Town of Ellicott, NY Floodplain

The boundary lines for the Floodway, Floodway Fringe and Flood Hazard Area District as shown on the Official Ellicott Zoning District Map. The boundaries for the Flood Hazard Area District originate from the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) Flood Hazard Boundary Maps which are distributed to the Town. The boundaries for the Floodway/Floodway Fringe originate in the study "Floodplain Information, Chadakoin River," prepared by the United States Corps. of Engineers, October 1970.

It has also been determined that with the operation of Warner Dam in accordance with a water level program that would identify a Chautauqua Lake summer elevation at an acceptable maximum of 1,308.25 feet above mean sea level that the onset of flood damage would be at an elevation of 1,309 feet above mean sea level and that the one-hundred-year flood level would place the lake elevation at 1,310.6 feet above mean sea level.

§ 146-52 Map amendments.

It should be noted that the Flood Hazard Area Maps may not include all special flood hazard areas within the Town and may be updated periodically by the Federal Insurance Administration. These further modifications (including expansion of the Floodway/Floodway Fringe designations) will meet amendment procedures as set forth in § 146-78. It should also be pointed out that an appeals procedure is available also within the 1969 Federal Flood Insurance Law, as amended.

§ 146-53 Indemnification.

The grant of a permit or approval of a subdivision plan in any floodplain district shall not constitute a representation, guarantee, or warranty of any kind by the municipality, or by any official or employee thereof of the practicability or safety of the proposed use, and shall create no liability upon the municipality, its officials or employees.

§ 146-54 Building permits system in flood hazard areas.

It shall be required that all new construction, substantial improvements, subdivision proposals, new developments and new or replacement water supply/sanitary sewage systems will come under the following permit system if it falls within the Flood Hazard Area District:

The Building Inspector shall review all building permit applications for new construction or substantial improvements to determine whether proposed building sites will be reasonably safe from flooding. If a proposed building site is in a location that has a flood hazard, any proposed new construction or substantial improvement, including prefabricated and mobile homes, must be designed or modified and anchored to prevent flotation, collapse or lateral movement of the structure, use construction materials and utility equipment that are resistant to flood damage and use construction methods and practices that will minimize flood damage; and

The Building Inspector shall review subdivision proposals and other proposed new developments to assure that all such proposals are consistent with the need to minimize flood damage, all public utilities and facilities, such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems are located, elevated and constructed to minimize or eliminate flood damage, and adequate drainage is provided so as to reduce exposure to flood hazards; and

The Building Inspector shall require new or replacement water supply systems and/or sanitary sewage systems to be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of floodwaters into the systems and discharges from the systems into floodwaters, and require on-site waste disposal systems to be located so as to avoid impairment of them or contamination from them during flooding.

§ 146-55 Delineation of one-hundred-year flood level.

When the Federal Insurance Administration provides the water surface elevations for the one-hundred-year flood but has not provided data sufficient to identify the Floodway/Floodway Fringe Districts, then the Town must: meet the requirements of § 146-54.

Additionally, the Building Inspector will ensure that:

(1)

New construction or substantial improvements of residential structures within the Flood Hazard Area District will have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated to or above the level of the one-hundred-year flood;

(2)

New construction or substantial improvements of nonresidential structures within the Flood Hazard Area District will have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated to or above the level of the one-hundred-year flood or, together with attendant utility and sanitary facilities, will be floodproofed up to the level of the one-hundred-year flood; and

(3)

In riverine situations, provide that until a floodway has been designated, no use including a landfill may be permitted within the floodplain area having special flood hazards unless the applicant for the land use has demonstrated that the proposed use, when combined with all other existing and anticipated uses, will not increase the water surface elevation of the one-hundred-year flood more than one foot at any point.

§ 146-56 Building permit system in floodway.

The Building Inspector shall meet all requirements as set forth in § 146-55A and B(1) and (2).

The Building Inspector shall ensure that existing nonconforming uses in the Floodway District shall not be expanded, but may be modified, altered or repaired to incorporate floodproofing measures, provided that such measures do not raise the level of the one-hundred-year flood.

The Building Inspector shall prohibit fill or encroachments within the designated floodway that would impair its ability to carry and discharge the waters resulting from the one-hundred-year flood, except where the effects on flood heights is fully offset by stream improvements.

The Building Inspector shall ensure that all permitted structures shall have a low flood damage potential; shall be constructed and placed on the building site so as to offer the minimum obstruction to the flow of floodwaters (i.e., longitudinal axis parallel to the direction of flood flow, and placement approximately on the same flood flow lines as those of adjoining structures); and shall be firmly anchored to prevent flotation which may result in damage to other structures; restrictions of bridge openings and other narrowing of the stream or river; and service facilities such as electrical and heating equipment shall be constructed at or above the flood protection elevation for the particular area or shall be floodproofed.

§ 146-57 Permitted uses in floodway.

The following uses shall be permitted within the designated floodway: general farming, including but not limited to animal husbandry practices (e.g., the breeding and raising of cattle, sheep, pigs, etc.); the sale of agricultural products grown on the premises; open recreational uses (e.g., parks, playgrounds, golf courses, etc.) but not intensive commercial recreational uses (e.g., race tracks, amusement parks, campgrounds, etc.); wildlife, game and forest preserves; off-street parking area; lawns, gardens and play areas; open space preservation for historic, scientific and scenic sites.

§ 146-58 Prohibited uses in floodway.

No structure (temporary or permanent), fill for any purpose, deposit, obstruction, storage of materials or equipment or other uses shall be permitted which, acting alone or in combination with existing or future uses, will unduly affect the efficiency or the capacity of the floodway or unduly increase flood heights, cause increased velocities, or obstruct or otherwise catch or collect debris which will obstruct flow under flood conditions.

No structure for human habitation will be allowed to be constructed within the Floodway District. Any items that are buoyant, flammable, explosive or could be injurious to human, animal or plant life in times of flooding are also prohibited.

§ 146-59 Chautauqua Lake Shore regulation.

These regulations apply only to the flood hazard area which lies west of the intersection of Chautauqua Lake and the City of Jamestown and along the shore line of Chautauqua Lake as indicated on the official maps. These regulations are in addition to those contained in § 146-54.

Front yard requirements. No building or accessory structure, including ground level courts or pools or similar constructed facilities, shall be built within 50 feet of the shores of Chautauqua Lake.

Elevation requirements. No living or storage space may be constructed below an elevation of 1,311.6 feet above mean sea level. No life support system (heating, cooling, electric service, general air conditioning or similar facilities) may be constructed below an elevation of 1,311.6 feet above mean sea level except County Health Department approved water supply and sewage systems. Structures may be placed where ground elevation is below 1,311.6 feet above mean sea level, but design of structures must meet elevations noted.

Requirements concerning replacement of damaged or destroyed existing structures. The above-noted yard requirements may be waived to replace an existing structure lost or damaged by fire or natural disaster. However, the replacement structure may not be placed any closer to the lakeshore than it was previously located. In the rebuilding of the structure, all elevation requirements noted above must be adhered to.

§ 146-60 Permitted uses in floodway fringe.

The following uses shall be permitted within the floodway fringe: any use, purpose or activity of a building, dwelling unit, structure, lot, land or part thereof pertaining to any residential uses (e.g. single-family dwellings, multiple-family dwellings, mobile homes, etc.); any business, commercial or industrial uses (e.g., retail stores, banks, restaurants, machine shops, etc.); any agricultural or open spaces use (e.g., crop farming, golf course, playground, etc.); or any other use (e.g., municipal buildings, schools, libraries, etc.); except as limited by other articles of this chapter.

§ 146-61 Dimensional requirements in floodway fringe.

The following use requirements shall be sufficient so as to compensate for a flood measuring one foot above the one-hundred-year flood level for a given area:

The minimum horizontal setback for all structures shall be 75 feet from the toe of the slope of any watercourse. The minimum setback for all structures shall be 50 feet measured back from the road right-of-way line.

Where public sewerage is not available and sewage disposal is needed, no lot shall be built upon which has insufficient space for a private sanitary waste disposal system, as determined by the New York State Department of Health and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation or their agents.

§ 146-62 Building permit system in floodway fringe.

The Building Inspector shall meet the requirements as set forth in § 146-56.