A development permit shall be obtained before construction or development begins within any area of special flood hazard established in §
231-8. Application for a development permit shall be made on forms furnished by the enforcement officer and may include, but not be limited to: plans in duplicate drawn to scale showing the nature, location, dimensions and elevations of the area in question; existing or proposed structures, fill, storage of materials, drainage facilities; and the location of the foregoing. Specifically, the following information is required:
A. Elevation in relation to mean sea level of the lowest floor (including
basement of all structures);
B. Elevation in relation to mean sea level to which any structure has
been floodproofed;
C. Certification by a registered professional engineer or architect that the floodproofing methods for any nonresidential structure meet the floodproofing criteria in §
231-18B; and
D. Description of the extent to which any watercourse will be altered
or relocated as a result of proposed development.
The Zoning Enforcement Officer is hereby appointed to administer
and implement this chapter by granting or denying development permit
applications in accordance with its provisions.
Duties of the enforcement officer shall include, but not be
limited to:
A. Permit review.
(1) Review all development permits to determine that the permit requirements
of this chapter have been satisfied.
(2) Review all development permits to determine that all necessary permits
have been obtained from those federal, state or local governmental
agencies from which prior approval is required.
(3) Review all development permits to determine if the proposed development
adversely affects the flood-carrying capacity of the area of special
flood hazard. For purposes of this chapter, "adversely affects" means
that the cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined
with all other existing and anticipated development, will not increase
the water surface elevation of the base flood more than one foot at
any point.
B. Use of other base flood data. When base flood elevation data have not been provided in accordance with §
231-8, Basis for establishing areas of special flood hazard, the enforcement officer shall obtain, review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation data available from a federal, state or other source, in order to administer §
231-18, Specific Standards, Subsection
A, Residential construction, and Subsection
B, Nonresidential construction.
C. Information to be obtained and maintained. The enforcement officer
shall:
(1) Obtain and record the actual elevation (in relation to mean sea level)
of the lowest habitable floor (including basement) of all new or substantially
improved structures.
(2) For all new or substantially improved floodproofed structures:
(a)
Verify and record the actual elevation (in relation to mean
sea level); and
(b)
Maintain the floodproofing certifications required in §
231-13C).
(3) Maintain for public inspection all records pertaining to the provisions
of this chapter.
D. Alteration of watercourses. The enforcement officer shall notify
adjacent communities and the Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection prior to any alteration or relocation of a watercourse,
and submit evidence of such notification to the Federal Insurance
Administration.
E. Interpretation of FIRM boundaries. The enforcement officer shall make interpretations, where needed, as to the exact location of the boundaries of the areas of special flood hazards (for example, where there appears to be a conflict between a mapped boundary and actual field conditions). The person contesting the location of the boundary shall be given a reasonable opportunity to appeal the interpretation as provided in §
231-16.