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 the public health, safety and general welfare of its citizenry.
Therefore, the Township Committee of the Township of Washington, Morris County,
New Jersey, does ordain as follows.
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:
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 and 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.
H. Ensure that those who occupy the areas of special flood
hazard assume responsibility for their actions.
In order to accomplish its purposes, this chapter includes methods and
provisions for:
A. Restricting or prohibiting uses which are dangerous to
health, safety and property due to water or erosion 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.
E. Preventing or regulating the construction of flood barriers
which will unnaturally divert floodwaters or which may increase flood hazards
in other areas.
This chapter shall apply to all areas of special flood hazard within
the jurisdiction of the Township of Washington, County of Morris, State of
New Jersey.
The areas of special flood hazard identified by the Federal Insurance
Administration in a scientific and engineering report entitled the Flood Insurance
Study for the Township of Washington, dated September 15, 1983, with accompanying
Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Flood Boundary/Floodway Maps and any revisions
thereto, is hereby adopted by reference and declared to be a part of this
chapter. The Flood Insurance Study is on file at the Washington Township Clerk's
office, Washington Township Municipal Building, 43 Schooley's Mountain Road,
Long Valley, New Jersey.
[Amended 4-16-2007 by Ord. No. 9-07]
No structure or land shall hereafter be constructed, located, extended, converted or altered without full compliance with the terms of this chapter and other applicable regulations. Violation of the provisions of this chapter by failure to comply with any of its requirements (including violations of conditions and safeguards established in connection with conditions) shall constitute a misdemeanor. Any person who violates this chapter or fails to comply with any of its requirements shall be subject, upon conviction, to the penalties provided in §
1-3 of this Code. Nothing herein contained shall prevent the Township Committee of the Township of Washington from taking such other lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violation.
This chapter is not intended to repeal, abrogate or impair any existing
easements, covenants or deed restrictions. However, where this chapter and
any other ordinance, easement, covenant or deed restriction conflict or overlap,
whichever imposes the more stringent restrictions shall prevail.
In the interpretation and application of this chapter, all provisions
shall be:
A. Considered as minimum requirement.
B. Liberally construed in favor of the governing body.
C. Deemed neither to limit nor repeal any other powers granted
under state statutes.
The degree of flood protection required by this chapter is considered
reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on scientific and engineering
consideration larger floods can and will occur on rare occasions. Flood heights
may be increased by man-made or natural causes. This chapter does not imply
that land outside the areas of special flood hazard or uses permitted within
such areas will be free from flooding or flood damages. This chapter shall
not create liability on the part of the Township of Washington, any officer
or employee thereof or the Federal Insurance Administration for any flood
damages that result from reliance on this chapter or any administrative decision
lawfully made thereunder.
A development permit shall be obtained before construction or development begins within any area of special flood hazard established in §
92-7. Application for a development permit shall be made on forms furnished by the Planning Board 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 and 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 §
92-17B(2).
D. Description of the extent to which any watercourse will
be altered or relocated as a result of proposed development.
The Planning Board is hereby appointed to administer and implement this
chapter by granting or denying development permit applications in accordance
with its provisions.
Duties of the Planning Board shall include, but not be limited to:
A. Permit review.
(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.
(3) Review all development permits to determine if the proposed development is located in the floodway. If located in the floodway, assure that the encroachment provisions of §
92-18A are met.
B. Use of other base flood data. When base flood elevation and floodway data have not been provided in accordance with §
92-7, Basis for Establishing the Areas of Special Flood Hazard, the Planning Board shall obtain, review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation and floodway data available from a federal, state or other source in order to administer §
92-17B(1), Residential Construction, and §
92-17B(2), Nonresidential Construction.
[Amended 4-20-1987 by Ord.
No. 8-87]
C. Information to be obtained and maintained.
(1) Obtain and record the actual elevation (in relation to
mean sea level) of the lowest habitable floor (including basement) of all
new or substantially improved structures, and whether or not the structure
contains a basement.
(2) For all new substantially improved floodproofed structures:
(a) Verify and record the actual elevation (in relation to
mean sea level).
(b) Maintain the floodproofing certifications required in §
92-12C.
(3) Maintain for public inspection all records pertaining
to the provisions of this chapter.
D. Alteration of watercourses.
(1) Notify adjacent communities and the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection, Division of Water Resources, prior to any alteration
or relocation of a watercourse and submit evidence of such notification to
the Federal Insurance Administration.
(2) Require that maintenance is provided within the altered
or relocated portion of said watercourse so that the flood-carrying capacity
is not diminished.
E. Interpretation of FIRM Boundaries. Make interpretations, where needed, as to the exact location of the boundaries of the areas of special flood hazard (for example, where there appears to be a conflict between a mapped boundary and actual field conditions). The person contesting the location of the boundary shall be given a reasonable opportunity to appeal the interpretation as provided in §§
92-15 and
92-16.
Located within the areas of special flood hazard established in §
92-7 are areas designated as floodways. Since the floodway is an extremely hazardous area due to the velocity of floodwaters which carry debris, potential projectiles and erosion potential, the following provisions apply:
A. Prohibition of encroachments, including fill, new construction,
substantial improvements and other development, unless a technical evaluation
demonstrates that encroachments shall not result in any increase in flood
levels during the occurrence of the base flood discharge.
B. If Subchapter A is satisfied, all new construction and substantial improvement shall comply with all applicable flood hazard reduction provisions of §
92-17, Provisions for Flood Hazard Reduction.
C. Prohibition of the placement of any mobile homes, except
in an existing mobile home park or existing mobile home subdivision.
D. In all areas of special flood hazard in which base flood
elevation data has been provided and no floodway has been designated, the
cumulative effect of any proposed development, when combined with all other
existing and anticipated development, shall not increase the water surface
elevation of the base flood more than 0.2 foot at any point.