The Legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has, by the passage of the Pennsylvania Flood Plain Management Act of 1978,[1] delegated the responsibility to local governmental units to adopt floodplain management regulations to promote public health, safety, and the general welfare of its citizenry. Therefore, the Borough Council of Green Lane Borough does hereby order as follows.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 32 P.S. § 679.101 et seq.
The intent of this chapter is to:
A. 
Protect areas of the floodplain necessary to contain floodwaters.
B. 
To permit only those uses in the floodplain that are compatible with preserving natural conditions and stream flow.
C. 
Promote the general health, welfare, and safety of the community by preventing development in areas prone to flooding.
D. 
Encourage the utilization of appropriate construction practices in order to prevent or minimize flood damage in the future.
E. 
Minimize danger to public health by protecting the water supply and natural drainage.
F. 
Reduce financial burdens imposed on the community, its governmental units, and its residents by preventing excessive development in areas subject to flooding.
G. 
Comply with federal and state floodplain management requirements.
A. 
The "Floodplain Conservation District" is defined and established as a district applicable to those areas of the Borough subject to inundation by the waters of the 100-year flood as delineated on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, as prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, dated March 2, 2016, and subsequent revisions thereto. Said floodplain areas shall consist of the following specific areas:
(1) 
Zone AE identified on the effective FIRM or identified after the FIRM effective date through the Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) process.
(2) 
Soils with a frequency of flooding of 1% or greater per year, as delineated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture Web-Based Soil Survey (available online at http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/), including the following soils:
(a) 
Bowmansville (Bo).
(b) 
Knauers (Bo).
(c) 
Gilbraltar (Gc).
(d) 
Hatboro (Ha).
(e) 
Rowland (Rt).
(f) 
Rowland (RwA).
(g) 
Rowland (RwB).
(h) 
Urban Land Occasionally Flooded (UlA).
B. 
In lieu of the above, the Borough may require the applicant to determine the elevation with hydrologic and hydraulic engineering techniques. Hydrologic and hydraulic analyses shall be undertaken only by professional engineers or others of demonstrated qualifications, who shall certify that the technical methods used correctly reflect currently accepted technical concepts. Studies, analyses, computations, etc., shall be submitted in sufficient detail to allow a thorough technical review by the Borough.
C. 
The Floodplain Conservation District shall be delineated according to FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for the Borough, which is hereby made a part of this article, and additional area based on soils as described in § 200-3A(2). The FIRM is available for inspection at the Borough office.
D. 
The Floodplain Conservation District shall be deemed an overlay on any zoning district now or hereafter applicable to any lot.
E. 
It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, business or corporation to undertake, or cause to be undertaken, any construction or development anywhere within the Borough unless a permit has been obtained from the Floodplain Administrator.
F. 
A permit shall not be required for minor repairs to existing buildings or structures.
This chapter supersedes any other conflicting provisions which may be in effect in the Floodplain Conservation District, and all other ordinances or parts thereof which are in conflict with this chapter are hereby repealed to the extent provided for in this chapter. However, any other ordinance provisions shall remain in full force and effect to the extent that those provisions are more restrictive. If there is any conflict between any of the provisions of this chapter, the more restrictive shall apply.
If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this chapter shall be declared invalid for any reason whatsoever, such a decision shall not affect the remaining portions of the chapter, which shall remain in full force and effect, and for this purpose the provisions of this chapter are hereby declared to be severable.
A. 
The degree of flood protection sought by the provisions of this chapter is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on acceptable engineering methods of study. Larger floods may occur or flood heights may be increased by man-made or natural causes, such as ice jams and bridge openings restricted by debris. This chapter does not imply that areas outside the Floodplain Conservation District, or that land uses permitted within such areas, will be free from flooding or flood damages.
B. 
This chapter shall not create liability on the part of the Borough or any officer or employee thereof for any flood damages that result from reliance on this chapter or any administrative decision lawfully made there under.