[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Morris as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Land development — See Ch. 57.
Zoning — See Ch. 95.
Uniform construction codes — See Ch. 216.
Sewers and sewage disposal — See Ch. 410.
Stormwater management — See Ch. 434.
Water — See Ch. 493.
[Adopted 5-25-1977 by Ord. No. 19-77 (Ch. 49A, Art. I, of the 1969 Code)]
A. 
No person shall erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, improve, move or demolish any building or structure without first obtaining a flood insurance permit for each building or structure from the Township Engineer, hereinafter designated the "responsible person."
B. 
No man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operation shall be commenced until a separate permit has been obtained from the designated responsible person for each change.
C. 
No mobile home shall be placed on improved or unimproved real estate without first obtaining a separate permit for each mobile home from the responsible person.
A. 
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 responsible person before the issuance of a permit will be considered.
B. 
The responsible person is appointed as the person responsible for receiving applications and examining the plans and specifications for the proposed construction or development.
C. 
After reviewing the application, the responsible person shall require any additional measures which are necessary to meet the minimum requirements of this article.
The responsible person shall review proposed developments 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. § 1344.
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 prefabricated buildings and mobile homes, shall:
A. 
Be designed or modified and adequately anchored to prevent flotation, collapse or lateral movement of the structure.
B. 
Be constructed with materials and utility equipment resistant to flood damage.
C. 
Be constructed by methods and practices that minimize flood damage.
The responsible person shall review subdivision proposals and other proposed new developments 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 proposals 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.
C. 
Adequate drainage is provided to reduce exposure to flood hazards.
A. 
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.
B. 
The responsible person shall require within flood-prone areas:
(1) 
New and replacement sanitary sewage systems to be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of floodwaters into the systems and discharge from the systems into floodwaters.
(2) 
On-site waste disposal systems to be located to avoid impairment to them or contamination from them during flooding.
A. 
The responsible person shall require that all subdivision proposals and other proposed new developments greater than 50 lots or five acres, whichever is the lesser, include within such proposals base flood elevation data.
B. 
The responsible person shall obtain, review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation data available from a federal, state or other source, until such other data has been provided by the Administrator as criteria for requiring 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.
For the purpose of the determination of applicable flood insurance risk premium rates within Zone A on a community's Flood Hazard Boundary Map, the responsible person shall:
A. 
Obtain or require the applicant to furnish the elevation in relation to mean sea level of the lowest habitable floor, including basement, of all new or substantially improved structures, and whether or not such structures contain a basement.
B. 
Obtain or require the applicant to furnish, if the structure has been floodproofed, the elevation in relation to mean sea level to which the structure was floodproofed.
C. 
Maintain a record of all such information.
A. 
The responsible person shall notify, in riverine situations, adjacent communities and the State Coordinating Office prior to any alteration or relocation of a watercourse and shall submit copies of such notification to the Federal Insurance Administration.
B. 
The responsible person shall assure that the flood-carrying capacity within the altered or relocated portion of any watercourse is maintained.
The responsible person shall require that all mobile homes to be placed within Zone A on the community's Flood Hazard Boundary Map shall be anchored to resist flotation, collapse or lateral movement by providing over-the-top and frame ties to ground anchors. Specific requirements shall be that:
A. 
Over-the-top ties be provided at each of the four corners of the mobile home, with two additional ties per side at intermediate locations, and mobile homes less than 50 feet long shall require one additional tie per side.
B. 
Frame ties be provided at each corner of the home, with five additional ties per side at intermediate points, and mobile homes less than 50 feet long requiring four additional ties per side.
C. 
All components of the anchoring system be capable of carrying a force of 4,800 pounds.
D. 
Any additions to the mobile home be similarly anchored.
The current Flood Hazard Boundary Map issued by the Federal Insurance Administration for this community, and any officially published revisions to this map, are adopted as the official map for the enforcement of this article. Zone A on this map delineates the area within which the requirements of this article will be enforced.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this document shall be interpreted so as to give them the same meanings as they have in common usage and so as to give this document its most reasonable application.
BASE FLOOD
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations.
FLOOD
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland or tidal waters or the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
FLOODPLAIN OR FLOOD-PRONE AREA
Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source. (See definition of "flood.")
FLOODPROOFING
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.
HABITABLE FLOOR
Any floor usable for living purposes, which include working, sleeping, eating, cooking or recreation or a combination thereof. A floor used only for storage purposes is not a habitable floor.
MOBILE HOME
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. It does not include recreational vehicles or travel trailers. The term includes but it is not limited to the definition of "mobile home" as set forth in regulations governing the Mobile Home Safety and Construction Standards Program [24 CFR 3282.7(a)].
PERSON
Includes any individual or group of individuals, corporation, partnership, association or any other entity, including state and local governments and agencies.
RIVERINE
Relating to, formed by or resembling a river (including tributaries), stream, brook, etc.
STRUCTURE
For floodplain management purposes, a walled and roofed building that is principally above ground, including a gas or liquid storage tank, as well as a mobile home.
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 before the improvement or repair is started or, 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. The term does not, however, include either 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 any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a state inventory of historic places.
VARIANCE
A grant of relief by a community from the terms of a floodplain management regulation.
[Adopted 2-24-1988 by Ord. No. 1-88 (Ch. 49A, Art. II, of the 1969 Code)]
A. 
The provisions of 44 CFR 59 et seq., and more particularly Subpart 60.3 thereof, entitled "Floodplain Management Criteria for Floodprone Areas," are hereby adopted by reference.
B. 
A copy of the regulations above described are annexed hereto by reference.
C. 
Two copies of the rules and regulations adopted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as above described, have been placed on file in the office of the Township Clerk and shall remain on file until final action is taken on the within article so that the public at large might view and examine the same.
D. 
The Township of Morris adopts by reference the current Flood Insurance Study, as well as the current Flood Insurance Rate Map, which map identifies the coastal high hazard and flood hazard areas within the Township.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
E. 
The Township of Morris hereby designates the Township Engineer (local coordinator) as the official of the Township of Morris responsible for complying with the eligibility requirements set forth in 44 CFR 59.21 et seq.