The legislature of the state has in the Flood Control Insurance
Act, Texas Water Code, section 16.315, delegated the responsibility
of local governmental units to adopt regulations designed to minimize
flood losses. Therefore, the city does ordain as follows.
(Ordinance 2010-05 adopted 8/3/10; Ordinance
2024-3 adopted 1/8/2024)
(a)
The flood hazard areas of the city are subject to periodic inundation,
which results in loss of life and property, health and safety hazards,
disruption of commerce and governmental services, and extraordinary
public expenditures for flood protection and relief, all of which
adversely affect the public health, safety and general welfare.
(b)
These flood losses are created by the cumulative effect of obstructions
in floodplains which cause an increase in flood heights and velocities,
and by the occupancy of flood hazard areas by uses vulnerable to floods
and hazardous to other lands because they are inadequately elevated,
floodproofed or otherwise protected from flood damage.
(Ordinance 2020-2 adopted 1/9/20; Ordinance
2024-3 adopted 1/8/2024)
It is the purpose of this article to promote the public health,
safety and general welfare and to minimize public and private losses
due to flood conditions in specific areas by provisions designed to:
(1)
Protect human life and health;
(2)
Minimize expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects;
(3)
Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding
and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;
(4)
Minimize prolonged business interruptions;
(5)
Minimize damage to public facilities and utilities such as water
and gas mains, electric, telephone and sewer lines, streets and bridges
located in floodplains;
(6)
Help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use and
development of floodprone areas in such a manner as to minimize future
flood blight areas; and
(7)
Ensure that potential buyers are notified that property is in a flood
area.
(Ordinance 2010-05 adopted 8/3/10; Ordinance
2024-3 adopted 1/8/2024)
In order to accomplish its purposes, this article uses the following
methods:
(1)
Restrict or prohibit uses that are dangerous to health, safety or
property in times of flood, or cause excessive increases in flood
heights or velocities;
(2)
Require that uses vulnerable to floods, including facilities which
serve such uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of
initial construction;
(3)
Control the alteration of natural floodplains, stream channels, and
natural protective barriers, which are involved in the accommodation
of floodwaters;
(4)
Control filling, grading, dredging and other development which may
increase flood damage;
(5)
Prevent or regulate the construction of flood barriers which will
unnaturally divert floodwaters or which may increase flood hazards
to other lands.
(Ordinance 2010-05 adopted 8/3/10; Ordinance
2024-3 adopted 1/8/2024)
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in
this article shall be interpreted to give them the meaning they have
in common usage and to give this article its most reasonable application.
Flooding occurring on the surface of an alluvial fan or similar
landform which originates at the apex and is characterized by high-velocity
flows; active processes of erosion, sediment transport, and deposition;
and unpredictable flow paths.
A point on an alluvial fan or similar landform below which
the flow path of the major stream that formed the fan becomes unpredictable
and alluvial fan flooding can occur.
A structure which is on the same parcel of property as the
principal structure to be insured and the use of which is incidental
to the use of the principal structure.
The land area that would be inundated by the 1-percent-annual
chance (100-year) flood based on future conditions hydrology.
A designated AO, AH, AR/AO, AR/AH, or VO zone on a community's
flood insurance rate map (FIRM) with a 1-percent or greater annual
chance of flooding to an average depth of 1 to 3 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 land in the floodplain within a community subject to
a 1-percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. The area
may be designated as zone A on the flood hazard boundary map (FHBM).
After detailed rate making has been completed in preparation for publication
of the FIRM, 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, V1-30, VE or
V.
The flood having a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year.
The elevation shown on the flood insurance rate map (FIRM)
and found in the accompanying flood insurance study (FIS) for zones
A, AE, AH, A1-A30, AR, V1-V30, or VE that indicates the water surface
elevation resulting from the flood that has a 1-percent chance of
equaling or exceeding that level in any given year - also called the
base flood.
Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
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.
An integral and readily identifiable part of a flood protection
system, without which the flood protection provided by the entire
system would be compromised.
Any manmade change to improved and 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.
For insurance purposes, a nonbasement building, which has
its lowest elevated floor, raised above ground level by foundation
walls, shear walls, posts, piers, pilings, or columns.
An enclosure is a fully enclosed area below the lowest floor
that is usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or
storage in an area other than a basement. To qualify as an enclosure,
the area must meet the nonelevation design requirements of 44 CFR
60.3. See also the definition of lowest floor.
For the purposes of determining rates, structures for which
the start of construction commenced before the effective date of the
FIRM or before January 1, 1975, for FIRMs effective before that date.
Existing construction may also be referred to as existing 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 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 manufactured 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).
An examination, evaluation and determination of flood hazards
and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations, or an
examination, evaluation and determination of mudslide (i.e., mudflow)
and/or flood-related erosion hazards.
An official map of a community, on which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency has delineated both the special flood hazard areas
and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
See flood elevation study.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
Those physical structural works for which funds have been
authorized, appropriated, and expended and which have been constructed
specifically to modify flooding in order to reduce the extent of the
area within a community subject to a special flood hazard and the
extent of the depths of associated flooding. Such a system typically
includes hurricane tidal barriers, dams, reservoirs, levees or dikes.
These specialized flood modifying works are those constructed in conformance
with sound engineering standards.
The operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive
measures for reducing flood damage, including but not limited to emergency
preparedness plans, flood control works and floodplain management
regulations.
Zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes,
health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as a floodplain
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 land area susceptible to being inundated by water from
any source (see definition of flooding).
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.
See regulatory floodway.
A term used to describe the safety margin provided above
the BFE. Most communities choose a freeboard of 1 to 3 feet above
BFE.
A use, which 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 shipbuilding and
ship repair facilities, but does not include long-term storage or
related manufacturing facilities.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
Any structure that is:
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;
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
of the Interior 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:
A manmade structure, usually an earthen embankment, designed
and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to
contain, control, or divert the flow of water so as to provide protection
from temporary flooding.
A flood protection system which consists of a levee, or levees,
and associated structures, such as closure and drainage devices, which
are constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering
practices.
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 nonelevation design requirement of section 60.3
of the National Flood Insurance Program regulations.
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 connected 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.
For purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the
North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 or other datum, to which
base flood elevations shown on a community's flood insurance
rate map are referenced.
For the purpose of determining insurance rates, 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.
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 floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
A nonresidential structure includes, but is not limited to:
small business concerns, churches, schools, farm buildings (including
grain bins and silos), poolhouses, clubhouses, recreational buildings,
mercantile structures, agricultural and industrial structures, warehouses,
hotels and motels with normal room rentals for less than 6 months'
duration, and nursing homes.
Base floodwaters will not inundate the land or damage structures
to be removed from the SFHA and that any subsurface waters to the
base flood will not damage existing or proposed buildings.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal
projections;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light
duty truck; and
Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as
temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal
use.
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.
A residential structure is one that is considered to be a
domicile or is used for residential purposes for 6 months or more.
Residential structures include a single-family home, multiple unit
apartment buildings, a residential condominium, or a manufactured
or modular home.
Relating to, formed by, or resembling a river (including
tributaries), stream, brook, etc.
See area of special flood hazard.
For other than new construction or substantial improvements
under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (Pub. 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, 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 it include excavation for basement, footings,
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.
For floodplain management purposes, a walled and roofed building,
including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above
ground, as well as a manufactured home.
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before
the damage occurred.
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement
of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of
the market value of the structure before 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 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 official
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 by a community from the terms of a floodplain
management regulation. (For full requirements see section 60.6 of
the National Flood Insurance Program regulations.)
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations.
A structure or other development without the elevation certificate,
other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in
section 60.3(b)(5), (c)(4), (c)(10), (d)(3), (e)(2), (e)(4), or (e)(5)
of the National Flood Insurance Program regulations 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 floodplains of coastal or riverine
areas.
(Ordinance 2010-05 adopted 8/3/10; Ordinance
2024-3 adopted 1/8/2024)
This article shall apply to all areas of special flood hazard
within the jurisdiction of the city.
(Ordinance 2020-2 adopted 1/9/20; Ordinance
2024-3 adopted 1/8/2024)
The areas of special flood hazard identified by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency in the current scientific and engineering
report entitled, "Flood Insurance Study (FIS) for Gonzales County,
TX and Incorporated Areas," dated effective 3-27-2024, with accompanying
flood insurance rate maps and/or flood boundary-floodway maps (FIRM
and/or FBFM) dated 3-27-2024, and any revisions thereto are hereby
adopted by reference and declared to be a part of this article.
(Ordinance 2020-2 adopted 1/9/20; Ordinance
2024-3 adopted 1/8/2024)
A floodplain development permit shall be required to ensure
conformance with the provisions of this article.
(Ordinance 2010-05 adopted 8/3/10; Ordinance
2024-3 adopted 1/8/2024)
No structure or land shall hereafter be located, altered, or
have its use changed without full compliance with the terms of this
article and other applicable regulations.
(Ordinance 2010-05 adopted 8/3/10; Ordinance
2024-3 adopted 1/8/2024)
This article is not intended to repeal, abrogate, or impair
any existing easements, covenants, or deed restrictions. However,
where this article and another ordinance, easement, covenant, or deed
restriction conflict or overlap, whichever imposes the more stringent
restrictions shall prevail.
(Ordinance 2010-05 adopted 8/3/10; Ordinance
2024-3 adopted 1/8/2024)
In the interpretation and application of this article, all provisions
shall be:
(1)
Considered as minimum requirements;
(2)
Liberally construed in favor of the governing body; and
(3)
Deemed neither to limit nor repeal any other powers granted under
state statutes.
(Ordinance 2010-05 adopted 8/3/10; Ordinance
2024-3 adopted 1/8/2024)
The degree of flood protection required by this article is considered
reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on scientific and
engineering considerations. On rare occasions greater floods can and
will occur and flood heights may be increased by manmade or natural
causes. This article does not imply that land outside the areas of
special flood hazards or uses permitted within such areas will be
free from flooding or flood damages. This article shall not create
liability on the part of the community or any official or employee
thereof for any flood damages that result from reliance on this article
or any administrative decision lawfully made hereunder.
(Ordinance 2010-05 adopted 8/3/10; Ordinance
2024-3 adopted 1/8/2024)
No structure or land shall hereafter be constructed, located,
extended, converted, or altered without full compliance with the terms
of this article and other applicable regulations. Violation of the
provisions of this article 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 article or fails to comply with any of its requirements
shall upon conviction thereof be fined not more than $500.00, for
each violation, and in addition shall pay all costs and expenses involved
in the case. Nothing herein contained shall prevent the city from
taking such other lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy
any violation.
(Ordinance 2010-05 adopted 8/3/10; Ordinance
2024-3 adopted 1/8/2024)
