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
governing body of the Borough of Mendham, 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:
A. To protect human life and health;
B. To minimize expenditure of public money for costly
flood control projects;
C. To minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts
associated with flooding and generally undertaken at the expense of
the general public;
D. To minimize prolonged business interruptions;
E. To 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. To help maintain a stable tax base by providing for
the second use and development of areas of special flood hazard so
as to minimize future flood blight areas;
G. To ensure that potential buyers are notified that
property is in an area of special flood hazard; and
H. To 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 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.