, or the actual cash value of all work necessary to repair and
restore damage to the before-damaged condition, regardless of the
amount of work that will be performed.
(9)
Certifications and/or technical analyses prepared or conducted by
an appropriate design professional licensed in the State of Delaware,
as appropriate to the type of development activity proposed and required
by these regulations:
(a)
Floodproofing certificate for dry floodproofed nonresidential structures, as required in § 453-27.
(b)
Certification that flood openings that do not meet the minimum requirements of § 453-26B(3)(b) are designed to automatically equalize hydrostatic flood forces.
B.
Right to submit new technical data. The applicant has the right to
seek a letter of map change and to submit new technical data to FEMA
regarding base maps, topography, special flood hazard area boundaries,
and base flood elevations. Such submissions shall be prepared in a
format acceptable by FEMA, and the floodplain administrator shall
be notified of such submittal. Submittal requirements and processing
fees shall be the responsibility of the applicant.
C.
Requirement to submit new technical data. The floodplain administrator
shall notify FEMA of physical changes affecting flood hazard areas
and flooding conditions by submitting technical or scientific data
as soon as practicable, but not later than six months after the date
such information becomes available. The floodplain administrator has
the authority to require applicants to submit technical data to FEMA
for letters of map change.
A.
Review. The floodplain administrator shall:
(1)
Review applications for development in special flood hazard areas
to determine the completeness of information submitted. The applicant
shall be notified of incompleteness or additional information required
to support the application.
(2)
Review applications for compliance with these regulations after all information required in § 453-13 or identified and required by the floodplain administrator has been received.
(3)
Review all permit applications to assure that all necessary permits
have been received from those federal, state or local governmental
agencies from which prior approval is required. The applicant shall
be responsible for obtaining such permits, including but not limited
to:
B.
Approval or disapproval.
(1)
The floodplain administrator shall approve applications that comply
with the applicable requirements of these regulations. After issuance
of a permit or site plan approval, no changes of any kind shall be
made to the application, plans, permit, specifications or other documents
submitted with the application without the written consent or approval
of the floodplain administrator. In addition to the permit, the floodplain
administrator shall issue a placard that shall be displayed on the
premises during the time construction is in progress. The placard
shall show the permit number and date of issuance and shall be signed
by the floodplain administrator.
(2)
The floodplain administrator shall disapprove applications for proposed
development that do not comply with the applicable provisions of these
regulations and shall notify the applicant of such disapproval, in
writing, stating the reasons for disapproval.
C.
Expiration of permit. A permit is valid provided the actual start
of construction occurs within 180 days of the date of permit issuance.
If the actual start of construction is not within 180 days of the
date of permit issuance, requests for extensions shall be submitted
in writing. Upon reviewing the request and the permit for continued
compliance with these regulations, the floodplain administrator may
grant, in writing, one or more extensions of time, for periods not
more than 180 days each.
The floodplain administrator shall make periodic inspections
of development permitted in special flood hazard areas, at appropriate
times throughout the period of construction in order to monitor compliance.
Such inspections may include:
A.
Stake-out inspection, to determine location on the site relative
to the special flood hazard area.
B.
Foundation inspection, upon placement of the lowest floor and prior
to further vertical construction, to collect information or certification
of the elevation of the lowest floor.
C.
Enclosure inspection, including crawlspaces, to determine compliance
with applicable provisions.
D.
Utility inspection, upon installation of specified equipment and
appliances, to determine appropriate location with respect to the
base flood elevation.
E.
Storage of materials.
The following certifications are required to be submitted by
the applicant for development that is permitted in special flood hazard
areas prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy:
A.
For new or substantially improved residential structures or nonresidential
structures that have been elevated, an elevation certificate that
shows the ground elevation and finished elevations (identified in
Section C of the elevation certificate as "finished construction").
B.
For nonresidential structures that have been dry floodproofed, a
floodproofing certificate based on "finished construction" (identified
in Section II of the floodproofing certificate).
The floodplain administrator shall make interpretations, where
needed, as to the exact location of special flood hazard areas, and
floodplain boundaries. Should a dispute concerning flood hazard area
boundaries arise, an initial determination shall be made by the floodplain
administrator, and any party aggrieved by this decision may appeal
to the Board of Adjustment; the burden of proof shall be on the appellant.
The following shall apply to the use and interpretation of special
flood hazard maps and data:
A.
Special flood hazard area delineations and base flood elevations
on FEMA maps and in FEMA studies shall take precedence over delineations
and base flood elevations by any other source that reflect a reduced
special flood hazard area and/or lower base flood elevations.
B.
Other sources of data shall be reasonably used, with the approval
of the floodplain administrator, if they show increased base flood
elevations and/or larger flood hazard areas than are shown on FEMA
flood maps and studies.
C.
Where field-surveyed topography indicates that ground elevations
are below the base flood elevation, even in areas not delineated as
a special flood hazard on a flood hazard map, the area shall be considered
as a special flood hazard area.
