This Part 2 shall be known as the "River Vale Flood Hazard Area
Regulation Ordinance."
The Legislature of the State of New Jersey has, in N.J.S.A.
40:48-1 et seq., delegated the responsibility to local governmental
units to adopt regulations designed to promote public health, safety,
and general welfare of its citizenry. Therefore, the Township Council
of the Township of River Vale of Bergen County, New Jersey, does ordain
as follows.
A.
The flood hazard areas of the Township of River Vale are subject
to periodic inundation which results in loss of life and property,
health and safety hazards, disruption of commerce and governmental
services, extraordinary public expenditures for flood protection and
relief, and impairment of the tax base, all of which adversely affect
the public health, safety, and general welfare.
B.
These flood losses are caused by the cumulative effect of obstructions
in areas of special flood hazard which increase flood heights and
velocities and, when inadequately anchored, cause damage in other
areas. Uses that are inadequately floodproofed, elevated or otherwise
protected from flood damage also contribute to the flood loss.
It is the purpose of this Part 2 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:
A.
Protect human life and health;
B.
Minimize expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects;
C.
Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding
and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;
D.
Minimize prolonged business interruptions;
E.
Minimize damage to public facilities and utilities such as water
and gas mains, electric, telephone and sewer lines, streets, and bridges
located in areas of special flood hazard;
F.
Help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use and
development of areas of special flood hazard so as to minimize future
flood blight areas;
G.
Ensure that potential buyers are notified that property is in an
area of special flood hazard; and
H.
Ensure that those who occupy the areas of special flood hazard assume
responsibility for their actions.
In order to accomplish its purposes, this Part 2 includes methods
and provisions for:
A.
Restricting or prohibiting uses which are dangerous to health, safety,
and property due to water or erosion hazards, or which result in damaging
increases in erosion or in flood heights or velocities;
B.
Requiring that uses vulnerable to floods, including facilities which
serve such uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of
initial construction;
C.
Controlling the alteration of natural floodplains, stream channels,
and natural protective barriers, which help accommodate or channel
floodwaters;
D.
Controlling filling, grading, dredging, and other development which
may increase flood damage; and
E.
Preventing or regulating the construction of flood barriers which
will unnaturally divert floodwaters or which may increase flood hazards
in other areas.
A.
Word usage. For the purpose of this Part 2, unless the context clearly
indicates a different meaning, the term "shall" indicates a mandatory
requirement and the term "may" indicates a permissive action. Words
used in the present tense include the future tense, singular usage
includes the plural usage, and the plural usage includes the singular
usage.
B.
Interpretation. Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases
used in this Part 2 shall be interpreted so as to give them meanings
that they have in common usage and to give this Part 2 its most reasonable
application.
C.
AH ZONE
AO ZONE
APPEAL
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD
BASE FLOOD
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE)
BASEMENT
BREAKAWAY WALL
CUMULATIVE SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
DEVELOPMENT
ELEVATED BUILDING
EROSION
EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS)
FLOOD or FLOODING
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS
FLOODPROOFING
FLOODWAY
FREEBOARD
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
LOWEST FLOOR
MANUFACTURED HOME
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK or MANUFACTURED HOME SUBDIVISION
NEW CONSTRUCTION
NEW MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
START OF CONSTRUCTION
STRUCTURE
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
(1)
(2)
VARIANCE
VIOLATION
Definitions. As used in this Part 2, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
Areas subject to inundation by one-percent-annual-chance
shallow flooding (usually areas of ponding) where average depths are
between one and three feet. Base flood elevations (BFEs) derived from
detailed hydraulic analyses are shown in this zone.
Areas subject to inundation by one-percent-annual-chance
shallow flooding (usually sheet flow on sloping terrain) where average
depths are between one and three feet.
A request for a review of the Construction Official's interpretation
of any provision of this Part 2 or a request for a variance.
A designated AO or AH zone on a community's Digital Flood
Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) with a one-percent-annual or greater chance
of flooding to an average depth of one to three feet where a clearly
defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable
and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized
by ponding or sheet flow.
Land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one-percent
or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the
FIRM as Zone V, VE, V1-30, A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, or AH.
A flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year.
The flood elevation shown on a published Flood Insurance
Study (FIS) including the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). For zones
AE, AH, AO, and A1-30, the elevation represents the water surface
elevation resulting from a flood that has a one-percent or greater
chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
A wall that is not part of the structural support of the
building and is intended through its design and construction to collapse
under specific lateral loading forces without causing damage to the
elevated portion of the building or supporting foundation system.
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement
of a structure that equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the
structure at the time of the improvement or repair when counted cumulatively
for 10 years.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining,
dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations,
or storage of equipment or materials located within the area of special
flood hazard.
A non-basement building built, in the case of a building
in an area of special flood hazard, to have the top of the elevated
floor elevated above the base flood elevation plus freeboard by means
of piling, columns (posts and piers), or shear walls parallel to the
flow of the water; and adequately anchored so as not to impair the
structural integrity of the building during a flood up to the magnitude
of the base flood. In an area of special flood hazard, "elevated building"
also includes a building elevated by means of fill or solid foundation
perimeter walls with openings sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded
movement of floodwaters.
The process of gradual wearing away of land masses.
A manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction
of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities,
the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the
pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of
the floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk
premium zones applicable to the community.
The official report in which the Federal Insurance Administration
has provided flood profiles, as well as the Flood Insurance Rate Map(s)
and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
Zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes,
health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as a floodplain
ordinance, grading ordinance and erosion control ordinance) and other
applications of police power. The term describes such state or local
regulations, in any combination thereof, which provide standards for
the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.
Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions,
changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood
damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary
facilities, structures and their contents.
The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent
land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood
without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than
0.2 foot.
A factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood
level for purposes of floodplain management. Freeboard tends to compensate
for the many unknown factors that could contribute to flood heights
greater than the height calculated for a selected size flood and floodway
conditions, such as wave action, bridge openings, and the hydrological
effect of urbanization of the watershed.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed or existing walls of a structure.
Any structure that is:
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places
(a listing maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily
determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements
for individual listing on the National Register;
Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the
Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered
historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary
to qualify as a registered historic district;
Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places
in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved
by the Secretary of the Interior; or
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified either:
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).
An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure usable solely for the parking
of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other than a basement
is not considered a building's lowest floor, provided that such enclosure
is not built so to render the structure in violation of other applicable
nonelevation design requirements of 44 CFR 60.3.
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without
a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities. The
term "manufactured home" does not include a recreational vehicle.
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of a floodplain regulation adopted
by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
A manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction
of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities,
the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the
pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date
of the floodplain management regulations adopted by the municipality.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the longest
horizontal projections;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; and
Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as
temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal
use.
For other than new construction or substantial improvements
under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. No. 97-348), includes
substantial improvements and means the date the building permit was
issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction,
rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was within
180 days of the permit date. The "actual start" means either the first
placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such
as the pouring of a slab or footings, the installation of pilings,
the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation,
or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent
construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing,
grading and filling, nor does it include the installation of streets
and/or walkways, nor does it include excavation for a basement, footings
or piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms, nor does
it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings,
such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part
of the main structure. For a substantial improvement, the "actual
start of construction" means the first alteration of any wall, ceiling,
floor, or other structural part of a building, whether or not that
alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.
A walled and roofed building, a manufactured home, or a gas
or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred. "Substantial damage" also means flood-related damages
sustained by a structure on two or more separate occasions during
a ten-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each
such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds 25% of the market
value of the structure before the damages occurred.
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement
of a structure during a ten-year period, the cost of which equals
or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the start
of construction of the improvement. "Substantial improvement" also
means cumulative substantial improvement. This term includes structures
which have incurred substantial damage, regardless of the actual repair
work performed or repetitive loss. The term does not, however, include
either:
Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing
violations of state or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications
which have been identified by the local code enforcement officer and
which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions;
or
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration
will not preclude the structure's continued designation as an historic
structure.
A grant of relief from the requirements of this Part 2 that
permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited
by this Part 2.
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with this Part 2. A new or substantially improved structure
or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications,
or other evidence of compliance required in 44 CFR 60.3(b)(5), (c)(4),
(c)(10), (e)(2), (e)(4), or (e)(5) is presumed to be in violation
until such time as that documentation is provided.
