[Added 5-9-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-4]
The purpose of this article is to ensure public safety, to minimize
hazards to persons and property from flooding, to protect watercourses
from encroachment, and to maintain the capability of floodplains to
retain and carry off floodwaters. The Town of Johnston elects to comply
with the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968
(P.L. 90-488, as amended) by adopting the within article pursuant
to R.I.G.L. § 45-24-27 et seq., the Rhode Island Zoning
Enabling Act of 1991.
Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in
this article pertaining to floodplain management have the same meaning
as they have in common usage and to give this article its most reasonable
application.
A structure which is on the same parcel of property as the
principal structure to be insured and the use of which is incidental
to the use of the principal structure.
A designated AO, AH, AR/AO, AR/AH, or VO Zone on a community's
Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with a one-percent or greater annual
chance of flooding to an average depth of one foot to three feet where
a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding
is unpredictable, and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding
is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.
See the definition for "special flood hazard area."
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year, also referred to as the one-hundred-year
flood, as published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
as part of a Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and depicted on a Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM).
The elevation of the crest of the base flood or one-hundred-year
flood. The height, as established in relation to the North American
Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 (or other datum where specified), in
relation to mean sea level expected to be reached by the waters of
the base flood at pertinent points in the floodplains of coastal and
riverine areas.
Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
See the definition for "structure."
As related to substantial improvements, the cost of any reconstruction,
rehabilitation, addition, alteration, repair or other improvement
of a structure shall be established by a detailed written contractor's
estimate. The estimate shall include, but not be limited to, the cost
of materials (interior finishing elements, structural elements, utility
and service equipment); sales tax on materials, building equipment
and fixtures, including heating and air conditioning and utility meters;
labor; built-in appliances; demolition and site preparation; repairs
made to damaged parts of the building worked on at the same time;
contractor's overhead; contractor's profit; and grand total. Items
to be excluded include cost of plans and specifications, survey costs,
permit fees, costs to correct code violations subsequent to a violation
notice, outside improvements such as septic systems, water supply
wells, landscaping, sidewalks, fences, yard lights, irrigation systems,
and detached structures such as garages, sheds, and gazebos.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to the construction of buildings or structures;
the construction of additions, alterations or substantial improvements
to buildings or structures; the placement of buildings or structures;
mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling
operations or storage of equipment; the storage, deposition, or extraction
of materials; and the installation, repair or removal of public or
private sewage disposal systems or water supply facilities.
A manufactured home park or manufactured home subdivision
for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on
which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including, as 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.
The preparation of additional sites by the construction of
facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufacturing 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 federal agency that administers the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP).
The official map of a community on which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) has delineated both the special flood hazard
areas (one-hundred-year floodplain) and the insurance risk premium
zones applicable to a community. FIRM published after January 1990
may also show the limits of the regulatory floodway.
The official study of a community in which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) has conducted a technical engineering evaluation
and determination of local flood hazards, flood profiles and water
surface elevations. The Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM), which accompany
the FIS, provide both flood insurance rate zones and base flood elevations
and may provide the regulatory floodway limits.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from either the overflow of
inland or tidal waters, or the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff
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. For the purposes of these regulations, the term "regulatory
floodway" is synonymous in meaning with the term "floodway."
A use or facility that cannot perform its intended purpose
unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The
term includes only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary
for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and shipbuilding
and ship repair facilities. The term does not include seafood processing
facilities, long-term storage, manufacturing, sales or service facilities.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
Any structure that is:
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places
(a listing maintained by the Department of the 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 historic significance of a registered
historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary
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 the Interior; or
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified either:
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without
a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities. The
term also includes park trailers, travel trailers, recreational vehicles
and other similar vehicles or transportable structures placed on a
site for 180 consecutive days or longer and intended to be improved
property.
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land divided into two or
more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
The price of a structure that a willing buyer and seller
agree upon. This can be determined by an independent appraisal by
a professional appraiser; the property's tax assessment, minus land
value; the replacement cost minus depreciation of the structure; the
structure's actual cash value.
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.
A manufactured home park or manufactured home 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 regulations adopted by the
community.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest
horizontal projection;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; and
Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as
a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or
seasonal use.
See the definition for "floodway."
See the definition for "area of shallow flooding."
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to
a one-percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. SFHAs
are determined utilizing the base flood elevations (BFE) provided
on the flood profiles in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) for a community.
BFEs provided on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) are only approximate
(rounded up or down) and should be verified with the BFEs published
in the FIS for a specific location. SFHAs include, but are not necessarily
limited to, the land shown as Zones A, A1-30, AE, AO, and AH on a
FIRM. The SFHA is also called the area of special flood hazard.
For other than new construction or substantial improvements
under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. 97-348),[1] includes substantial improvement and means the date the
building permit was issued, provided that the actual start of construction,
repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition placement, substantial
improvement or other improvement was within 180 days of the permit
date. "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/or 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, "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.
A walled and roofed building which is principally above the
ground, including a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank,
or other man-made facilities or infrastructures.
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure, whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its pre-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred.
Any combination of repairs, reconstruction, rehabilitation,
alterations, additions or other improvements to a structure, taking
place within any five-year period, in which the cumulative cost equals
or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure (R.I.G.L. § 23-27.3-106.1).
This term includes structures that have incurred substantial damage,
regardless of the actual repair work performed. For 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. The term does not, however,
include either:
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;
or
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration
will not preclude the structure's continued designation as an historic
structure.
A grant of relief by a community from the terms of the Floodplain
Management Ordinance that allows construction in a manner otherwise
prohibited and where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary
hardship.
Failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant
with the community's Floodplain Management Ordinance. A structure
or other development without required permits, lowest floor elevation
documentation, floodproofing certificates or required floodway encroachment
calculations is resumed to be in violation until such time as that
documentation is provided.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 16 U.S.C. § 3501 et seq.
A.
Special flood hazard areas. The special flood hazard areas are herein
established as a floodplain overlay district. The district includes
all special flood hazard areas within the Town of Johnston designated
as Zone A, AE, AH, AO, A99, V, or VE on the Providence County Flood
Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and digital FIRM issued by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) for the administration of the National Flood
Insurance Program. The map panels that are wholly or partially within
the Town of Johnston, Community No. 440018, on panels 44007C0283H,
44007C0284H, 44007C0292H, 44007C0301H, 44007C0303H, 44007C0304J, 44007C0311H,
44007C0312H, 44007CIND0D (Map Index) of the Providence County Flood
Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) dated October 2, 2015, issued by FEMA for
the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program and described
in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report 44007CV001C, 44007CV002C,
and 44007CV003C, revised October 2, 2015. The exact boundaries of
the district may be defined by the one-hundred-year base flood elevations
shown on the FIRM and further defined by the Providence County Flood
Insurance Study (FIS) Report No. 44007CV001C, 44007CV002C, and 44007CV003C,
revised October 2, 2015. The FIRM and FIS report and any revisions
thereto are incorporated herein by reference and are on file with
the Town Building Official.
[Amended 11-9-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-17]
B.
Administrative provisions.
(1)
Use permit. All proposed construction or other development within
a special flood hazard area shall require a permit. If the construction
or other development within a special flood hazard area is not covered
by a building or other approved permit application, a flood hazard
development permit shall be required. The application for a flood
hazard development permit shall be submitted to the Building Official
and shall include:
(a)
The name and address of the applicant;
(b)
An address or a map indicating the location of the construction
site;
(c)
A site plan showing location of existing and proposed structures,
sewage disposal facilities, water supply facilities, areas to be cut
and filled, and the dimensions of the lot;
(d)
A statement of the intended use of the structure;
(e)
A statement as to the type of sewage system proposed;
(f)
Specification of dimensions of the proposed structures;
(g)
The specific datum used for all elevations;
(h)
The elevation (in relation to mean sea level) of the lowest
floor, including basement, and if the lowest floor is below grade
on one or more sides, the elevation of the floor immediately above;
(i)
Base flood evaluation data for all new, relocated or substantially
improved structures;
(j)
The elevation (in relation to mean sea level) to which the structure
will be floodproofed;
(k)
The description of the extent to which any watercourse will
be altered or relocated as a result of the proposed development.
(2)
Evidence of receipt of necessary permits; permit fee.
(a)
Prior to the issuance of a building or development permit, the
applicant shall submit evidence that all necessary permits and approvals
have been received from all government agencies from which approval
is required by federal or state law.
(b)
A permit fee (based on the cost of the construction) may be
required to be paid to the Town of Johnston and a copy of a receipt
for the same shall accompany the application. An additional fee may
be charged if the Building Official and/or Board of Appeals needs
the assistance of a professional engineer.
(3)
Disclaimer of liability. The degree of flood protection required
by the article is considered reasonable but does not imply total flood
protection.
(4)
Severability. If any section, provision, or portion of this
article is adjudged unconstitutional or invalid by a court, the remainder
of the article shall not be affected.
(5)
Abrogation and greater restriction. This article shall not in
any way impair/remove the necessity of compliance with any other applicable
laws, ordinances, regulations, etc. Where this article imposes a greater
restriction, the provisions of this article shall control.
A.
Reference to existing regulations.
(1)
The special flood hazard areas are established as a floodplain
overlay district. All development in the district, including structural
and nonstructural activities, whether permitted by right or by special
permit, must be in compliance with the following:
(a)
Rhode Island State Building Code (as established under R.I.G.L.
§ 23-27.3);
(b)
Freshwater Wetlands Act, Department of Environmental Management
(R.I.G.L. § 46-23-6); and
(c)
Minimum Standards Related to Individual Sewage Disposal Systems,
Department of Environmental Management (R.I.G.L. § 46-12).
(2)
Any variances from the provisions and requirements of the above-referenced
state regulations may only be granted in accordance with the required
variance procedures of these state regulations.
B.
Other use regulations.
(1)
Within Zones AH and AO on the FIRM, adequate drainage paths
must be provided around structures on slopes, to guide floodwaters
around and away from proposed structures.
(2)
Within Zone AO on the FIRM, new and substantially improved residential
structures shall have their lowest floor at least as high as the FIRM's
depth number above the highest adjacent grade and nonresidential structures
shall be elevated or floodproofed above the highest adjacent grade
to at least as high as the depth number on the FIRM. On FIRMs without
a depth number for the AO Zone, structures shall be elevated or floodproofed
to at least two feet above the highest adjacent grade.
(3)
In Zones A1-30 and AE, along watercourses that have a regulatory
floodway designated on the Town of Johnston FIRM or Flood Boundary
and Floodway Map, encroachments are prohibited in the regulatory floodway
which would result in any increase in flood levels within the community
during the occurrence of the base flood discharge.
(5)
Detached accessory structures in Zones A, AE, A1-30, AO, and
AH (i.e., garages, sheds) do not have to meet the elevation or dry
floodproofing requirement if the following standards are met:
(a)
The structure is no more than 100 square feet in size and has
a value less than $1,000.
(b)
The structure has unfinished interiors and must not be used
for human habitation. An apartment, office or other finished space
over a detached garage is considered human habitation and would require
the structure to be elevated.
(c)
The structure is used solely for the parking of vehicles and/or
limited storage.
(d)
The accessory must be wet floodproofed and designed to allow
for the automatic entry and exit of floodwater.
(e)
The accessory structure shall be firmly anchored to prevent
flotation, collapse, and lateral movement.
(f)
Service facilities such as electrical, mechanical, and heating
equipment must be elevated or floodproofed to or above the base flood
elevation.
(g)
The structure must not increase the flood levels in the floodway.
(6)
Existing contour intervals of site and elevations of existing
structures must be included on the plan proposal.
C.
Base flood elevation and floodway data.
(1)
Floodway data. In Zones A, A1-30, and AE, along watercourses
that have not had a regulatory floodway designated, the best available
federal, state, local, or other floodway data shall be used to prohibit
encroachments in floodways which would result in any increase in flood
levels within the community during the occurrence of the base flood
discharge.
(2)
Base flood elevation data. Base flood elevation data is required
for subdivision proposals or other developments greater than 50 lots
or five acres, whichever is the lesser, within unnumbered A Zones.
(3)
Base flood elevations in A Zones. In the absence of FEMA BFE
data and floodway data, the best available federal, state, local,
or other BFE or floodway data shall be used as the basis for elevating
residential and nonresidential structures to or above the base flood
level and for floodproofing nonresidential structures to or above
the base flood level.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Building Official, or designee, to enforce
the provisions of this article. If the Building Official finds that
any provisions of this article are being violated, he shall notify,
in writing, the person responsible for such violation indicating the
nature of the violation and ordering the action necessary to correct
it.
B.
When the above action does not result in the correction or abatement
of the violation, the Town Solicitor, upon notice from the Building
Official, is hereby authorized and directed to institute any and all
actions, whether legal or equitable, necessary to enforce this article.
Any person who continues to violate any provision of this article
after receiving notice of such violation shall be guilty of a violation
of this article and shall be subject to a fine of $500 for each violation.
Each day such violation continues is a separate offense, and a violator
shall be subject to a fine of $100 per day until the violation is
corrected or abated.
