[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Fairfax 6-9-2009.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction — See Ch. 92.
Storm drainage utility — See Ch. 197.
Water and sewers — See Ch. 253.
Zoning — See Ch. 260.
[1]
Editor's Note: This chapter was originally adopted as
Ch. 37 but was renumbered to maintain the organizational structure
of the Code.
A.
No person shall erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, improve,
move, or demolish any building or structure without first obtaining
a separate permit for each building or structure from the designated
responsible person.
B.
No man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including
but not limited to buildings or other structures, fences, mining,
dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations,
shall be commenced until a separate permit has been obtained from
the designated responsible person for each change.
C.
No manufactured home shall be placed on improved or unimproved real
estate without first obtaining a separate permit for each mobile home
from the designated responsible person.
To obtain a permit, the applicant shall first file a permit
application on a form furnished for that purpose. The form must be
completed and submitted to the designated responsible person with
a fee of $50 before the issuance of a permit will be considered.
A.
The Building Inspector, hereinafter referred to as the "responsible
person," is appointed as the "person" responsible for receiving applications
and examining the plans and specifications for the proposed construction
or development.
B.
After reviewing the application, the responsible person may require
any additional measures which are necessary to meet the minimum requirements
of this chapter.
C.
The responsible person shall review proposed development to assure
that all necessary permits have been received from those governmental
agencies from which approval is required by federal or state law,
including Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments
of 1972, 33 U.S.C. 1334.
The responsible person shall review all permit applications
to determine whether proposed building sites will be reasonably safe
from flooding. If a proposed building site is in a flood-prone area,
all new construction and substantial improvements, including the placement
of manufactured homes, shall be:
A.
Designed (or modified) and adequately anchored to prevent floatation,
collapse, or lateral movement of the structure resulting from hydrodynamic
and hydrostatic loads, including the effects of buoyancy;
B.
Constructed with materials and utility equipment resistant to flood
damage;
C.
Constructed by methods and practices that minimize flood damage;
and
D.
Constructed with electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, and
air-conditioning equipment and other service facilities that are designed
and/or located so as to prevent water from entering or accumulating
within the components during conditions of flooding.
The responsible person shall review subdivision proposals and
other proposed new development to determine whether such proposals
will be reasonably safe from flooding. If a subdivision proposal or
other proposed new development is in a flood-prone area, any such
proposal shall be reviewed to assure that:
A.
All such proposals are consistent with the need to minimize flood
damage within the flood-prone area;
B.
All public utilities and facilities, such as sewer, gas, electrical,
and water systems, are located and constructed to minimize or eliminate
flood damage; and
C.
Adequate drainage is provided to reduce exposure of flood hazard.
The responsible person shall require, within flood-prone areas,
new and replacement water supply systems to be designed to minimize
or eliminate infiltration of floodwaters into the systems.
The responsible person shall require within flood-prone areas:
A.
New and replacement sanitary sewage systems to be designed to minimize
or eliminate infiltration of floodwaters into the systems and discharges
from the systems into floodwaters; and
B.
On-site waste disposal systems to be located to avoid impairment
to them or contamination from them during flooding.
The City of Fairfax shall not approve any development located
in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) outside the corporate limits
unless such development or plat is in the accordance with the following:
A.
A floodplain ordinance legally adopted by the City of Fairfax that
meets the minimum federal (44 CFR 60.3), state (Minnesota Regulation
Parts 6120.5000 through 6120.6200), and local requirements for development
within a Special Flood Hazard Area.
B.
The SFHA's of those parts of unincorporated Renville County
that are within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Fairfax
or that may be annexed into the City of Fairfax are generally identified
as such on the Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) or the Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) [or the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)].
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
- DEVELOPMENT
- Any man-made change to real estate, including but not limited to construction or reconstruction of buildings, installing manufactured homes or travel trailers, installing utilities, construction of roads or bridges, erection of levees, walls, or fences, drilling, mining, filling, dredging, and storage of materials.
- FLOOD
- A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from overflow of inland or tidal waves, or the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
- FLOODPLAIN or FLOOD-PRONE AREA
- (see "flood"). Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source.
- MANUFACTURED HOME
- A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designated for use with or without a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities.
- NEW CONSTRUCTION
- For the purposes of determining insurance rates, structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of an initial FIRM or after December 31, 1974, whichever is later, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures. For floodplain management purposes, "new construction" means structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
- PERSON
- Includes any individuals, corporation, partnership, association, or any other entity, including state and local governments and agencies.
- SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA
- The land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one-percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. The area may be designated as "Zone A" on the FHBM. After detailed ratemaking has been completed in preparation for publication of the Flood Insurance Rate Map, Zone A usually is refined into Zones A, AO, AH, Al-30, AE, A99, AR, AR/A1-30, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/AH, AR/A, VO, or V1-30, VE, or V. For purposes of these regulations, the term "special flood hazard area" is synonymous in meaning with the phrase "area of special flood hazard."
- STRUCTURE
- For floodplain management purposes, a walled and roofed building, including gas or liquid storage tanks, that is principally aboveground. The term includes recreational vehicles and travel trailers on site for more than 180 days.
- SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
- Any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure either a) before the improvement or repair is started, or b) if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. For the purposes of this definition, "substantial improvement" is considered to occur when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure regardless of the actual work preformed. The term does not, however, include either 1) any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions or 2) any alteration of a "historic structure," provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a "historic structure."
Any person who violates this chapter shall, upon conviction
thereof be fined not less than $25 nor more than $200. A separate
offense shall be deemed committed upon each day during or on which
a violation occurs or continues.
The provisions and sections of this chapter shall be deemed
separable, and the invalidity of any portion of this chapter shall
not affect the validity of the remainder.
This chapter shall be in full force and effect from and after
its passage and approval and publication, as required by law.
