[Ord. No. 2013-10, October
7, 2013, § 11-1]
The purpose of this ordinance is to ensure public safety; minimize
hazards to persons and property from flooding, to protect watercourses
from encroachment, and to maintain the capability of floodplains to
retain and carry off floodwaters. The Town of New Shoreham elects
to comply with the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Act
of 1968 (P.L. 90-488, as amended).
[Ord. No. 2013-10, October
7, 2013, § 11-2]
(a)
Special Flood Hazard Areas.
The special flood hazard areas are herein established as a floodplain
overlay district. The district includes all special flood hazard areas
within the Town of New Shoreham designated as Zone A, AE, AH, AO,
A99, V, or VE on the Washington County Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)
and Digital FIRM issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) for the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program.
The map panels of the Washington County FIRM that are wholly or partially
within the Town of New Shoreham are panel numbers 44009C0352J, 44009C0353J,
44009C0354J, 44009C0356J, 44009C0358J, 44009C0361J, 44009C0362J, 44009C0363J,
44009C0364J, 44009C0366J and 44009C0368J dated October 16, 2013. The
exact boundaries of the district may be defined by the 100-year base
flood elevations shown on the FIRM and further defined by the Washington
County Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report dated October 16, 2013.
The office of the Building Official is responsible for floodplain
management. The FIRM and FIS report and any revisions thereto are
incorporated herein by reference and are on file with the Building
Official.
[Ord. No. 2013-10, October
7, 2013, § 11-3]
(a)
Building permit. All proposed construction or other development within
a special flood hazard area shall require a permit.
The National Flood Insurance Program Special Flood Hazard Area
requires permits for all projects that meet the definition of development,
not just "building" projects. Development projects include any filling,
grading, excavation, mining, drilling, storage of materials, temporary
stream crossings. If the construction or other development within
a special flood hazard area is not covered by a building permit, all
other non-structural activities shall be permitted by either the Rhode
Island Coastal Resources Management Council and/or the Rhode Island
Department of Environmental Management as applicable. Therefore if
another state agency issues a permit, the local building official
must have the opportunity for input and keep a copy of the respective
permit in their files.
Prior to the issuance of a building or development permit, the
applicant shall submit evidence that all necessary permits and approvals
have been received from all government agencies from which approval
is required by federal or state law.
A permit fee (based on the cost of the construction) may be
required to be paid to the Town of New Shoreham and shall be collected
prior to the issuance of the permit. An additional fee may be charged
if the code enforcement officer and/or board of appeals needs the
assistance of a professional engineer.
(b)
Disclaimer of liability. The degree of flood protection required
by the ordinance is considered reasonable but does not imply total
flood protection.
(c)
Severability. If any section, provision, or portion of this ordinance
is adjudged unconstitutional or invalid by a court, the remainder
of the ordinance shall not be affected.
(d)
Abrogation and greater restriction. This ordinance shall not in any
way impair/remove the necessity of compliance with any other applicable
laws, ordinances, regulations, etc. Where this ordinance imposes a
greater restriction, the provisions of this ordinance shall control.
(e)
Enforcement. The building official shall enforce all provisions as
applicable in reference to RIGL § 23-27.3-108.1.
(f)
Penalties. Every person who shall violate any provision of this code
shall be subject to penalties put forth in RIGL § 23-27.3-122.3.
[Ord. No. 2013-10, October
7, 2013, § 11-4]
(a)
Reference to existing regulations.
The special flood hazard areas are established as a floodplain
overlay district. All development in the district, including structural
and non-structural activities, whether permitted by right or by special
permit must be in compliance with the following:
(1)
Rhode Island State Building Code (As established under Rhode Island
General Law § 23-27.3);
(2)
Coastal Resources Management Act, Rhode Island Coastal Resources
Management Council (RIGL § 46-23)
(3)
Endangered Species Act, Rhode Island Department of Environmental
Management (RIGL § 20-1-2)
(4)
Freshwater Wetlands Act, Rhode Island Department of Environmental
Management (RIGL § 2-1-18)
(5)
Minimum Standards Related to Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems,
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. (RIGL § 5-56,
5-56.1, 23-19.15, 23-19.5, 23-24.3, 42-17.1, and 46-13.2)
(6)
Water Quality Regulations, Rhode Island Department of Environmental
Management (RIGL § 42-17.1 and 42-17.6 and 46-12).
Any variances from the provisions and requirements of the above
referenced state regulations may only be granted in accordance with
the required variance procedures of these state regulations.
(b)
Other use regulations.
(1)
Within Zones AH and AO on the FIRM, adequate drainage paths must
be provided around structures on slopes, to guide floodwaters around
and away from proposed structures.
(2)
Within Zones AO on the FIRM, new and substantially improved residential
structures shall have the top of the lowest floor at least as high
as the FIRM's depth number above the highest adjacent grade and non-residential
structures shall be elevated or flood-proofed above the highest adjacent
grade to at least as high as the depth number on the FIRM. On FIRMs
without a depth number for the AO Zone, structures shall be elevated
or flood proofed to at least two feet above the highest adjacent grade.
(3)
In Zones A1-30 and AE, along watercourses that have a regulatory
floodway designated on the Washington County FIRM encroachments are
prohibited in the regulatory floodway which would result in any increase
in flood levels within the community during the occurrence of the
base flood discharge.
(5)
Detached accessory structures in Zones A, AE, A1-30, AO, and AH (i.e.,
garages, sheds) do not have to meet the elevation or dry flood-proofing
requirement if the following standards are met:
a.
The structure has a value less than $1000.
b.
The structure has unfinished interiors and must not be used for human
habitation. An apartment, office or other finished space over a detached
garage is considered human habitation and would require the structure
to be elevated.
c.
The structure is not in the floodway.
d.
The structure is not used for storage of hazardous materials.
e.
The structure is used solely for parking of vehicles and/or limited
storage.
f.
The structure must be wet flood proofed and designed to allow for
the automatic entry and exit of flood water.
g.
The accessory structure shall be firmly anchored to prevent flotation,
collapse and lateral movement.
h.
Service facilities such as electrical, mechanical and heating equipment
must be elevated or flood proofed to or above the base flood elevation.
i.
The structure must not increase the flood levels in the floodway.
(6)
No person shall change from business/commercial to residential use
of any structure or property located in the floodway of a special
flood hazard area so as to result in a use or expansion that could
increase the risk to the occupants.
(7)
The space below the lowest floor:
a.
Free of obstructions as described in FEMA Technical Bulletin 5 "Free
of Obstruction Requirements for Buildings Located in Coastal High
Hazard Area in Accordance with the National Flood Insurance Program",
or
b.
Constructed with open wood lattice-work, or insect screening intended
to collapse under wind and water without causing collapse, displacement,
or other structural damage to the elevated portion of the building
or supporting piles or columns; or,
c.
Designed with an enclosed area less than 300 square feet that is
constructed with non-supporting breakaway walls that have a design
safe loading resistance of not less than 10 or more than 20 pounds
per square foot.
(8)
For
any main structure located in a special flood hazard area, as shown
on the official FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps, the maximum building
height set forth in Article 3 of the Zoning Ordinance, as applicable,
shall be reduced by seven (7) feet. For any accessory structure, the
maximum building height shall be a percentage set forth in Article
3 of the Zoning Ordinance, as applicable, of the building height of
the main structure.
[Added 7-15-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-06]
[Ord. No. 2013-10, October
7, 2013, § 11-5]
(a)
Floodway data. In Zones A, A1-30, and AE, along watercourses that
have not had a regulatory floodway designated, the best available
federal, state, local, or other floodway data shall be used to prohibit
encroachments in floodways which would result in any increase in flood
levels within the community during the occurrence of the base flood
discharge.
(b)
Base flood elevation data. Base flood elevation data is required
for subdivision proposals or other developments greater than 50 lots
or five acres, whichever is the lesser, within unnumbered A zones.
(c)
Base flood elevations in A Zones. In the absence of FEMA BFE data
and floodway data, the best available federal, state, local, or other
BFE or floodway data shall be used as the basis for elevating residential
and non-residential structures to or above the base flood level and
for floodproofing non-residential structures to or above the base
flood level.
[Ord. No. 2013-10, October
7, 2013, § 11-6]
A designated AO, AH, AR/AO, AR/AH, or VO Zone on a community's
Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with a 1% or greater annual chance
of flooding to an average depth of one to three feet where a clearly
defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable,
and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized
by ponding or sheet flow.
The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year.
The elevation of the crest of the base flood or 100-year
flood. The height, as established in relation to the North American
Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 (or other datum where specified), in
relation to mean sea level expected to be reached by the waters of
the base flood at pertinent points in the floodplains of coastal and
riverine areas.
Area within a special flood hazard area, landward of a V
Zone or landward of an open coast without mapped V Zones. The principal
source of flooding must be astronomical tides, storm surges, seiches,
or tsunamis, not riverine flooding. During the base flood conditions,
the potential for breaking wave heights shall be greater than or equal
to 1.5 feet.
As related to substantial improvements, the cost of any reconstruction,
rehabilitation, addition, alteration, repair or other improvement
of a structure shall be established by a detailed written contractor's
estimate. The estimate shall include, but not be limited to: the cost
of materials (interior finishing elements, structural elements, utility
and service equipment); sales tax on materials, building equipment
and fixtures, including heating and air conditioning and utility meters;
labor; built-in appliances; demolition and site preparation; repairs
made to damaged parts of the building worked on at the same time;
contractor's overhead; contractor's profit; and grand total. Items
to be excluded include: cost of plans and specifications, survey costs,
permit fees, costs to correct code violations subsequent to a violation
notice, outside improvements such as septic systems, water supply
wells, landscaping, sidewalks, fences, yard lights, irrigation systems,
and detached structures such as garages, sheds, and gazebos.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to the construction of buildings or other
structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation
or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.
A manufactured home park or manufactured home subdivision
for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on
which the manufactured home are to be affixed (including, as a minimum,
the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either
final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before
the effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted
by a community.
The preparation of additional sites by the construction of
facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufacturing homes
are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction
of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete
pads).
The federal agency that administers the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP).
The official map of a community on which the Federal Insurance
Administrator has delineated both the special hazard areas and the
risk premium zones applicable to the community effective April 3,
1985, as amended. A FIRM that has been made available digitally is
called a Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM).
The official study of a community in which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) has conducted a technical engineering evaluation
and determination of local flood hazards, flood profiles and water
surface elevations. The Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM), which accompany
the FIS, provide both flood insurance rate zones and base flood elevations,
and may provide the regulatory floodway limits.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from either the overflow of
inland or tidal waters, or the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff
of surface waters from any source.
Any combination of structural and non-structural additions,
changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood
damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary
facilities, structures and their contents.
The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent
land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood
without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than
a designated height. For the purposes of these regulations, the term
"Regulatory Floodway" is synonymous in meaning with the term "Floodway".
A factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood
level for purposes of floodplain management. "Freeboard" tends to
compensate for the many unknown factors that could contribute to flood
heights greater than the height calculated for a selected size flood
and floodway conditions, such as wave action, bridge openings, and
the hydrological effect of urbanization of the watershed.
A use that cannot perform its intended purpose unless it
is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term includes
only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the
loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and ship building and
ship repair facilities.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
Any structure that is: (a) Listed individually in the National
Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department
of the Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the
Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the
National Register; (b) Certified or preliminarily determined by the
Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historic significance
of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined
by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district; (c)
Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states
with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the
Secretary of the Interior; or (d) Individually listed on a local inventory
of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs
that have been certified either: (1) By an approved state program
as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or (2) Directly by
the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
An advisory line indicating the limit of the 1.5-foot wave
height during the base flood.
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).
An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking
of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other than a basement
area is not considered a building's lowest floor; provided, that such
enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation
of the applicable non-elevation design requirements of 44 Code of
Federal Regulations § 60.3.
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without
a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities. The
term "manufactured home" does not include a "recreational vehicle".
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land divided into two or
more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
The price of a structure that a willing buyer and seller
agree upon. This can be determined by an independent appraisal by
a professional appraiser; the property's tax assessment, minus land
value; the replacement cost minus depreciation of the structure; the
structure's actual cash value.
Structures for which the "start of construction" commenced
on or after the effective date of an initial FIRM or after December
31, 1974, whichever is later, and includes any subsequent improvements
to such structures. For floodplain management purposes, new construction
means structures for which the start of construction commenced on
or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation
adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to
such structures, (required)
A manufactured home park or manufactured home subdivision
for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on
which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum,
the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either
final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed on
or after the effective date of floodplain regulations adopted by the
community.
A vehicle which is: (a) built on a single chassis; (b) 400
square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
(c) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light
duty truck; and (d) designed primarily not for use as a permanent
dwelling but as a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping,
travel, or seasonal use.
See definition for "Floodway".
See definition for "Area of Shallow Flooding".
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to
a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any given year. After detailed
ratemaking has been completed in preparation for publication of the
flood insurance rate map, Zone A usually is refined into Zones A,
AO, AH, A1-30, AE, A99, AR, AR/A1-30, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/AH, AR/A, VO,
or V1-30, VE or V. For purposes of these regulations, the term "special
flood hazard area" is synonymous in meaning with the phrase "area
of special flood hazard".
For other than new construction or substantial improvements
under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. 97-348), includes substantial
improvement and means the date the building permit was issued, provided
the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation,
addition placement, substantial improvement or other improvement was
within 180 days of the permit date. The actual start means either
the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a
site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of
piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of
excavation, or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation.
Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as
clearing, grading and filling; nor does it include the installation
of streets and/or walkways; nor does in include excavation for a basement,
footings, piers, or foundations or the erections of temporary forms;
nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory
buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units
or not part of the main structure. For a substantial improvement,
the actual start of construction menas the first alteration of any
wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a building, whether
or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.
For floodplain management purposes, a walled and roofed building,
including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above
ground.
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure, whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to before damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred.
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvements
to a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market
value of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement.
This term includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage",
regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not,
however, include:
Any project to correct existing violations of state or local
health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified
by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary
to assure safe living conditions or
Any alteration of the "historic structure", provided that the
alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation
as a "historic structure".
A grant of relief by a community from the terms of the floodplain
management ordinance that allows construction in a manner otherwise
prohibited and where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary
hardship.
Failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant
with the community's floodplain management ordinance. Construction
or other development without required permits, lowest floor elevation
documentation, flood-proofing certificates or required floodway encroachment
calculations is resumed to be in violation until such time as that
documentation is provided.
