[Ord. No. 913, 8/11/2008, § 1.00, as amended by Ord. No.
999, 9/16/2019]
1.
The intent of this chapter is to:
A.
Promote the general health, welfare, and safety of the community.
B.
Encourage the utilization of appropriate construction practices in
order to prevent or minimize flood damage in the future.
C.
Minimize danger to public health by protecting water supply and natural
drainage.
D.
Reduce financial burdens imposed on the community, its governmental
units, and its residents, by preventing excessive development in areas
subject to flooding.
E.
Comply with federal and state floodplain management requirements.
[Ord. No. 913, 8/11/2008, § 1.01, as amended by Ord. No.
999, 9/16/2019]
It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, business or
corporation to undertake, or cause to be undertaken, any construction
or development anywhere within the Bloomsburg identified, floodplain
area prior to obtaining a floodplain development permit from the Town
of Bloomsburg.
[Ord. No. 913, 8/11/2008, § 1.02, as amended by Ord. No.
999, 9/16/2019]
This chapter supersedes any other conflicting provisions which
may be in effect in Bloomsburg identified floodplain areas. However,
any other ordinance provisions shall remain in full force and effect
to the extent that those provisions are more restrictive. If there
is any conflict between any of the provisions of this chapter, the
more restrictive shall apply.
[Ord. No. 913, 8/11/2008, § 1.03, as amended by Ord. No.
999, 9/16/2019]
If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, or
phrase of this chapter shall be declared invalid for any reason whatsoever,
such a decision shall not affect the remaining portions of the Ordinance,
which shall remain in full force and effect, and for this purpose
the provisions of this chapter are hereby declared to be severable.
[Ord. No. 913, 8/11/2008, § 1.04, as amended by Ord. No.
999, 9/16/2019]
1.
The degree of flood protection sought by the provisions of this chapter
is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on acceptable
engineering methods of study. Larger floods may occur; flood heights
may be increased by man-made or natural causes, such as ice jams,
and bridge openings may be restricted by debris. This chapter does
not imply that areas outside of the Bloomsburg identified floodplain
area, or that land uses permitted within such areas, will be free
from flooding or flood damages.
2.
This chapter shall not create liability on the part of the Town of
Bloomsburg or any officer or employee thereof for any flood damages
that result from reliance on this chapter or any administrative decision
lawfully made thereunder.
[Ord. No. 913, 8/11/2008, § 1.05, as amended by Ord. No.
999, 9/16/2019]
This chapter supersedes any ordinance in effect for the management
of development in flood hazard areas. However, it is not intended
to repeal or abrogate any existing ordinances, including but not limited
to land development regulations, zoning ordinances, stormwater management
regulations, or the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act and subsequent
regulations (UCC) and/or ASCE 24, as required.
[Ord. No. 913, 8/11/2008, § 8.00, as amended by Ord. No.
999, 9/16/2019]
Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in
this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give this chapter its most
reasonable application.
[Ord. No. 913, 8/11/2008, § 8.01, as amended by Ord. No.
999, 9/16/2019]
A use or structure on the same lot with, and of a nature
customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal use or structure.
American Society of Civil Engineers.
A flood which has a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year (also called the "100-year flood" or one-percent-annual-chance
flood).
The level of inundation resulting from a flood that has a
one-percent or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded in any
given year (base flood).
Any area of the building having its floor below ground level
on all sides.
The floodplain area specifically identified in this chapter
as being inundated by the one-percent flood. the identified floodplain
area shall be any area of the Town of Bloomsburg subject to the one-percent
flood, which is identified as Zone AE (Area of Special Flood Hazard)
within the most restrictive of the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) dated
August 19, 2008, and "The Flood Recovery Report: Tropical Storm Lee
- Wyorning Valley," Dated June 2013.
A combination of materials to form a permanent structure
having walls and a roof. Included shall be all manufactured homes
and trailers to be used for human habitation.
A structure with two or more outside rigid walls and a fully
secured roof, that is affixed to a permanent site; or
A manufactured home (a "manufactured home," also known as a
"mobile home," is a structure built on a permanent chassis, transported
to its site in one or more sections and affixed to a permanent foundation);
or
A travel trailer without wheels built on a chassis and affixed
to a permanent foundation, that is regulated under the community's
floodplain management and building ordinances or laws. "Building"
does not mean a gas or liquid storage tank or a recreational vehicle,
park trailer or other similar vehicle, except as described above.
A structure composed of vertical columns having no more than
two walls and having a roof constructed, or placed, for the purposes
storing a vehicle.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate
including, but not limited to, the placement, construction, reconstruction,
renovation, repair, expansion, or alteration of buildings or other
structures; the placement of manufactured homes, streets and other
paving, utilities, filling, grading, excavation, mining, dredging,
drilling operations, storage of equipment or materials; and the subdivision
of land.
A form used to provide elevation information necessary to
ensure compliance with community floodplain management ordinances;
to determine the proper insurance premium rate; and/or support a request
for a letter of map amendment (LOMA) to remove a building from the
special flood hazard area. The document can be found by searching:
FEMA media library asset documents elevation certificate.
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.
An extension or increase in floor area or height of a building
or structure.
The preparation of additional sites by the construction of
facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction
of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete
pads).
The value a willing buyer would have paid and a willing seller
would have sold a property for. For the purposes of these regulations,
the fair market value shall be determined by acquiring the assessed
value of a structure multiplied by the current year's multiplier as
designated by the Columbia County Assessor's office. A certified appraisal
provided by a licensed real estate appraiser may be considered in
making a determination.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, United States Department
of Homeland Security.
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
The official map on which the Federal Emergency Management
Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and
the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
The official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map,
the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation
of the base flood.
The Town Manager is the Town of Bloomsburg's designee to administer and enforce the floodplain regulations. The floodplain administrator may delegate the duties of the floodplain administrator; see § 8-211.
A relatively flat or low land area which is subject to partial
or complete inundation from an adjoining or nearby stream, river or
watercourse and/or any area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation
of surface waters from any source.
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
one foot.
An additional amount of height above the base flood elevation
used as a factor of safety (the Town of Bloomsburg uses 1.5 feet above
the base flood elevation) in determining the level at which a structure's
lowest floor must be elevated or floodproofed to be in accordance
with state or community floodplain management regulations.
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
of the Interior 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 Interior; or
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified either:
New construction, addition to, alteration of (also known
as remodeling and/or renovating), and repair of buildings and structures.
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including a basement). An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage, an area other than a basement area is not considered a building's lowest floor, provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of requirements (see table in § 8-802).
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis, and designed for use with or without
a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities. The
term includes mobile homes, park trailers, travel trailers, recreational
and other similar vehicles which are placed on a site for more than
180 consecutive days. Housing which bears a label, as required by
and referred to in the act of November 17, 1982 (P.L. 676, No. 192),
known as the "Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards
Authorization Act,"[1] certifying that it conforms to federal construction and
safety standards adopted under the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-383, 88 Stat. 633).
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land under single ownership,
which has been planned and improved for the placement of two or more
manufactured home lots for rent or sale (non-transient use). Non-transient
to be a period of time greater than 30 consecutive days.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective start date of this floodplain management
ordinance and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
Any construction started after May 1, 1980, and before the effective
start date of this floodplain management ordinance is subject to the
ordinance in effect at the time the permit was issued, provided the
start of construction was within 180 days of permit issuance.
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 floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
National Flood Insurance Program.
A commercial or mixed-use building where the primary use
is commercial or nonhabitational.
Development of land which does not include the placement
of a building and/or structure. Some examples include: site work;
fill placement; carports; pools; gazebos; fences; storage of firewood;
and other similar items and uses.
A flood event having a one-percent chance of being equaled
or exceeded in any given year identified by referencing the most restrictive
of the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) dated August 19, 2008, and "The
Flood Recovery Report: Tropical Storm Lee - Wyorning Valley," dated
June 2013, and adopted by the Town of Bloomsburg (also referred to
as the "base flood" and the "100-year flood).
An individual, partnership, public or private association
or corporation, firm, trust, estate, municipality, governmental unit,
public utility, or any other legal entity whatsoever, which is recognized
by law as the subject of rights and duties.
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement
occurred on or after the adoption of the community's initial Flood
Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) dated May 1, 1980, and, as such, would be
required to be compliant with the regulations of the National Flood
Insurance Program.
A structure for which construction or substantial iprovement
occurred before the community's initial Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)
dated May 1, 1980, as such, may not have been compliant with the regulations
of the National Flood Insurance Program.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis.
Not more than 400 square feet measured at the largest horizontal
projections.
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck.
Not designed for use as a permanent dwelling, but as temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
This term shall include "job trailers" which are placed on site for
the purposes of office space, meeting space and tool storage for the
purposes of construction and/or development.
The base flood elevation (BFE) or estimated flood height
as determined using simplified methods plus a freeboard safety factor
of 1 1/2 feet. The freeboard safety factor also applies to utilities
and ductwork.
The replacement of existing work with equivalent materials
for the purpose of its routine maintenance and upkeep, but not including
the cutting away of any wall, partition or portion thereof, the removal
or cutting of any structural beam or bearing support, or the removal
or change of any required means of egress, or rearrangement of parts
of a structure affecting the exit way egress requirements; nor shall
repairs include addition to, alteration of, replacement or relocation
of any standpipe, water supply, sewer, drainage, drain leader, gas,
oil, waste, vent, or similar piping, electric wiring, or mechanical
or other work affecting public health or general safety.
A noncommercial building designed for habitation by one or
more families or a mixed-use building that qualifies as a single-family,
two- to four-family, or other residential building.
An area in the floodplain subject to a one-percent or greater
chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the FIRM as Zone
A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, or, AH.
A special approval which is required for hospitals, nursing
homes, jails, and new manufactured home parks and subdivisions and
substantial improvements to such existing parks, when such development
is located in all or a designated portion of a floodplain.
Includes substantial improvement and other proposed new development
and means the date the permit was issued, provided the actual start
of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition,
placement, or other improvement was within 180 days after the date
the permit was issued and shall be completed within 12 months after
the date of issuance of the permit unless a time extension is granted,
in writing, by the floodplain administrator. The "actual start" means
either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure
on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation
of piles, 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 walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement,
footings, 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.
Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires
a permanent location on the land or that is attached to something
having a permanent location on the land. However, for the purposes
of the airport zoning provisions of this chapter, structures shall
be interpreted to include mobile as well as immobile objects, including
buildings, towers, cranes, smokestacks, earth formations and overhead
transmission lines. For floodplain management purposes, a structure
is also considered a walled and roofed building, including a gas or
liquid storage tank that is principally above ground, as well as a
manufactured home.
Damage from any cause sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% or more of the market value of the structure before
the damage occurred.
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement
of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market
value of the structure, within any twelve-month period, before the
start of construction of the improvement. This term includes the repair
of structures which have incurred substantial damage. The term does
not, however, include 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 official and which are the minimum necessary to assure
safe living conditions.
Historic structures undergoing repair or rehabilitation that
would constitute a substantial improvement, as defined in this Part,
must comply with all ordinance requirements that do not preclude the
structure's continued designation as a historic structure. Documentation
that a specific ordinance requirement will cause removal of the structure
from the National Register of Historic Places or the State Inventory
of Historic Places must be obtained from the Secretary of the Interior
or the State Historic Preservation Officer. Any exemption from ordinance
requirements will be the minimum necessary to preserve the historic
character and design of the structure.
A use or activity that occurs for a period of time which
is less than 30 days.
The statewide building code adopted by the Pennsylvania General
Assembly in 1999, and subsequent regulations, applicable to new construction,
alterations and repairs in all municipalities, whether administered
by the municipality, a third party, or the Department of Labor and
Industry, and is applicable to residential and commercial buildings.
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations.
A structure or other development without the elevation certificate,
other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required by
the community's floodplain management ordinance is presumed to be
in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
Only the channel and banks of an identifiable watercourse,
and not the adjoining floodplain areas. The flood-carrying capacity
of a watercourse refers to the flood-carrying capacity of the channel
(except in the case of alluvial fans, where a channel is not typically
defined).
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 1656.1 et seq.
