Title XII, Flood Damage Prevention, was amended in entirety 3-24-2020 by Ord. No. 6PSF-A,
03-24-2020. Prior history includes Ord. No. 6S+FA(S-1),
6-1-2007. Amendments noted where applicable.
[Amended 3-24-2020 by Ord. No. 6PSF-A, 03-24-2020]
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in
this Title shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they
have in common usage and to give this Title its most reasonable application.
Areas subject to inundation by 1%-annual-chance shallow flooding
(usually areas of ponding) where average depths are between one and
three feet. Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) derived from detailed hydraulic
analyses are shown in this zone.
Areas subject to inundation by 1%-annual-chance shallow flooding
(usually sheet flow on sloping terrain) where average depths are between
one and three feet.
A request for a review of the Flood Control Compliance Officer's
interpretation of any provision of this Title or a request for a variance.
A designated AO, AH or VO zone on the Digital Flood Insurance
Rate Map (DFIRM) with a 1% annual or greater chance of flooding. The
base flood depths range to an average depth from one to three feet;
where a clearly defined channel does not exist; where the path of
flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; and where velocity flow
may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet
flow.
The land in the flood plain within a community subject to
a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown
on the FIRM as Zone V, VE, V1-30, A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, or AH.
A flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in
any given year.
The flood elevation shown on a published Flood Insurance
Study (FIS) including the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). For zones
AE, AH, AO, and A1-30 the elevation represents the water surface elevation
resulting from a flood that has a 1% or greater chance of being equaled
or exceeded in any given year.
Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
The most recent available preliminary flood risk guidance
FEMA has provided. The Best Available Flood Hazard Data may be depicted
on but not limited to Advisory Flood Hazard Area Maps, Work Maps or
Preliminary FIS and FIRM.
The most recent available preliminary flood elevation guidance
FEMA has provided. The Best Available Flood Hazard Data Elevation
may be depicted on an Advisory Flood Hazard Area Map, Work Map or
Preliminary FIS and FIRM.
A wall that is not part of the structural support of the
building and is intended through its design and construction to collapse
under specific lateral loading forces without causing damage to the
elevated portion of the building or supporting foundation system.
The portion of the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) starting
from a Velocity (V) Zone and extending up to the landward Limit of
the Moderate Wave Action delineation. Where no V Zone is mapped the
Coastal A Zone is the portion between the open coast and the landward
Limit of the Moderate Wave Action delineation. Coastal A Zones may
be subject to wave effects, velocity flows, erosion, scour, or a combination
of these forces. Construction and development in Coastal A Zones is
to be regulated the same as V Zones/Coastal High Hazard Areas.
An area of special flood hazard extending from offshore to
the inland limit of a primary frontal dune along an open coast and
any other area subject to high velocity wave action from storms or
seismic sources.
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement
of a structure that equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the
structure at the time of the improvement or repair when counted cumulatively
for 10 years.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining,
dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations
or storage of equipment or materials located within the area of special
flood hazard.
Any of the following:
The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk
premium zones applicable to the community.
A non-basement building (a) built, in the case of a building
in an Area of Special Flood Hazard, to have the top of the elevated
floor, or in the case of a building in a Coastal High-Hazard Area
or Coastal A Zone, to have the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural
member of the elevated floor elevated above the base flood elevation
plus freeboard by means of piling, columns (posts and piers), or shear
walls parallel to the flow of the water, and (b) adequately anchored
so as not to impair the structural integrity of the building during
a flood of up to the magnitude of the base flood. In an Area of Special
Flood Hazard "elevated building" also includes a building elevated
by means of fill or solid foundation perimeter walls with openings
sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded movement of floodwaters. In
Areas of Coastal High Hazard and Coastal A Zones "elevated buildings"
also includes a building otherwise meeting the definition of "elevated
building" even though the lower area is enclosed by means of breakaway
walls.
An administrative tool of the National Flood Insurance Program
(NFIP) that can be used to provide elevation information, to determine
the proper insurance premium rate, and to support a required Letter
of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Letter of Map Revision based on fill (LOMR-F).
The process of gradual wearing away of land masses.
A manufactured home park or 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 before the effective date of
the floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
Any publication authored or referenced by FEMA related to
building science, building safety, or floodplain management related
to the National Flood Insurance Program. Publications shall include
but are not limited to technical bulletins, desk references, and American
Society of Civil Engineers Standards documents.
An American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) classification
of buildings and other structures for determination of flood loads
and conditions and determination of minimum elevation requirements
on the basis of risk associated with unacceptable performance.
The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk
premium zones applicable to the community.
The official report in which the Federal Insurance Administration
has provided flood profiles, as well as the Flood Insurance Rate Map(s),
and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
Zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes,
health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as a flood plain
ordinance, grading ordinance, and erosion control ordinance) and other
applications of police power. The term describes such State or local
regulations, in any combination thereof, which provide standards for
the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.
Any combination of structural and nonstructural 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.
Certification by an engineer or architect to certify a floodproofing
design for a non-residential building.
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
two-tenths of a foot.
A factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood
level for purposes of flood plain 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.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed or existing walls of a structure.
Any structure that is:
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places
(a listing maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily
determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements
for individual listing on the National Register.
Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the
Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered
historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary
to qualify as a registered historic district.
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
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified either:
Inland limit of the area affected by waves greater than 1.5
feet during the Base flood. Base flood conditions between the V Zone
and the LiMWA will be similar to, but less severe than those in the
V Zone.
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).
An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, usable solely for the
parking of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other than
a basement is not considered a building's lowest floor provided
that such enclosure is not built so to render the structure in violation
of other applicable non-elevation design requirements of 44 CFR Section
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.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of the floodplain regulations adopted
by the City and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
A manufactured home park or 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 the floodplain management regulations adopted by the City.
The draft version of the FIRM released for public comment
before finalization and adoption.
A vehicle which is (a) built on a single chassis; (b) 400
square feet of less when measured at the longest horizontal projections;
(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 temporary living quarters for recreational, camping,
travel or seasonal use.
Shall mean and includes substantial improvements and shall
mean the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual
start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition,
placement 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 a slab or footings,
the installation of pilings, 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 it include excavation
for a basement, footings or piers, or foundations or the erection
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 means 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.
A walled and roofed building, a manufactured home, or 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 it is before damaged condition
would equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before
the damage occurred. Substantial Damage also means flood-related damages
sustained by a structure on two or more separate occasions during
a ten-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each
such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds 25% of the market
value of the structure before the damages occurred.
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement
of a structure during a ten-year period the cost of which equals or
exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the "start
of construction" of the improvement. Substantial improvement also
means "cumulative substantial improvement." This term includes structures
which have incurred "substantial damage", regardless of the actual
repair work performed or "repetitive loss". The term does not, however,
include either:
Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing
violations of State or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications
which have been identified by the local code enforcement officer and
which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions;
or
Any alteration of a "historic structure" provided that the alteration
will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a
"historic structure".
A grant of relief from the requirements of this Title that
permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited
by this Title.
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with this chapter. A new or substantially improved structure
or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications,
or other evidence of compliance required in 44 CFR § 60.3(b)(5),
(c)(4), (c)(10), (e)(2), (e)(4), or (e)(5) is presumed to be in violation
until such time as that documentation is provided.
The height, in relation to the North American Vertical Datum
(NAVD) of 1988, (or other datum, where specified) of floods of various
magnitudes and frequencies in the flood plains of coastal or riverine
areas.
[Amended 3-24-2020 by Ord. No. 6PSF-A, 03-24-2020]
This Title shall apply to all areas of special flood hazards
within the jurisdiction of the corporate boundaries of the City of
Newark, New Jersey.
[Amended 3-24-2020 by Ord. No. 6PSF-A, 03-24-2020]
a.
The areas of special flood hazard for the City of Newark, Community
No. 340189 are identified and defined on the following documents prepared
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
1.
A scientific and engineering report "Flood Insurance Study, Essex
County, New Jersey (All Jurisdictions)" dated April 3, 2020.
2.
Flood Insurance Rate Map for Essex County, New Jersey (All Jurisdictions)
as shown on Index and panel numbers 0113F, 0114F, 0116G, 0117F, 0118F,
0119F, 0132F, 0151F, 0152F, 0153F, 0154F, 0156F, 0157F, 0158F, 0159F,
0162F, 0166F, 0167F, 0176F, 0178F, 0200F; whose effective date is
April 3, 2020.
3.
Best Available Flood Hazard Data. These documents shall take precedence
over effective panels and FIS in construction and development regulations
only. Where the effective mapping or Base Flood Elevation conflict
or overlap with the Best Available Flood Hazard Data, whichever imposes
the more stringent requirement shall prevail.
b.
The above documents are hereby adopted and declared to be a part
of this Title. The Flood Insurance Study and Flood Insurance Rate
Maps and maps and advisory documents are on file in the Department
of Engineering, City Hall, 920 Broad Street, Room 412, Newark, New
Jersey, 07102 and in the offices of the City Clerk.
[Amended 3-24-2020 by Ord. No. 6PSF-A, 03-24-2020]
No structure or land shall hereafter be constructed, re-located
to, extended, converted, or altered without full compliance with the
terms of this Title and other applicable regulations. Violation of
the provisions of this Title by failure to comply with any of its
requirements (including violations of conditions and safeguards established
in connection with conditions) shall constitute a misdemeanor. Any
person who violates this Title or fails to comply with any of its
requirements, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than
$300 for each day the violation persists or imprisoned for not more
than 90 days, or both, for each violation, and in addition, shall
pay all costs and expenses involved in the case. Nothing herein contained
shall prevent the City of Newark, New Jersey, from taking such other
lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violation.
[Amended 3-24-2020 by Ord. No. 6PSF-A, 03-24-2020]
This Title is not intended to repeal, abrogate, or impair any
existing easements, covenants, or deed restrictions. However, where
this Title and other ordinance, easement, covenant, or deed restriction
conflict or overlap, whichever imposes the more stringent restrictions
shall prevail.
[Amended 3-24-2020 by Ord. No. 6PSF-A, 03-24-2020]
In the interpretation and application of this Title, all provisions
shall be:
[Amended 3-24-2020 by Ord. No. 6PSF-A, 03-24-2020]
The degree of flood protection required by this Title is considered
reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on scientific and
engineering considerations. Larger floods can and will occur on rare
occasions. Flood heights may be increased by man-made or natural causes.
This Title does not imply that land outside the area of special flood
hazards or uses permitted within such areas will be free from flooding
or flood damages. This Title shall not create liability on the part
of the City of Newark, New Jersey, any officer or employee thereof
or the Federal Insurance Administration, for any flood damages that
result from reliance on this Title or any administrative decision
lawfully made thereunder.
