The Legislature of the State of New Jersey has, in N.J.S.A.
40:48-1 et seq., delegated the responsibility to local governmental
units to adopt regulations designed to promote public health, safety,
and general welfare of its citizenry. Therefore, the Township Committee
of the Township of South Harrison, County of Gloucester, New Jersey,
does ordain as follows:
A.Â
The
flood hazard areas of the Township of South Harrison are subject to
periodic inundation which results in loss of life and property, health
and safety hazards, disruption of commerce and governmental services,
extraordinary public expenditures for flood protection and relief,
and impairment of the tax base, all of which adversely affect the
public health, safety, and general welfare.
B.Â
These
flood losses are caused by the cumulative effect of obstructions in
areas of special flood hazard which increase flood heights and velocities,
and, when inadequately anchored, cause damage in other areas. Uses
that are inadequately floodproofed, elevated or otherwise protected
from flood damage also contribute to the flood loss.
It is the purpose of this chapter to promote the public health,
safety, and general welfare, and to minimize public and private losses
due to flood conditions in specific areas by provisions designed to:
A.Â
Protect
human life and health;
B.Â
Minimize
expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects;
C.Â
Minimize
the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding and
generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;
D.Â
Minimize
prolonged business interruptions;
E.Â
Minimize
damage to public facilities and utilities such as water and gas mains,
electric, telephone and sewer lines, streets, bridges located in areas
of special flood hazard;
F.Â
Help
maintain a stable tax base by providing for the second use and development
of areas of special flood hazard so as to minimize future flood blight
areas;
G.Â
Ensure
that potential buyers are notified that property is in an area of
special flood hazard; and
H.Â
Ensure
that those who occupy the areas of special flood hazard assume responsibility
for their actions.
In order to accomplish its purposes, this chapter includes methods
and provisions for:
A.Â
Restricting
or prohibiting uses which are dangerous to health, safety, and property
due to water or erosion hazards, or which result in damaging increases
in erosion or in flood heights or velocities;
B.Â
Requiring
that uses vulnerable to floods, including facilities which serve such
uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of initial construction;
C.Â
Controlling
the alteration of natural floodplains, stream channels, and natural
protective barriers, which help accommodate or channel floodwaters;
D.Â
Controlling
filling, grading, dredging, and other development which may increase
flood damage; and
E.Â
Preventing
or regulating the construction of flood barriers which will unnaturally
divert floodwaters or which may increase flood hazards in other areas.
A.Â
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this
chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have
in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable application.
B.Â
APPEAL
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD
BASE FLOOD
BASEMENT
BREAKAWAY WALL
DEVELOPMENT
DIGITAL FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (DFIRM)
ELEVATED BUILDING
(1)Â
(a)Â
(b)Â
(2)Â
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS)
FLOOD OR FLOODING
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS
FLOODWAY
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
LOWEST FLOOR
MANUFACTURED HOME
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK or MANUFACTURED HOME SUBDIVISION
NEW CONSTRUCTION
NEW MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
START OF CONSTRUCTION
STRUCTURE
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
(1)Â
(2)Â
VARIANCE
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
A request for a review of the Township Engineer's interpretation
of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
A designated AO, AH, or VO Zone on a community's Digital
Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) with a one-percent-annual-or-greater
chance of flooding to an average depth of one 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.
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to
a one-percent-or-greater chance of flooding in any given year.
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year.
Any area of the building having its flood subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
A wall that is not part of the structural support of the
building and is intended through its design and construction to collapse
under specific lateral loading forces without causing damage to the
elevated portion of the building or supporting foundation system.
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,
or storage of equipment or materials located within the area of special
flood hazard.
The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk
premium zones applicable to the community.
A non-basement building:
Built in the case of a building in an area of special flood
hazard to have the top of the elevated floor elevated above the ground
level by means of piling, columns (posts and piers), or shear walls
parallel to the flow of the water; and
Adequately anchored so as not to impair the structural integrity
of the building during a flood up to the magnitude of the base flood.
In an area of special flood hazard, "elevated building" also
includes a building elevated by means of fill or solid foundation
perimeter walls with openings sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded
movement of floodwaters.
The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk
premium zones applicable to the community.
The official report in which the Federal Insurance Administration
has provided flood profiles, as well as the Flood Insurance Rate Map(s)
and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
Zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes,
health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as a floodplain
ordinance, grading ordinance and erosion control ordinance) and other
applications of police power. The term describes such state or local
regulations, in any combination thereof, which provide standards for
the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.
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
0.2 foot.
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 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
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).
An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for the
parking of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other than
a basement, is not considered a building's lowest floor, provided
that such enclosure is not built so to render the structure in violation
of other applicable non-elevation design requirements.
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 "manufactured home" does not include a recreational vehicle.
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of a floodplain regulation adopted
by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
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 the floodplain management regulations adopted by the municipality.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the longest
horizontal projections;
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
temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal
use.
For other than new construction or substantial improvements
under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. No. 97-348) includes
substantial improvements and means the date the building permit was
issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction,
rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was within
180 days of the permit date. The actual start means either the first
placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site such
as the pouring of a 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
or 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.
A walled and roofed building, a manufactured home, or a gas
or liquid storage tank, that is principally above the ground.
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% 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 exceeds 50% of the market value
of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement.
This term includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage,"
regardless of the actual repair work performed. 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 officer 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 from the requirements of this chapter that
permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited
by this chapter.