A development permit shall be obtained before construction or development begins within any area of special flood hazard established in § 74-8. Application for a development permit shall be made on forms furnished by the Floodplain Official and may include, but not be limited to, plans in duplicate drawn to scale showing the nature, location, dimensions and elevations of the area in question; existing or proposed structures, fill, storage of materials, drainage facilities, and the location of the foregoing. Specifically, the following information is required:
A.
Elevation in relation to mean sea level of the lowest
floor (including basement) of all structures;
B.
Elevation in relation to mean sea level to which any
structure has been floodproofed;
C.
Certification by a registered professional engineer or architect that the floodproofing methods for any nonresidential structure meet the floodproofing criteria in § 74-21B; and
D.
Description of the extent to which any watercourse
will be altered or relocated as a result of proposed development.
The Floodplain Official is responsible for administering
and implementing this chapter by granting or denying development permit
applications in accordance with its provisions. The Floodplain Official
will normally be the City Engineer.
Duties of the Floodplain Official shall include,
but not be limited to:
A.
Permit review. The Floodplain Official shall:
(1)
Review all development permits to determine that the
permit requirements of this chapter have been satisfied.
(2)
Review all development permits to determine that all
necessary permits have been obtained from those federal, state or
local governmental agencies from which prior approval is required,
including Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments
of 1972, 33 U.S.C. § 1334.
(3)
Review all development permits to determine if the
proposed development adversely affects the flood-carrying capacity
of the area of special flood hazard. For purposes of this chapter,
"adversely affects" means the cumulative effects of proposed development
when combined with all other existing and anticipated developments
increases the water surface elevation of the base flood more than
one foot at any point.
B.
Use of other base flood data. When base flood elevation data has not been provided in accordance with § 74-8, Basis for establishing the areas of special flood hazard, the Floodplain Official shall obtain, review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation data and floodway data available from a federal, state or other source, in order to administer § 74-21, Specific Standards, Subsection A, Residential construction, and Subsection B, Nonresidential construction.
C.
In special flood hazard areas, the Floodplain Official
shall determine the one-hundred-year-flood elevation in the following
order of precedence according to the data available:
(1)
In Zones AE, refer to the elevation data provided
in the community's Flood Insurance Study and accompanying FIRM.
D.
Information to be obtained and maintained. The Floodplain
Official shall:
(1)
Obtain and record the actual elevation (in relation
to mean sea level) of the lowest floor (including basement) of all
new or substantially improved structures located in Zones A or AE.
The applicant shall furnish the following information to the Building
Inspector.
(3)
Maintain for public inspection all records pertaining
to the provisions of this chapter.
A.
In riverine situations, prior to the alternation or
relocation of a watercourse, the applicant for such authorization
shall notify the Wetlands Bureau of the New Hampshire Environmental
Services Department and submit copies of such notification to the
Building Inspector, in addition to the copies required by RSA 482-A:3.
Further, the applicant shall be required to submit copies of said
notification to those adjacent communities as determined by the Floodplain
Official, including notice to all scheduled hearings before the Wetlands
Board and any hearings before the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a
special exception or conditional use permit under Section 401 of the
Lebanon Zoning Ordinance.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Zoning Ordinance is on
file in the City offices.
B.
Along watercourses with a designated regulatory floodway,
no encroachments, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements
and other development, are allowed within the floodway that would
result in any increase in flood levels within the community during
the base flood discharge. In Zone A, the Building Inspector shall
obtain, review and reasonably utilize any floodway data available
from federal, state or other sources as criteria for requiring that
development meets the floodway requirements of this section.
C.
Along watercourses that have not had a regulatory
floodway designated, no new construction, substantial improvements
or other development (including fill) shall be permitted within Zones
AE on the FIRM, unless it is demonstrated by the applicant that the
cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with
all existing and anticipated development, will not increase the water
surface elevation of the base flood more than one foot at any point
within the community.
A.
The Floodplain Appeal Board shall be the Lebanon Zoning
Board of Adjustment. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall hear and
decide appeals and requests for variances from the requirements of
this chapter.
B.
The Floodplain Appeal Board shall hear and decide
appeals when it is alleged there is an error in any requirement, decision
or determination made by the Floodplain Official in the enforcement
or administration of this chapter.
C.
Those aggrieved by the decision of the Floodplain
Appeal Board, or any taxpayer, may appeal such decision to the Grafton
County Superior Court as provided in RSA 676:5.
D.
In passing upon such applications, the Floodplain
Appeal Board shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant
factors, standards specified in other sections of this chapter and:
(1)
The danger that materials may be swept onto other
lands to the injury of others;
(2)
The danger to life and property due to flooding or
erosion damage;
(3)
The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its
contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual
owner;
(4)
The importance of the services provided by the proposed
facility to the community;
(5)
The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location,
where applicable;
(6)
The availability of alternative locations, for the
proposed use which are not subject to flooding or erosion damage;
(7)
The compatibility of the proposed use with existing
and anticipated development;
(8)
The relationship of the proposed use to the Comprehensive
Plan and floodplain management program for that area;
(9)
The safety of access to the property in times of flood
for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
(10)
The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of
rise and sediment transport of the floodwaters and the effects of
wave action, if applicable, expected at the site; and
(11)
The costs of providing governmental services during
and after flood conditions, including maintenance and repair of public
utilities and facilities, such as sewer, gas, electrical and water
systems and streets and bridges.
E.
Generally, variances may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements to be erected on a lot of 1/2 acre or less in size contiguous to and surrounded by lots within existing structures constructed below the base flood level, provided that Subsections (1) through (11) in § 74-18D have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond the 1/2 acre, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.
F.
Upon consideration of the factors of § 74-18D and the purposes of this chapter, the Floodplain Appeal Board may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this chapter.
G.
The Floodplain Official shall maintain the records
of all appeal actions and report any variances to the Federal Insurance
Administration upon request.
A.
Variances may be issued for the reconstruction, rehabilitation
or restoration of structures listed on the National Register of Historic
Places or the State Inventory of Historic Places, without regard to
the procedures set forth in the remainder of this section.
B.
Variances shall not be issued within any designated
floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge
would result.
C.
Variances shall only be issued upon a determination
that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood
hazard, to afford relief.
D.
Variances shall only be issued upon:
(1)
A showing of good and sufficient cause;
(2)
A determination that failure to grant the variance
would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant; and
(3)
A determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, create nuisances, cause fraud on or victimization of the public as identified in § 74-18D, or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.
E.
Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall
be given written notice that the structure will be permitted to be
built with a lowest floor elevation below the base flood elevation
and that the cost of flood insurance will be commensurate with the
increased risk resulting from the reduced lowest floor elevation.
