Construction Official. The Construction Official shall be appointed
to administer and implement this chapter by granting or denying development
permit applications in accordance with its provisions.
The duties of the Construction Official shall include, but not
be limited to:
A. Permit review. The Construction Official shall:
(1) Review all development permits to determine that the permit requirements
of this chapter have been satisfied.
(2) Review all development permits to require 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
adversely affects the flood-carrying capacity of the area of special
flood hazard. For the purposes of this chapter, "adversely affects"
shall mean damage to adjacent properties because of increase in flood
levels attributed to physical changes to the channel and the area
of special flood hazard.
(a)
If it is determined that there is no adverse effect and the
development is not a building, then the permit shall be granted without
further consideration.
(b)
If it is determined that there is an adverse effect, then technical
justification, i.e., a registered professional engineer, for the proposed
development shall be required.
(c)
If the proposed development is a building, then the provisions
of this chapter shall apply.
B. Use of other base flood data. The Construction Official shall obtain,
review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation data available
from a federal, state or other source, in order to assure that:
(1) All new construction and substantial improvements of residential
structures have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated to
or above the base flood level.
(2) All new construction and substantial improvements of nonresidential
structures have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated or
floodproofed to or above the base flood level.
(3) If it is determined by the Construction Code Official that there
is an adverse effect, then technical justification (i.e., registered
professional engineer) for the proposed development may be required.
C. The Construction Official shall:
(1) Verify 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.
(2) For all new or substantially improved floodproofed structures:
(a)
Verify and record the actual elevation, in relation to mean
sea level.
(b)
Maintain the floodproofing certifications required.
(3) Maintain for public inspection all records pertaining to the provisions
of this chapter.
The Construction Official shall:
A. Notify adjacent communities and the state coordinating agency prior
to any alteration or relocation of a watercourse and submit evidence
of such notification to the Federal Insurance Administration.
B. Require that maintenance is provided within the altered or relocated
portion of such watercourse so that the flood-carrying capacity is
not diminished.
The Construction Official also shall make interpretations where
needed as to the exact location of the boundaries of the areas of
special flood hazards, for example, where there appears to be a conflict
between a mapped boundary and actual field conditions.