[Adopted 4-28-1975 (Ord.
No. 10-054)]
[Amended 5-30-2023]
The Building Official shall review all building permit applications
for new construction or substantial improvements to determine whether
proposed building sites will be reasonably safe from flooding. If
a proposed building site is in a location that has a flood hazard,
any new construction or substantial improvement (including placement
of and improvement to prefabricated and mobile homes) must:
A. Be designed (or modified) and anchored to prevent flotation, collapse,
or lateral movement of the structure;
B. Use construction resistant to flood damage; and
C. Use construction methods and practices that will minimize flood damage.
The Planning and Zoning Commission shall review subdivision
proposals to assure that:
A. All such proposals are consistent with the need to minimize flood
damage;
B. All public utilities and facilities in such proposals, including
sewer, gas, electrical, and water systems, are located, elevated,
and constructed to minimize or eliminate flood damage;
C. Adequate drainage is provided so as to reduce exposure to flood hazards;
and
D. On-site sewage disposal systems are located so as to avoid impairment
of them or contamination from them during flooding.
[Amended 5-30-2023]
The Water Pollution Control Authority shall require new or replacement
sanitary sewage systems to be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration
of floodwaters into the system and discharges from the system into
floodwater.
[Amended 5-30-2023]
The Inland Wetlands Commission shall review applications for
regulated activities in flood hazard areas to assure that all activities
in such areas are consistent with the need to minimize flood damage.
[Adopted 9-29-1988 (Ord.
No. 10-055); amended in its entirety 8-30-2023]
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in
this article shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they
have in common usage and to give this article its most reasonable
application.
ADDITION (TO AN EXISTING BUILDING)
Any walled and roofed expansion to the perimeter of a building
in which the addition is connected by a common load-bearing wall other
than a fire wall. Any walled and roofed addition which is connected
by a fire wall or is separated by independent perimeter load-bearing
walls is new construction.
APPEAL
A request for a review of the Building Official's interpretation
of any provision of this article or a request for a variance.
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to
a 1% or greater chance flooding in any given year. The area of special
flood hazard is also called the special flood hazard area (SFHA).
SFHAs are determined utilizing the base flood elevations (BFE) provided
on the flood profiles in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) for a community.
BFEs provided on Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) are only approximate
(rounded up or down) and should be verified with the BFEs published
in the FIS for a specific location. SFHAs include, but are not necessarily
limited to, the land shown as Zones A, A1-30, AE, AO, AH on a FIRM.
ASCE-24
American Society of Civil Engineers publication "Flood Resistant
Design and Construction."
BASE FLOOD
The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year, also referred to as the 100-year flood, as published
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as part of a Flood
Insurance Study (FIS) and depicted on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE)
The elevation of the crest of the base flood or 100-year
flood. The height in relation to mean sea level expected to be reached
by the waters of the base flood at pertinent points in the floodplains
of coastal and riverine areas.
BASEMENT
The portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
BREAKAWAY WALL
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 the supporting foundation system.
BUILDING
Any structure built for support, shelter, or enclosure for
any occupancy or storage.
COST
As related to substantial improvements, the cost of any reconstruction,
rehabilitation, addition, alteration, repair or other improvement
of a structure shall be established by a detailed written contractor's
estimate. The estimate shall include, but not be limited to: the cost
of materials (interior finishing elements, structural elements, utility
and service equipment); sales tax on materials, building equipment
and fixtures, including heating and air conditioning and utility meters;
labor; built-in appliances; demolition and site preparation; repairs
made to damaged parts of the building worked on at the same time;
contractor's overhead; contractor's profit; and grand total.
Items to be excluded include: cost of plans and specifications, survey
costs, permit fees, outside improvements such as landscaping, sidewalks,
fences, yard lights, irrigation systems, and detached structures such
as garages, sheds, and gazebos.
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to the construction of buildings or other
structures, the construction of additions, alterations or substantial
improvements to buildings or structures, the placement of buildings
or structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavating,
drilling operations, or storage of equipment, storage, deposition,
or extraction of materials, and the installation, repair or removal
of public private sewage disposal systems or water supply facilities.
ELEVATED BUILDING
A nonbasement building built to have the lowest floor elevated
above the ground level by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter
walls, pilings, columns (posts or piers), shear walls, or breakaway
walls.
EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
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, as a minimum, the installation of utilities,
the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the
pouring of concrete pads) is completed before November 1, 1984, the
effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted by
the community.
EXPANSION TO AN EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
The preparation of additional sites by the construction of
facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufacturing 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).
FINISHED LIVING SPACE
As related to fully enclosed areas below the base flood elevation
(BFE), a space that is, but is not limited to, heated and/or cooled,
contains finished floors, has sheetrock walls that may or may not
be painted or wallpapered, and other amenities such as furniture,
appliances, bathrooms, fireplaces and other items that are easily
damaged by floodwaters and expensive to clean, repair or replace.
Unfinished enclosed areas below the BFE should comply with FEMA Technical
Bulletin 2, Flood Damage-Resistant Materials Requirements.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
An official map of a community on which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard
and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS)
The official study of a community in which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency has conducted an examination, evaluation and determination
of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface
elevations.
FLOOD or FLOODING
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
A.
The overflow of inland water.
B.
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters
from any source.
FLOODWAY
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
one foot. For the purposes of this article, the term "regulatory floodway"
is synonymous in meaning with the term "floodway."
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE OR FACILITY
A use or facility that 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 ship building
and ship repair facilities. The term does not include seafood processing
facilities, long-term storage, manufacturing, sales or service facilities.
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior
to construction, next to the proposed walls of a structure.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
Any structure that is:
A.
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;
B.
Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the
Interior as contributing to the historic significance of a registered
historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary
to qualify as a registered historic district;
C.
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
D.
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified either:
(1)
By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary
of the Interior; or
(2)
Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without
approved programs.
LOWEST FLOOR
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 an area meets the design requirements specified in §
160-9C(2).
MANUFACTURED HOME
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without
a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The
term also includes park trailers, travel trailers, recreational vehicles
and other similar vehicles or transportable structures placed on a
site for 180 consecutive days or longer and intended to be improved
property.
MARKET VALUE
As related to substantial improvement and substantial damage,
the market value of the structure shall be determined by the Tax Assessor's
appraised value minus land value prior to the start of the initial
repair or improvement, or in the case of damage, the value of the
structure prior to the damage occurring.
MEAN SEA LEVEL (MLS)
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 (FIRM) are referenced.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after November 1, 1984, the effective date of the ordinance
that preceded the adoption of this article and includes any subsequent
improvements to such structures.
NEW MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
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 November 1, 1984,
the effective date of the ordinance that preceded the adoption of
this article adopted by the community.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle which is:
A.
Built on a single chassis;
B.
400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal
projection;
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
a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or
seasonal use.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
For other than new construction or substantial improvements
under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. 97-348), includes substantial
improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided
the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, or improvement
was within 180 days of the permit date. The actual start means the
first placement of permanent construction of a structure (including
a manufactured home) on a site, such as the pouring of slabs or footings,
installation of piles, construction of columns, or any work beyond
the stage of excavation or 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, 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.
STRUCTURE
A walled and roofed building that is principally above ground,
including a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tanks, or other
man-made facilities or infrastructures.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure, whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its pre-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
Any combination of repairs, reconstruction, alteration, rehabilitation,
additions or other improvements to a structure taking place during
the life of a structure in which the cumulative cost equals or exceeds
50% of the market value of the structure before the "start of construction"
of the improvement. This term includes structures that have incurred
"substantial damage," regardless of the actual repair work performed.
The "market value" of the structure should be 1) the appraised value
of the structure prior to the start of the initial repair or improvement,
or 2) in the case of damage, the value of the structure prior to the
damage occurring. For the purposes of this definition, "substantial
improvement" is considered to occur when the first alteration of any
wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the building commences,
whether or not the alteration affects the external dimensions of the
structure. The term does not, however, include either 1) any project
for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state
or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have
been previously identified by the local code enforcement official
and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions,
provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's
continure designation as an historic structure, or 2) any alteration
of an historic structure.
VARIANCE
A grant of relief from the requirements of this article which
permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this article
where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship.
VIOLATION
A failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with this article. A structure or other development without
required permits, lowest floor elevation documentation, floodproofing
certificates or required floodway encroachment calculations is presumed
to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION
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.
In all special flood hazard areas, the following requirements
shall apply:
A. All subdivision proposals shall be consistent with the need to minimize
flood damage;
B. All subdivision proposals shall have public utilities and facilities
such as sewer, gas, electrical, and water systems located and constructed
to minimize flood damage;
C. All subdivision proposals shall have adequate drainage provided to
reduce exposure to flood hazards; and
D. The Thompson Planning & Zoning Commission shall require the applicant
to provide base flood elevation data for all subdivision proposals,
including manufactured home parks and subdivisions. In all areas of
special flood hazard where base flood elevation data is not available
(Zone A), the applicant shall provide a hydrologic and hydraulic engineering
analysis performed by a professional engineer licensed to practice
in Connecticut that generates BFEs for all subdivision proposals and
other proposed development, including manufactured home parks and
subdivisions.