The state legislature has, in V.T.C.A., Water Code § 16.311 et seq. as amended, delegated the responsibility of local governmental units to adopt regulations designed to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of its citizenry.
(Ordinance 07-525-10, § 1(art. I, § A), adopted 6/7/2007)
(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, and impairment of the tax base, 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 areas of special flood hazards, which increase flood heights and velocities, and when inadequately anchored, damage uses in other areas. Uses that are inadequately floodproofed, elevated, or otherwise protected from flood damage also contribute to the flood loss.
(Ordinance 07-525-10, § 1(art. I, § B), adopted 6/7/2007)
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:
(1) 
To protect human life and health;
(2) 
To minimize expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects;
(3) 
To minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;
(4) 
To minimize prolonged business interruptions;
(5) 
To minimize damage to public facilities and utilities such as water and gas mains, electric, telephone and sewer lines, streets and bridges located in areas of special flood hazard;
(6) 
To help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use and development of areas of special flood hazard so as to minimize future flood blight areas;
(7) 
To ensure that potential buyers are notified that property is in an area of special flood hazard; and
(8) 
To ensure that those who occupy the areas of special flood hazard assume responsibility for their actions.
(Ordinance 07-525-10, § 1(art. I, § C), adopted 6/7/2007)
In order to accomplish its purposes, this article uses the following methods and provisions for:
(1) 
Restricting or prohibiting uses which are dangerous to health, safety, and property due to water or erosion hazards, or which result in damaging increases in erosion or in flood heights or velocities;
(2) 
Requiring that uses vulnerable to floods, including facilities which serve such uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of initial construction;
(3) 
Controlling the alteration of natural floodplains, stream channels, and natural protective barriers, which help accommodate or channel floodwaters;
(4) 
Controlling filling, grading, dredging, and other development which may increase flood damage; and
(5) 
Preventing or regulating the construction of flood barriers which will unnaturally divert floodwaters or may increase flood hazards in other areas.
(Ordinance 07-525-10, § 1(art. I, § D), adopted 6/7/2007)
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning. 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.
Accessory structures
means structures which are on the same parcel of property as the principle structure, the use of which is incidental to the use of the principle structure, such as detached garages, boathouses, small pole barns and storage sheds, which are not to be used for human, habitation; shall be constructed and placed on the building site so as to offer minimum resistance to the flow of floodwaters; shall be anchored to prevent flotation which may result in damage to other structures; and service utilities such as electrical and heating equipment shall be elevated or floodproofed.
Appeal
means a request for a review of the interpretation of any provision of this article or a request for a variance.
Area of shallow flooding
means a designated AO, or AH Zone on the flood insurance rate map (FIRM). The base flood depths range from one foot to three feet; a clearly defined channel does not exist; the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; and, velocity flow may be evident. AO is characterized as sheet flow and AH indicates ponding.
Area of special flood hazard
means the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Designation on maps always includes the letters A or V.
Base flood
means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Also referred to as the "100-year flood." Designation on maps always includes the letters A or V.
Basement
means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
Crawlspace
means an enclosed area below the base flood elevation and as such, must have openings that equalize hydrostatic pressures by allowing for the automatic entry and exit of floodwaters.
Critical facility
means a facility for which even a slight chance of flooding might be too great. Critical facilities include, but are not limited to, schools, nursing homes, hospitals police, fire and emergency response installations, and installations which produce, use or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste.
Development
means any manmade change to improved or 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 located within the area of special flood hazard.
Elevated building
means, 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.
Existing manufactured home park or subdivision
means 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 adopted floodplain management regulations.
Expansion to an existing manufactured home park or subdivision
means 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).
Flood or flooding
means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(1) 
The overflow of inland or tidal waters; and/or
(2) 
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
Flood insurance rate map (FIRM)
means 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.
Flood insurance study
means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles, the flood boundary-floodway map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
Floodway
means 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.
Lowest floor
means 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 non-elevation design requirements.
Manufactured home
means 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 attached to the required utilities. The term "manufactured home" does not include a recreational vehicle.
Manufactured home park or subdivision
means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
New construction
means structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived.
New manufactured home park or subdivision
means 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.
Recreational vehicle
means a vehicle which is:
(1) 
Built on a single chassis;
(2) 
400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections;
(3) 
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and
(4) 
Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
Repetitive loss
means flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a ten-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds 25 percent of the market value of the structure before damage occurred.
Start of construction
means and includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, 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 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
means a walled and roofed building including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.
Substantial damage
means 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.
Substantial improvement.
(1) 
The term "substantial improvement" means any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure either:
a. 
Before the improvement or repair is started; or
b. 
If the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred.
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 that alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure.
(2) 
The term "substantial improvement" does not, however, include either:
a. 
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 ensure safe living conditions; or
b. 
Any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a state inventory of historic places.
Variance
means a grant of relief from the requirements of this article which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this article.
Water dependent
means a structure for commerce or industry which cannot exist in any other location and is dependent on the water by reason of the intrinsic nature of its operations.
(Ordinance 07-525-10, § 1(art. I, § E), adopted 6/7/2007)
This article shall apply to all areas of special flood hazards within the jurisdiction of the city.
(Ordinance 07-525-10, § 1(art. I, § F(1)), adopted 6/7/2007)
The areas of special flood hazard identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the current scientific and engineering report entitled, "The Flood Insurance Study for Waller County, Texas, and Incorporated Areas," dated February 18, 2009, with accompanying Flood Insurance Rate Maps and any revisions thereto, are hereby adopted by reference and declared to be a part of this chapter. The best available information for flood hazard area identification shall be the basis for regulation until a new flood insurance rate map (FIRM) is issued.
(Ordinance 07-525-10, § 1(art. I, § F(2)), adopted 6/7/2007; Ordinance 09-540-10, § 1)
Any person who shall intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence violate any provision of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined as provided in section 1-13. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ordinance 07-525-10, § 1(art. I, § F(3)), adopted 6/7/2007)
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 07-525-10, § 1(art. I, § F(4)), adopted 6/7/2007; Ordinance 09-540-10, § 4)
In the interpretation and application of this article, all provisions shall be:
(1) 
Considered as minimum requirements;
(2) 
Liberally construed in favor of the city council; and
(3) 
Deemed neither to limit nor repeal any other powers granted under state statutes.
(Ordinance 07-525-10, § 1(art. I, § F(5)), adopted 6/7/2007)
The degree of flood protection required by this article is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on scientific and engineering considerations. Larger floods can and will occur on rare occasions. Flood heights may be increased by man-made 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 city, any officer or employee thereof, or the Federal Insurance Administration, for any flood damages that result from reliance on this article or any administrative decision lawfully made hereunder.
(Ordinance 07-525-10, § 1(art. I, § F(6)), adopted 6/7/2007)