The following uses are permitted by right in the Floodplain Conservation District in compliance with the requirements of this chapter and the provisions of Chapter
230, Zoning.
A. Up to half of any required yard setback area on an individual residential
lot may extend into the Floodplain Conservation District.
B. Open space uses that are primarily passive in character shall be
permitted to extend into the floodplain, including:
(1) Wildlife sanctuaries, nature preserves, forest preserves, fishing
areas, passive areas of public and private parklands, and reforestation.
(2) Streambank stabilization.
C. Forestry operations reviewed by the Montgomery County Conservation
District.
D. The following floodplain crossings are permitted, provided disturbance
to any existing woodlands and degradation of water quality are minimized
to the greatest extent practicable:
(1) Agricultural crossings by farm vehicles and livestock.
(2) Driveways serving single-family detached dwelling units, roadways,
recreational trails, railroads, and utilities.
E. Agricultural uses conducted in compliance with methods prescribed
in the latest version of the Department of Environmental Protection's
Erosion and Sediment Pollution Control Manual. In the event that the
municipality has a Riparian Corridor Conservation District or similar
regulation, the more restrictive regulation shall apply.
F. Installation of and maintenance and repair to public sewer and/or
water lines and public utility transmission lines running along the
corridor.
G. Development of elevated and floodproofed buildings on brownfield sites in redevelopment areas encouraging economic revitalization, in compliance with §
115-25, permits required.
H. Installation, maintenance of or modification to municipal storm sewer/culverts/appurtenances/stormwater
management facilities, etc., by the municipality, as approved by PADEP.
Any use or activity not authorized within §
115-11 herein shall be prohibited within the Floodplain Conservation District, and the following activities and facilities are specifically prohibited, except for as part of a redevelopment project in compliance with §
115-11G herein:
A. No new construction, alteration, or improvement of buildings and
any other type of permanent structure, including fences, shall be
permitted in the floodway or the one-hundred-year floodplain.
B. Placement of fill within the one-hundred-year floodplain is prohibited.
C. No encroachment, alteration, or improvement of any kind shall be
made to any watercourse.
D. Clearing of all existing vegetation, except where such clearing is necessary to prepare land for a use permitted under §
115-11 herein and where the effects of these actions are mitigated by reestablishment of vegetation.
E. Use of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and/or other chemicals
in excess of prescribed industry standards.
F. Roads or driveways, except where permitted as corridor crossings in compliance with §
115-11 herein.
G. Motor or wheeled vehicle traffic in any area not designed to accommodate
adequately the type and volume.
I. Subsurface sewage disposal areas.
K. Stormwater basins, including necessary berms and outfall facilities,
unless for municipal use to manage flooding.
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 provisions of §
115-14 of this chapter, and Chapter
230, Zoning, Article
XXXIV, Nonconforming uses, shall apply.
The following provisions shall apply whenever any improvement
is made to an existing structure located within any Floodplain Conservation
District:
A. No expansion or enlargement of an existing structure shall be allowed
within any floodway area that would cause any increase in the elevation
of the base flood elevation.
B. No expansion or enlargement of an existing structure shall be allowed within any AE Area/District with floodway, as defined in §
115-7B, that would, together with all other existing and anticipated development, increase the BFE more than one foot at any point.
C. No expansion or enlargement of an existing structure shall be undertaken
in the direction of the streambank.
D. Any modification, alteration, reconstruction, or improvement of any
kind to an existing structure, to an extent or amount of 50% or more
of its market value, shall constitute a substantial improvement and
shall be undertaken only in full compliance with the provisions of
this chapter.
E. Historic structures undergoing repair or rehabilitation that would
constitute a substantial improvement as defined in this chapter must
comply with all ordinance requirements that do not preclude the structure's
continued designation as an historic structure. Documentation that
a specific ordinance 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 the
ordinance requirements will be the minimum necessary to preserve the
historic character and design of the structure.
F. The above activity shall also address the requirements of the 34
Pa.Code, as amended, and the 2009 IBC and the 2009 IRC, and subsequent
revisions/editions.
G. Any modification, alteration, reconstruction, or improvement of any
kind that meets the definition of "repetitive loss" shall be undertaken
only in full compliance with the provisions of this chapter.