The following uses and activities are permitted in the Flood
Hazard District for areas within the AE Area/District or A Area/District:
A. All uses permitted in the underlying zoning district including accessory uses thereto with the exception of those uses expressly prohibited in §
298-12, Prohibited uses.
B. Agriculture, horticulture, and forestry that do not include any structures,
do not require grading which would cause any increase in flood heights
or frequency, and are conducted in accord with recognized soil conservation
and water quality practices.
C. Public and private recreational uses and activities, limited to parks,
day camps, picnic grounds, boat launching and swimming areas, hiking
and horseback riding trails, wildlife and nature preserves, game farms,
fish hatcheries, and hunting and fishing areas.
D. The repair or expansion of riparian buffers.
E. Floodproofing to protect only lawfully existing nonconforming structures
and lawfully existing nonconforming uses within structures.
F. Fences and temporary protective fencing that do not impede floodwaters.
G. Municipal water and wastewater treatment facilities.
The following uses and activities are prohibited within the
Flood Hazard District:
A. All uses prohibited in the underlying zoning district.
B. New construction, development or redevelopment in the Floodway Area
except as otherwise permitted by this chapter.
C. New residential, commercial and industrial structures, with the exception of those specifically allowed by the underlying zoning, special exception regulations, and §
298-11 above.
D. The production, storage, or use of any amount of radioactive substances.
E. The production, storage or use of a substance or material, underground
or aboveground, that is buoyant, flammable, explosive, or injurious
to property, water quality or human, animal, plant, fish or aquatic
life including but not limited to the following:
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Acetone
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Ammonia
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Benzene
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Calcium carbide
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Carbon disulfide
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Celluloid
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Chlorine
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Hydrochloric acid
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Hydrocyanic acid
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Magnesium
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Nitric acid and oxides of nitrogen
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Petroleum products (gasoline, fuel oil, etc.)
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Phosphorus
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Potassium
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Sodium
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Sulphur and sulphur products
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Pesticides (including insecticides, fungicides, and rodenticides)
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Radioactive substances, insofar as such substances are not otherwise
regulated
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F. Storage of material or equipment that, in time of flooding, could
become buoyant and pose an obstruction to flow in identified floodway
areas.
G. The production, storage or use of explosives.
H. Sanitary landfills, dumps, junk and salvage yards.
I. Draining, excavation, or dredging, or removal or relocation of loam,
peat, sand, gravel, soil, rock, or other mineral substance, except
as accessory to work permitted as of right.
J. Manure storage facilities and manure stockpiles.
K. Expansion to existing manufactured home parks and subdivisions.
L. Sewage disposal facilities.
M. New development and expansion of critical facilities and correctional
facilities.
N. Fill, other than that required to meet the requirements of permissible
activities.
Upon receipt of an application for a special exception permit
by the City of Easton, the following procedures shall apply:
A. Within three working days following receipt of the application, a
complete copy of the application and all accompanying documentation
shall be forwarded to the City of Easton Engineer for review and comment.
B. If an application is received that is incomplete, the Floodplain
Administrator shall notify the applicant in writing, stating in what
respect the application is deficient.
C. A completed application will be forwarded to the Easton Planning
Commission for review and recommendation to the Easton Zoning Hearing
Board.
D. If the Zoning Hearing Board decides to disapprove an application,
it shall notify the applicant, in writing, of the reasons for the
disapproval.
The provisions of this chapter do not require any changes or
improvements to be made to lawfully existing structures. However,
when an improvement is made to any existing structure, the following
provisions shall apply:
A. No improvement, expansion, enlargement or reconstruction of an existing
structure shall be allowed within any Floodway Area/District.
B. No improvement of an existing structure shall be allowed within any
AE Area/District or A Area/District that would, together with all
other existing and anticipated development, increase the base flood
elevation more than one foot at any point.
C. The reconstruction of existing structures that store materials that
are buoyant, flammable, explosive, or injurious to property, water
quality or human, animal, plant, fish or aquatic life shall be prohibited
in the Flood Hazard District. Improvements shall be undertaken only
in full compliance with the floodproofing and/or elevation requirements
prescribed by this chapter.
D. Any improvement to an existing structure, to an extent 10% or more
of its market value, shall be undertaken only in full compliance with
the floodproofing and/or elevation requirements prescribed by this
chapter. Floodproofing and elevation requirements shall apply only
to the new construction.
E. Any improvement to a partially or substantially damaged structure
shall be undertaken only in full compliance with the floodproofing
and/or elevation requirements prescribed by this chapter.
F. Any improvement to a repetitive loss structure to an extent 10% or
more of its market value of the intact structure shall be prohibited.
Any permitted improvements shall be in full compliance with the floodproofing
and/or elevation requirements prescribed by this chapter.
G. Any improvement to a severe repetitive loss structure to an extent
5% or more of its market value of the intact structure shall be prohibited.
Any permitted improvements shall be in full compliance with the floodproofing
and/or elevation requirements prescribed by this chapter.
H. The reconstruction of a severe repetitive loss structure shall be
in full compliance with this chapter and shall require documentation
indicating the City of Easton, the State of Pennsylvania, and FEMA
will not acquire the property for the purposes of flood mitigation
prior to the reconstruction of the structure.
I. Historic resources undergoing repair or rehabilitation that would
constitute a substantial improvement as defined in this chapter, must
comply with all chapter requirements that do not preclude the structure's
continued designation as a historic resource. Documentation that a
specific chapter 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 chapter
requirements will be in the form of a special exception and shall
be the minimum necessary to preserve the historic character and design
of the structure.
J. The following shall apply for the purposes of determining market
value:
(1) It is the responsibility of the applicant to supply the information
necessary (e.g., appraisals, construction costs, estimates, etc.)
to make the determination that the market value is reasonably accurate
and that the cost estimate reasonably reflects the actual costs of
the improvements to the structure.
(2) Acceptable estimates of market value shall be determined from either
independent appraisals by a state-licensed real estate appraiser or
the value of the building taken from NFIP claims data.
(3) Acceptable estimates of cost of improvement shall be determined from
either itemized estimates made by contractors licensed to work in
the City of Easton or building code valuation tables.
(4) Improvements shall be cumulative, since the adoption of this chapter,
for the purpose of determining the market value percentage.