The city engineer or designee determined by the city manager is hereby appointed the floodplain administrator to administer and implement the provisions of this article and other appropriate sections of 44 CFR (Emergency Management and Assistance, National Flood Insurance Program Regulations) pertaining to floodplain management. 44 CFR and any amendments thereto are incorporated herein by reference. If any conflict should arise between this article and 44 CFR, the provision that imposes the more stringent restriction(s) shall prevail. This article’s express reference to any part of 44 CFR, and its inclusion of any provisions that track the language or are similar to any part of 44 CFR, are intended to be minimum requirements and shall not be interpreted to exclude application of 44 CFR sections that are not expressly referenced or included herein.
(2006 Code, sec. 38-51; Ordinance 09-05-794, sec. 1, adopted 5/4/09)
Duties and responsibilities of the floodplain administrator shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) 
Maintain and hold open for public inspection all records pertaining to the provisions of this article.
(2) 
Review permit applications to determine whether to ensure that the proposed building site project, including the placement of manufactured homes, will be reasonably safe from flooding.
(3) 
Review, approve or deny all applications for development permits required by adoption of this article.
(4) 
Review permits for proposed development to assure that all necessary permits have been obtained from those federal, state or local governmental agencies (including section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, 33 U.S.C. 1334) from which prior approval is required.
(5) 
Where interpretation is 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 floodplain administrator shall make the necessary interpretation.
(6) 
Notify, in riverine situations, adjacent communities and the state coordinating agency, which is the state water development board (TWDB), and also the state commission on environmental quality (TCEQ), prior to any alteration or relocation of a watercourse, and submit evidence of such notification to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(7) 
Assure that the flood-carrying capacity within the altered or relocated portion of any watercourse is maintained. With respect to a watercourse (or any part of a watercourse) that constitutes a regulatory floodway, the floodplain administrator is authorized to assure that the flood-carrying capacity is maintained by denying a permit application unless the applicant first requests FEMA’s comments on whether a proposed project, if built as proposed, would justify a map revision, in accordance with 44 CFR chapter 1, section 65.8. The applicant must submit the request for FEMA’s comments by notifying the floodplain administrator of the intent to do so, and excluding [executing] all documents, if any, provided by the floodplain administrator for that purpose. Further, the request must be accompanied by a revised hydrologic analysis and hydraulic analysis, with an elevation of the same recurrence interval(s) studied in the effective flood insurance study. Unless the applicant can furnish the floodplain administrator with FEMA’s written decision to the contrary, all new analyses required under this subsection shall be made using the same hydrologic and hydraulic computer model(s) used to develop the base flood elevations shown on the effective flood insurance rate map and updated to show present conditions in the floodplain and floodway. Copies of the input and output data from the original and revised hydraulic analyses shall also be submitted to FEMA.
(8) 
When base flood elevation data has not been provided in accordance with section 24.10.007, the floodplain administrator shall obtain, review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation data and floodway data available from a federal, state or other source, in order to administer the provisions of division 3 of this article.
(9) 
When a regulatory floodway has not been designated, the floodplain administrator must require that no new construction, substantial improvements, or other development (including fill) shall be permitted within zones A1-30 and AE on the community’s FIRM, unless it is demonstrated 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 within the community.
(10) 
Under the provisions of 44 CFR chapter 1, section 65.12, of the National Flood Insurance Program regulations, a community may approve certain development in zones A1-30, AE, and AH on the community’s FIRM which increases the water surface elevation of the base flood by more than one foot, provided that the community first completes all of the provisions required by section 65.12.
(2006 Code, sec. 38-52; Ordinance 09-05-794, sec. 1, adopted 5/4/09)
(a) 
Application for a floodplain development permit shall be presented to the floodplain administrator on forms furnished by him/her and may include, but not be limited to, plans in duplicate drawn to scale showing the location, dimensions, and elevation of proposed landscape alterations, existing and proposed structures, including the placement of manufactured homes, and the location of the foregoing in relation to areas of special flood hazard. Additionally, the following information is required:
(1) 
Elevation (in relation to mean sea level) of the lowest floor (including basement) of all new and substantially improved structures;
(2) 
Elevation in relation to mean sea level to which any nonresidential structure shall be floodproofed;
(3) 
A certificate from a registered professional engineer or architect that the nonresidential floodproofed structure shall meet the floodproofing criteria of section 24.10.072(2);
(4) 
Description of the extent to which any watercourse or natural drainage will be altered or relocated as a result of proposed development;
(5) 
Maintain a record of all such information in accordance with section 24.10.042(1).
(b) 
Approval or denial of a floodplain development permit by the floodplain administrator shall be based on all of the provisions of this article and the following relevant factors:
(1) 
The danger to life and property due to flooding or erosion damage;
(2) 
The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;
(3) 
The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others;
(4) 
The compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;
(5) 
The safety of access to the property in times of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
(6) 
The costs of providing governmental services during and after flood conditions including maintenance and repair of streets and bridges, and public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems;
(7) 
The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise and sediment transport of the floodwaters and the effects of wave action, if applicable, expected at the site;
(8) 
The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable;
(9) 
The availability of alternative locations, not subject to flooding or erosion damage, for the proposed use.
(2006 Code, sec. 38-53; Ordinance 09-05-794, sec. 1, adopted 5/4/09)
(a) 
The board of adjustments shall serve as the appeal board and shall hear and render judgment on requests for variances from the requirements of this article.
(b) 
The appeal board shall hear and render judgment on an appeal only when it is alleged there is an error in any requirement, decision, or determination made by the floodplain administrator in the enforcement or administration of this article.
(c) 
Any person or persons aggrieved by the decision of the appeal board may appeal such decision in the courts of competent jurisdiction.
(d) 
The floodplain administrator shall maintain a record of all actions involving an appeal and shall report variances to the Federal Emergency Management Agency upon request.
(e) 
Variances may be issued for the reconstruction, rehabilitation or restoration of structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places or the state inventory of historic places, without regard to the procedures set forth in the remainder of this article.
(f) 
Variances may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements to be erected on a lot of one-half acre or less in size contiguous to and surrounded by lots with existing structures constructed below the base flood level, providing the relevant factors in section 24.10.043(b) of this article have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond the one-half acre, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.
(g) 
Upon consideration of the factors noted above and the intent of this article, the appeal board may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purpose and objectives of this article (section 24.10.003).
(h) 
Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
(i) 
Variances may be issued for the repair or rehabilitation of historic structures upon a determination that the proposed repair or rehabilitation will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a historic structure and the variance is the minimum necessary to preserve the historic character and design of the structure.
(j) 
Prerequisites for granting variances:
(1) 
Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
(2) 
Variances shall only be issued upon:
(A) 
Showing a good and sufficient cause;
(B) 
A determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant; and
(C) 
A determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, or extraordinary public expense, create nuisances, cause fraud on or victimization of the public, or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.
(3) 
Any applicant to which a variance is granted shall be given written notice that the structure will be permitted to be built with the lowest floor elevation below the base flood elevation, and that the cost of flood insurance will be commensurate with the increased risk resulting from the reduced lowest floor elevation.
(k) 
Variances may be issued by a community for new construction and substantial improvements and for other development necessary for the conduct of a functionally dependent use provided that:
(1) 
The criteria outlined in subsections (a) through (i) of this section are met; and
(2) 
The structure or other development is protected by methods that minimize flood damages during the base flood and create no additional threats to public safety.
(2006 Code, sec. 38-54; Ordinance 09-05-794, sec. 1, adopted 5/4/09; Ordinance adopting 2015 Code)