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.
B.
These flood losses are caused 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.
(Prior code § 13A-2)
It is the purpose of this chapter 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:
A.
To protect human life and health;
B.
To minimize expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects;
C.
To minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;
D.
To minimize prolonged business interruptions;
E.
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;
F.
To help maintain a stable tax based by providing for the second use and development of areas of special flood hazard so as to minimize future flood blight areas;
G.
To ensure that potential buyers are notified that property is in an area of special flood hazards; and
H.
To ensure that those who occupy the areas of special flood hazard assume responsibility for their actions.
(Prior code § 13A-3)
means a request for a review of the Floodplain Administrator's interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
means a designated AO or AH Zone on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The base flood depths range from one to three feet; a clearly defined channel does not exist; the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; and velocity flow may be evidence.
means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the "one-hundred-year flood").
means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
mean and include any type of walls, whether solid or lattice, and whether constructed or concrete, masonry, wood, metal, plastic or any other suitable building materials which is not part of the structural support of the building and which is designed to break away under abnormally high tides or wave action without causing any damage to the structural integrity of the building on which they are used or any buildings to which they might be carried by flood waters. A breakaway wall shall have a safe design loading resistance of not less than ten and no more than twenty pounds per square foot. Use of breakaway walls must be certified by a registered engineer or architect and shall meet the following conditions:
means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structure, safety mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations.
means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of flood waters, the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source, and/or the collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly caused by an unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied by a severe storm, or by an unanticipated force of nature, such as flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual or unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in this definition.
means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the area of flood hazard and the floodway.
means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the area of flood hazard and the floodway.
means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles, the FIRM, the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source (see definition of "flooding").
means 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.
means zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as 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.
means a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally aboveground, as well as a manufactured home.
means 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 this chapter is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
means 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.
means a grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this chapter.
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. Also referred to as "regulatory floodway."
means a use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term includes on docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers and ship building and ship repair facilities, but does not include long term storage or related manufacturing facilities.
means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed areas (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 requirements of this chapter.
means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent foundation and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. For floodplain management purposes the term "manufactured home" also includes park trailers and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than one hundred eighty consecutive days.
means parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for sale or rent.
means, for purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.
means, for floodplain management purposes, structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by this community.
means a flood which has a one percent annual probability of being equaled or exceeded. It is identical to the "base flood," which will be the term used throughout this chapter.
means an individual or his or her agent, firm, partnership, association or corporation or agent of the aforementioned groups, or this state or its agencies or political subdivisions.
means to bring the structure or other development into compliance with state or local floodplain management regulations, or, if this is not possible, to reduce the impacts of its noncompliance. Ways that impacts may be reduced include protecting the structure or other affected development from flood damages, implementing the enforcement provisions of this chapter or otherwise deterring future similar violations, or reducing Federal financial exposure with regard to the structure or other development.
means relating to, formed by, or resembling a river (including tributaries), streams, brooks, etc.
means an area having special flood or flood-related erosion hazards, and shown on an FHBM or FIRM as Zones A, AO, A1-3O, AE, A99 or AH.
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 one hundred eighty days of the permit date. The actual start means with 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.
means any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent of the market value of the structure either:
Before the improvement or repair is started; or
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 structure or part of the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure. The term does not, however, include either:
Any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
Any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places.
(Prior code § 13A-5)
In order to accomplish its purposes, this chapter includes methods and provisions for:
A.
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 flood heights or velocities;
B.
Requiring that uses vulnerable to floods, including facilities which serve such uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of initial constructions;
C.
Controlling the alteration of natural flood plains, stream channels and natural protective barriers, which help accommodate or channel flood waters;
D.
Controlling filling, grading, dredging, and other development which may increase flood damage; and,
E.
Preventing or regulating the construction of flood barriers which will unnaturally divert flood waters or which may increase flood hazards in other areas.
(Prior code § 13A-4)
This chapter shall apply to all areas of special flood hazards within the jurisdiction of the City.
(Prior code § 13A-6)
A.
The areas of special flood hazard, identified by the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the Flood Insurance Study dated September 15, 1989 and the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) dated September 15, 1989 and all subsequent amendments and/or revisions, are adopted by reference and declared to be a part this chapter.
B.
This Flood Insurance Study and attendant mapping is the minimum area of applicability of this chapter and may be supplemented by studies for other areas which allow implementation of this chapter and which are recommended to the City Council of the City by the Flood Plan Administrator. The study and Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) are on file at the Engineering Department of the City.
(Prior code § 13A-7; Ord. 90-675 § 1, 1990)
No structure or land shall hereafter be constructed, located, extended, converted, or altered without full compliance with the terms of this chapter and other applicable regulations. Violations of the provisions of the chapter by failure to comply with all of its requirements (including violations of conditions and safeguards established in connection with conditions) shall constitute a misdemeanor. Nothing herein shall prevent the City Council of the City from taking such lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violation.
(Prior code § 13A-8)
The degree of flood protection required by this chapter 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 chapter 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 chapter 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 chapter or any administrative decision lawfully made thereunder.
(Prior code § 13A-10)