The South Pasadena Chief Building Official is designated as
the Floodplain Administrator. The Floodplain Administrator may delegate
performance of certain duties to other employees.
The Floodplain Administrator is authorized and directed to administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter. The Floodplain Administrator shall have the authority to render interpretations of this chapter consistent with the intent and purpose of this chapter and may establish policies and procedures in order to clarify the application of its provisions. Such interpretations, policies, and procedures shall not have the effect of waiving requirements specifically provided in this chapter without the granting of a variance pursuant to Article VII of this chapter.
The Floodplain Administrator, in coordination with other pertinent
offices of the community, shall:
A.
Review applications and plans to determine whether proposed new development
will be located in flood hazard areas;
B.
Review applications for modification of any existing development
in flood hazard areas for compliance with the requirements of this
chapter;
C.
Interpret flood hazard area boundaries where such interpretation
is necessary to determine the exact location of boundaries; a person
contesting the determination shall have the opportunity to appeal
the interpretation;
D.
Provide available flood elevation and flood hazard information;
E.
Determine whether additional flood hazard data shall be obtained
from other sources or shall be developed by an applicant;
F.
Review applications to determine whether proposed development will
be reasonably safe from flooding;
G.
Issue floodplain development permits or approvals for development
other than buildings and structures that are subject to the Florida
Building Code, including buildings, structures and facilities exempt
from the Florida Building Code, when compliance with this chapter
is demonstrated, or disapprove the same in the event of noncompliance;
and
H.
Coordinate with and provide comments to the Chief Building Official
to assure that applications, plan reviews, and inspections for buildings
and structures in flood hazard areas comply with the applicable provisions
of this chapter.
For applications for building permits to improve buildings and
structures, including alterations, movement, enlargement, replacement,
repair, change of occupancy, additions, rehabilitations, renovations,
substantial improvements, repairs of substantial damage, and any other
improvement of or work on such buildings and structures, the Floodplain
Administrator, in coordination with the Chief Building Official, shall:
A.
Estimate the market value, or require the applicant to obtain an
appraisal of the market value prepared by a qualified independent
appraiser, of the building or structure before the start of construction
of the proposed work; in the case of repair, the market value of the
building or structure shall be the market value before the damage
occurred and before any repairs are made;
B.
Compare the cost to perform the improvement, the cost to repair a
damaged building to its predamaged condition, or the combined costs
of improvements and repairs, if applicable, to the market value of
the building or structure;
C.
Determine and document whether the proposed work constitutes substantial
improvement or repair of substantial damage; the determination requires
evaluation of previous permits issued for improvements and repairs
as specified in the definition of "substantial improvement"; and
D.
Notify the applicant if it is determined that the work constitutes
substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage and that compliance
with the flood-resistant construction requirements of the Florida
Building Code and this chapter is required.
The Floodplain Administrator shall review requests that seek approval to modify the strict application of the flood load and flood-resistant construction requirements of the Florida Building Code to determine whether such requests require the granting of a variance pursuant to Article VII of this chapter.
The Floodplain Administrator shall coordinate with appropriate
local agencies for the issuance of all necessary notices or orders
to ensure compliance with this chapter.
The Floodplain Administrator shall make the required inspections as specified in Article VI of this chapter for development that is not subject to the Florida Building Code, including buildings, structures and facilities exempt from the Florida Building Code. The Floodplain Administrator shall inspect flood hazard areas to determine if development is undertaken without issuance of a permit.
The Floodplain Administrator shall have other duties, including
but not limited to:
A.
Establish procedures for administering and documenting determinations of substantial improvement and substantial damage made pursuant to § 108-17 of this chapter;
B.
Require that applicants proposing alteration of a watercourse notify
adjacent communities and the Florida Division of Emergency Management,
State Floodplain Management Office, and submit copies of such notifications
to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA);
C.
Require applicants who submit hydrologic and hydraulic engineering
analyses to support permit applications to submit to FEMA the data
and information necessary to maintain the Flood Insurance Rate Maps
if the analyses propose to change base flood elevations, flood hazard
area boundaries, or floodway designations; such submissions shall
be made within six months of such data becoming available;
D.
Review required design certifications and documentation of elevations
specified by this chapter and the Florida Building Code to determine
that such certifications and documentations are complete;
E.
Notify the Federal Emergency Management Agency when the corporate
boundaries of South Pasadena are modified; and
F.
Advise applicants for new buildings and structures, including substantial
improvements, that are located in any unit of the Coastal Barrier
Resources System established by the Coastal Barrier Resources Act
(Pub. L. 97-348)[1] and the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990 (Pub.
L. 101-591)[2] that federal flood insurance is not available on such
construction; areas subject to this limitation are identified on Flood
Insurance Rate Maps as "Coastal Barrier Resource System Areas" and
"Otherwise Protected Areas."
Regardless of any limitation on the period required for retention
of public records, the Floodplain Administrator shall maintain and
permanently keep and make available for public inspection all records
that are necessary for the administration of this chapter and the
flood-resistant construction requirements of the Florida Building
Code, including Flood Insurance Rate Maps; letters of change; records
of issuance of permits and denial of permits; determinations of whether
proposed work constitutes substantial improvement or repair of substantial
damage; required design certifications and documentation of elevations
specified by the Florida Building Code and this chapter; notifications
to adjacent communities, FEMA, and the state related to alterations
of watercourses; assurances that the flood-carrying capacity of altered
watercourses will be maintained; documentation related to appeals
and variances, including justification for issuance or denial; and
records of enforcement actions taken pursuant to this chapter and
the flood-resistant construction requirements of the Florida Building
Code. These records shall be available for public inspection at 6940
Hibiscus Avenue, South Pasadena, Florida 33707.
