[Added 1-30-1978; amended 6-18-2013 by TOR-2013-5]
The Floodplain Zone and the regulations herein have been established
for the following purposes: to protect and preserve the watercourses
and their adjoining floodplain; to reduce the hazards of floods upon
the public health, safety and general welfare; to protect floodplain
occupants from a flood that is or may be caused by their own land
use and that is or may be undertaken without full realization of the
dangers therein; to protect the public from the burden of extraordinary
financial expenditures for flood control and relief; and to protect
the capacity of the floodplain to absorb, transmit and store runoff
to assure retention of sufficient floodway area to convey flows which
can reasonably be expected to occur.
A.
The Floodplain District is herein established as an overlay district.
The District includes all special flood hazard areas within the Town
of Agawam designated as Zone A or AE on the Hampden County Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) for the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program.
The map panels of the Hampden County FIRM that are wholly or partially
within the Town of Agawam are Panel Nos. 25013C0377E, 25013C0379E,
25013C0381E, 25013C0382E, 25013C0383E, 25013C0384E, 25013C0387E, 25013C0391E,
25013C0392E, 25013C0401E, 25013C0403E, 25013C0404E, 25013C0411E, and
25013C0413E, dated July 16, 2013. The exact boundaries of the district
may be defined by the one-hundred-year base flood elevations shown
on the FIRM and further defined by the Hampden County Flood Insurance
Study (FIS) report dated July 16, 2013. The FIRM and FIS report are
incorporated herein by reference and are on file in the Building Department.
B.
In Zone A areas where base flood elevation data is not provided by
the Flood Insurance Study, other available data from federal, state
or other sources shall be utilized as a basis of determining the base
flood level for purposes of enforcing the provisions of this article.
In those portions of the Town so designated in § 180-68, the following uses of land shall be permitted, provided that all necessary state or federal permits are obtained:
A.
Conservation of water, plants and wildlife.
B.
Legally permitted outdoor recreation not requiring development or
landscape alteration in conflict with the purpose of this zone.
C.
Grazing, forestry and other farms or agriculture consistent with
the purposes of the zone.
D.
Dwellings lawfully existing prior to the adoption of these provisions;
however, no building permits for substantial improvements or extensions
shall be granted unless a special permit is granted by the Board of
Appeals.
E.
Proper operation and maintenance of dams and other water control
devices.
F.
Construction and maintenance of highways, streets, sidewalks, sewers,
water mains, storm drains, utilities and related facilities by governmental
agencies, provided that the water and sewer systems and utilities
be designed and constructed to minimize flood damage and to minimize
or eliminate infiltration of floodwater into the systems and discharges
from the systems into floodwaters.
G.
The following uses by special permit as provided by § 180-71, if determined to be consistent with the purpose of this zone, said determination to be made by the Board of Appeals following application for a special permit by the landowner or owner:
(1)
Developed recreation facilities, except buildings.
(2)
Utility lines and facilities.
(3)
Dams and other water control facilities, if in an authorized plan
by a public agency or if built to create ponds for recreational or
agricultural use.
(4)
Minor buildings incidental to permitted flood control, recreation,
agricultural, etc., uses, and not exceeding 200 square feet in ground
coverage, if constructed so as to not obstruct natural hydrological
features.
(5)
In the floodway fringe, the Zone AE, Zone A, that portion of the
Floodplain Zone outside the floodway, the development of structures
for residential use only if the lowest floor (including the basement)
is elevated to or above the level of the base flood (one-hundred-year
flood) and the development of structures for nonresidential use only
if the lowest floor (including the basement) is elevated to be above
the level of the base flood (one-hundred-year flood) or, together
with the attending utility and sanitary facilities, is floodproofed
to or above the level of the base flood (one-hundred-year flood),
provided that a special permit is issued by the Board of Appeals.
The term "floodproofed" shall mean watertight, with walls substantially
impermeable to the passage of water and with structural components
having the capacity of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads
and effects of buoyancy.
A.
In those portions of the Town so specified in § 180-68 as "floodplain," the following uses of land shall be prohibited:
(1)
The bulk storage of buoyant, flammable, explosive or toxic materials.
(2)
The addition, removal or transfer of such quantities of material,
including trees, shrubs, and ground cover, that would reduce the water
storage capacity of the floodplain, obstruct the flow of floodwaters
in a floodway or otherwise adversely affect the natural hydrology
of the area to the extent that the base flood elevation would be raised
cumulatively more than one foot.
(3)
The digging or drilling of a well intended as a source of domestic
water.
(4)
The installation of septic tank or leaching fields or on-site waste
disposal systems.
(5)
The placement or location of a mobile home or the creation of mobile
home parks or subdivisions.
B.
In land within the floodway the following uses of land shall be prohibited,
in addition to those listed above:
(1)
Any development within the portions of the Town so specified as "floodway"
on the Flood Insurance Rate Map.
(2)
Erection, construction or other creation or installation of any building,
dam or other structure.
(3)
Any use or structure which would result in any increase in flood
levels during the base flood discharge. Encroachments, including structures,
are prohibited in the regulatory floodway which would result in any
increase in flood levels within the community during the occurrence
of the base flood discharge.
A.
The application for a special permit shall include a plan prepared
and certified by a professional engineer or land surveyor registered
in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This plan will show all proposed
and existing buildings, structures, roads, ways, drainage facilities
and landscape features, including wetlands, trees and the like, and
other engineering and hydrological data the Board finds necessary.
The plan will show all existing and proposed finished ground contours
at one-foot intervals.
B.
The application for a special permit shall also include an environmental
impact statement prepared by an environmentally qualified registered
professional engineer. This statement will describe the impact upon
the physical environment of the proposed use.
C.
The Board of Appeals may waive the requirements of Subsection B if it determines that the probable impact upon the physical environment of the proposed use is to be minimal and that an environmental impact statement is not necessary to its consideration of the application and provided there is no direct conflict with the Laws of the United States and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
D.
The applicant shall provide the Board with an original and seven copies of the request and of any plan and/or environmental impact statement required under Subsections A and B above. The Board of Appeals shall within seven days forward one copy of each to the Inspector of Buildings, Planning Board, Board of Health and Conservation Commission. These agencies may file written recommendations with the Board of Appeals within 30 days of receipt of notification. The Board of Appeals shall not grant approval of an application for a special permit until these recommendations have been received or until expiration of said thirty-day period.
E.
In passing upon such request, the Board of Appeals shall consider
all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards specified
in other sections of this article and:
(1)
The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury
of others.
(2)
The danger to life and property due to flooding or erosion damage.
(3)
The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood
damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner.
(4)
The importance of the services provided by the proposed facilities
to the community.
(5)
The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable.
(6)
The availability of alternative locations, not subject to flooding
or erosion damage, for the proposed use.
(7)
The compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated
development.
(8)
The relationship of the proposed use to the Comprehensive Plan and
Floodplain Management Program for that area.
(9)
The safety of access to the property in times of flood for ordinary
and emergency vehicles.
(10)
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.
(11)
The costs of providing governmental services during and after
flood conditions, including maintenance and repair of public utilities
and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems and
streets and bridges.
F.
The Board of Appeals may issue a permit under this section if it
finds that the proposed use of the premises will not endanger the
health and safety of the occupants of land within the floodplain or
the public, or it may issue a permit with such conditions as it deems
necessary to protect the health and safety of the occupants and the
public or provide proper flood control or protection, or it may deny
the application. The burden of showing that the proposed development
will not endanger health and safety and that it will be an appropriate
use of the land shall rest upon the developer, who shall provide such
additional engineering and hydrological data as the Board of Appeals
deems necessary. The Board shall, as a condition of approval, require
that effective notice be given to prospective purchasers or existing
landowners, by signs, notation on plans and permits or otherwise,
of past flooding of said premises and the steps undertaken by the
petitioner or his successor in title to alleviate the effects of the
same.
G.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Board shall
ensure that:
(1)
New construction or substantial improvements of residential structures
within the Floodplain Zone will have the lowest floor (including the
basement) elevated to or above the level of the one-hundred-year flood.
(2)
No use or structure shall be located in the designated floodway which
would result in any increase in flood levels during the base flood
discharge.
(3)
No fill or encroachment within the designated floodway shall be permitted
that would impair its ability to carry and discharge the waters resulting
from the one-hundred-year flood, unless it has been demonstrated through
hydrologic and hydraulic analyses performed in accordance with standard
engineering practice that the proposed encroachments would not result
in any increase in flood levels during the occurrence of the base
flood discharge.
(4)
All other necessary permits for the proposed development, as defined in § 180-2, have been received from those federal, state or local governmental agencies from which price approval is required.
(5)
Adjacent communities and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation
and Recreation, at 251 Causeway Street, Suite 600-700, Boston, Massachusetts
02114, are notified prior to any alteration or relocation of a watercourse,
and that evidence of such notification is submitted to FEMA, at 99
High Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02110, and that the flood-carrying
capacity within the altered or relocated portion of any watercourse
is maintained.
(6)
New or replacement water supply systems and/or sanitary sewerage
systems to be located in the Floodplain Zone shall be designed to
minimize or eliminate infiltration of floodwaters into the systems
and discharges from the systems into floodwaters.
(8)
In a riverine situation, the Building Inspector shall notify the
following of any alteration or relocation of a watercourse:
(a)
Adjacent communities and bordering states;
(b)
NFIP State Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of Conservation
and Recreation, at 251 Causeway Street, Suite 600-700, Boston, MA
02114-2104;
(c)
NFIP Program Specialist, Federal Emergency Management Agency,
Region I, at 99 High Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02110.
(9)
Base flood elevation data is required for subdivision proposals or
other developments greater than 50 lots or five acres, whichever is
the lesser, within unnumbered A Zones.
(10)
In Zones A and AE, along watercourses that have not had a regulatory
floodway designated, the best available federal, state, local, or
other floodway data shall be used to prohibit encroachments in floodways
which would result in any increase in flood levels within the community
during the occurrence of the base flood discharge.
A.
A subdivision filed with the Planning Board under Chapter 41 of the
General Laws of Massachusetts shall meet the rules and regulations
of the Planning Board as they apply to floodplain management.[1] The subdivision as approved by the Planning Board may
be considered a single application when submitted to the Board of
Appeals under this article. The action of the Planning Board shall
in no way limit the Board of Appeals in its decision and setting of
conditions.
C.
A building permit issued by the Inspector of Buildings before the
effective date of this article shall be deemed to be a permit hereunder.
D.
Any plans or applications submitted to any board, agent or authority
of the Town which concerns land within the floodplain shall be noted:
"This proposal is for land which lies in the floodplain and meets
the requirements of the Floodplain Ordinance."
E.
Any existing nonconforming uses or structures in the designated floodway
shall not be substantially improved but may be modified, altered,
repaired or reconstructed, subject to regulations pertaining to nonconforming
uses, to incorporate floodproofing measures, provided that such measures
or such modification, alteration, repair or reconstruction do not
raise the level of the one-hundred-year flood at any point.
F.
No new construction, alteration or extension of a structure for human occupancy as permitted under § 180-71 shall be allowed beyond the foundation stage until the elevation of the lowest floor (including the basement) has been checked and certified, in writing, to the Inspector of Buildings or as being the elevation as stated on the approved plans or higher. All final grades or any change in topography shall be checked and certified, in writing, as being according to the approved plans. Inspection and certification shall be made by a registered professional engineer or land surveyor. All costs incurred under this section shall be borne by the applicant. Records of these elevations and certifications shall be maintained in the office of the Inspector of Buildings and shall be open to public inspection.
G.
Where interpretation is needed as to the exact location of the boundaries
the Floodplain Zone (for example, where there appears to be conflict
between a mapped boundary and actual field conditions), the Building
Inspector shall consult the NFIP Program Specialist, FEMA and/or the
NFIP State Coordinator at the Massachusetts Department of Conservation
and Recreation for the necessary interpretation.
The completion of all earth work not bonded or covenanted under
Chapter 41 of the General Laws of Massachusetts shall be guaranteed
with the Town of Agawam by securities or bond as required by the Town
prior to commencement by any earth work.
The invalidity of any section or provision of this article for
regulation of the floodplain shall not invalidate any other section
or provision hereof.
