This section's requirements shall:
A. Apply in special flood hazard areas that are not identified as coastal
high hazard areas (V Zones) and Coastal A Zones. These flood hazard
areas, referred to collectively as "A Zones," include special flood
hazard areas along nontidal waters, landward of coastal high hazard
areas (V Zones), and landward of Coastal A Zones (if delineated).
B. Apply to all development, new construction, and substantial improvements
(including repair of substantial damage).
New residential structures and residential portions of mixed use structures, and substantial improvement of existing residential structures and residential portions of mixed-use structures, shall comply with Article
II and this article. See also §
70-30, Lateral additions.
A. Elevation requirements.
(1) Lowest floors shall be elevated to or above the flood protection
elevation.
(2) In areas of shallow flooding (Zone AO), the lowest floor (including
basement) shall be elevated at least as high above the highest adjacent
grade as the flood depth number specified in feet on the Flood Insurance
Rate Maps plus two feet, or at least four feet if a flood depth number
is not specified.
(3) Enclosures below the lowest floor shall meet the requirements of §
70-28B, Enclosures below the lowest floor.
B. Enclosures below the lowest floor. Enclosures below the lowest floor
shall:
(1) Be used solely for vehicle parking, building access, crawl/under-floor
spaces, or limited storage.
(2) Be constructed using flood-damage-resistant materials.
(3) Be provided with flood openings which shall meet the following criteria:
(a)
There shall be a minimum of two flood openings on different
sides of each enclosed area; if a building has more than one enclosure
below the lowest floor, such enclosures shall each have at least two
flood openings on two different exterior walls.
(b)
Each flood opening bottom shall be one foot or less above the
higher of the interior floor or grade, or the exterior grade, immediately
below the opening.
(c)
Any louvers, screens or other covers for flood openings shall
allow automatic flow of floodwaters into and out of the enclosed area.
(d)
If installed in doors, flood openings that meet requirements of Subsection
B(3)(a) through
(c) above are acceptable; however, doors without incorporated flood openings do not meet this section's requirements.
(e)
May be nonengineered openings with at least one square inch for each square foot of enclosed area, or may be engineered flood openings as defined in Article
VIII.
New nonresidential structures and nonresidential portions of mixed-use structures, and substantial improvement of nonresidential structures and nonresidential portions of mixed-use structures, shall comply with Article
II and this article. See also §
70-30, Lateral additions.
A. Elevation requirements. Elevated structures shall:
(1) Have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated to or above the
flood protection elevation; or
(2) In areas of shallow flooding (Zone AO), have the lowest floor (including
basement) elevated at least as high above the highest adjacent grade
as the Flood Insurance Rate Map flood depth number plus two feet,
or at least four feet if a flood depth number is not specified; and
(3) Have enclosures below the lowest floor, if any, that comply with §
70-28B, Enclosures below the lowest floor; or
(4) If proposed to be elevated on fill, meet the limitations in §
70-17, Fill placement.
B. Floodproofing requirements.
(1) Floodproofing of new nonresidential buildings is not allowed in nontidal
waters [COMAR 26.17.04.11(B)(7)] and Coastal A Zones.
(2) Floodproofing is permitted for substantial improvement of nonresidential
buildings in all A Zones, including Coastal A Zones.
(3) If floodproofing is proposed, structures shall:
(a)
Be designed to be dry floodproofed such that the structure is
watertight with walls and floors substantially impermeable to water
to the level of the flood protection elevation; or
(b)
If located in an area of shallow flooding (Zone AO), be dry
floodproofed at least as high above the highest adjacent grade as
the flood depth number specified on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps
plus three feet, or at least five feet if a flood depth number is
not specified; and
(c)
Have structural components capable of resisting hydrostatic
and hydrodynamic loads and buoyancy effects;
(d)
Have floodproofing measures that are designed to consider flood-related
hazard characteristics; frequency, depth and duration of flooding;
rate of rise and fall of floodwater; soil characteristics; flood-borne
debris; at least 12 hours of flood warning time from a credible source;
and time necessary to implement any human intervention measures;
(e)
Have at least one door above the applicable flood elevation
that allows human ingress and egress during flooding conditions;
(f)
Have an operations and maintenance plan filed with local emergency
management officials specifying the owner/occupant's responsibilities
to monitor flood potential; the location of shields, doors, closures,
tools, or other goods required for implementation; maintenance of
such goods; methods of installation; and periodic inspection; and
(g)
Be certified with a floodproofing certificate by a licensed
designer stating that the design and construction methods meet this
section's requirements. The floodproofing certificate shall be submitted
with the construction documents.
C. Slabs, pool decks and walkways shall be elevated in compliance with
this chapter or located and constructed to be structurally independent
of structures and their foundations to prevent transfer of flood loads
to the structures during conditions of flooding, scour, or erosion
from wave-velocity flow. They shall be constructed of a frangible
material and have rounded corners to break apart during flood-force
waters and to minimize property damage.
D. Pools shall be oriented with the narrowest dimension perpendicular
to the flood flow and shall not be fully enclosed by walls or roofs.
Any fill brought in around the pool to support decks should be thoroughly
compacted and stabilized with appropriate vegetation/grass.
For proposed development that involves watercourse alteration not subject to §
70-26B ("Development in areas with base flood elevations without designated floodways"), unless waived by the Maryland Department of the Environment, the applicant shall develop hydrologic and hydraulic engineering analyses and technical data reflecting such changes, including the floodway analysis required in §
70-26A ("Development in designated floodways"), and submit this data to the Floodplain Administrator and to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The analyses shall be prepared in a format required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a conditional letter of map revision and a letter of map revision upon completion of the project. Submittal requirements and fees shall be the responsibility of the applicant.
Watercourse alteration may be permitted upon the applicant's
submission of the following:
A. A description of the extent of the proposed watercourse alteration
or relocation;
B. A licensed engineer's certification that the watercourse's flood-carrying
capacity will not be decreased;
C. Evidence that adjacent communities, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
and Maryland Department of the Environment have been notified of the
proposal, and evidence that such notifications have been submitted
to the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and
D. Evidence that the applicant shall be responsible for maintenance
of the altered or relocated portion of the watercourse so that the
flood-carrying capacity will not be diminished. The Floodplain Administrator
may require the applicant to enter into an agreement with Talbot County
specifying the maintenance responsibilities; if an agreement is required,
the permit shall be conditioned to require that the agreement be recorded
in the Talbot County land records which shall be binding on future
owners.