This chapter shall hereafter be referred to as the "City of Aberdeen Floodplain Management Ordinance."
A. 
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has identified special flood hazard areas within the boundaries of the City of Aberdeen. Special flood hazard areas are subject to periodic inundation which may result 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. Structures that are inadequately elevated, improperly floodproofed, or otherwise unprotected from flood damage also contribute to flood losses.
B. 
The City of Aberdeen, by resolution, agreed to meet the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program and was accepted for participation into the program on July 16, 1981, the initial effective date of the City of Aberdeen Flood Insurance Rate Map. Since that time all development and new construction as defined herein have been required to comply with the City's floodplain regulations.
The enactment of floodplain management regulations is in furtherance of the public health, safety and welfare that may be regulated through the police power. The City may enact and enforce this chapter as an exercise of the Town's broad police and enforcement powers granted by the Local Government Article of the Maryland Annotated Code (implementing Article XI-E of the Maryland Constitution), and provisions of the Aberdeen City Charter and City Code. The Aberdeen City Council adopts this chapter pursuant to this authority and such other authority that may be provided by law.
These regulations shall apply to all special flood hazard areas within the jurisdiction of the City of Aberdeen and identified in § 275-5.
A. 
For the purposes of these regulations, the minimum basis for establishing special flood hazard areas and base flood elevations is the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) for Harford County, Maryland, and Incorporated Areas, dated April 19, 2016, or the most recent revision thereof, and the accompanying Flood Insurance Rate Map(s) (FIRMs) and all subsequent amendments and revisions to the FIRMs. The FIS and FIRMs are retained on file and available to the public at the Aberdeen Municipal Center, Department of Planning and Community Development, 60 North Parke Street, Aberdeen, MD.
B. 
Where field surveyed topography or digital topography indicates that ground elevations are below the closest applicable base flood elevation, even in areas not delineated as a special flood hazard on the FIRM, the area shall be considered as special flood hazard area.
C. 
To establish base flood elevations in special flood hazard areas that do not have such elevations shown on the FIRM, the Floodplain Administrator may provide the best available data for base flood elevations, may require the applicant to obtain available information from federal, state or other sources, or may require the applicant to establish special flood hazard areas and base flood elevations as set forth in §§ 275-13, 275-14, and 275-15 of this chapter.
These regulations are not intended to repeal or abrogate any existing regulations and ordinances, including Subdivision Regulations, Development Code, building codes, or any existing easements, covenants, or deed restrictions. In the event of a conflict between these regulations and any other ordinance, the more restrictive shall govern.
A. 
In the interpretation and application of these regulations, all provisions shall be:
(1) 
Considered as minimum requirements;
(2) 
Liberally construed in favor of the City; and
(3) 
Deemed neither to limit nor repeal any other powers granted under state statutes.
B. 
Notes referencing publications of the Federal Emergency Management Agency refer to the most recent edition of those publications, are intended only as guidance, and do not bind or alter the authority of the Floodplain Administrator to interpret and apply these regulations.
A. 
The degree of flood protection required by these regulations is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on scientific and engineering considerations. Larger floods can and will occur, and flood heights may be increased by man-made or natural causes. These regulations do not imply that land outside of the special flood hazard areas or uses that are permitted within such areas will be free from flooding or flood damage.
B. 
These regulations shall not create liability on the part of the City of Aberdeen, any officer or employee thereof, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for any flood damage that results from reliance on these regulations or any administrative decision lawfully made hereunder.
Should any section or provision of this chapter be declared by the courts to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of these regulations as a whole, or any part thereof other than the part so declared to be unconstitutional or invalid.