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.
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) Insure
that potential buyers are notified that property is in a flood area.
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 land.