The general requirements of this article apply to all
development proposed within all
special flood hazard
areas identified in §
14:3-5.
New building and structures (including the
placement and replacement of manufactured homes)
and substantial improvement of existing structures (including manufactured homes) that are located,
in whole or in part, in any special flood hazard area shall:
A. Be designed (or modified) and constructed to safely support flood loads. The construction shall provide a complete load
path capable of transferring all loads from their point of origin
through the load-resisting elements to the foundation. Structures shall be designed, connected and anchored to resist flotation, collapse
or permanent lateral movement due to structural loads and stresses,
including hydrodynamic and hydrostatic loads and the effects of buoyancy,
from flooding equal to the flood protection
elevation or the elevation required by these regulations
or the building code, whichever is higher.
B. Be constructed by methods and practices that minimize flood damage.
C. Use
flood damage-resistant materials below the elevation
of the
lowest floor required in §
14:3-41A or
14:3-42A (for A Zones), §
14:3-49B (
Coastal A
Zones) or 14:3-56B (V Zones).
D. Have electrical systems, equipment and components, and mechanical,
heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and plumbing appliances, plumbing
fixtures, duct systems, and other service equipment located at or
above the elevation of the
lowest floor required in §
14:3-41A or
14:3-42A (A Zones), §
14:3-49B (
Coastal A Zones) or 14:3-56B (V Zones). Electrical
wiring systems are permitted to be located below the elevation of
the
lowest floor provided that they conform to the
provisions of the electrical part of the
building code for wet locations. If replaced as part of a
substantial
improvement, electrical systems, equipment and components,
and heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and plumbing appliances,
plumbing fixtures, duct systems, and other service equipment shall
meet the requirements of this section.
E. If located in
flood hazard areas (A Zones) that
are not identified as
Coastal A Zones and
coastal high hazard areas (V Zones), comply with the specific requirements of Article
V.
F. If located in Coastal A Zone, comply with the specific
requirements of:
(1)
Article
VI new construction and placement of
new
manufactured homes; or
(2)
Article
V [substantial improvements (including repair of substantial damage, and replacement manufactured homes].
G. If located in
coastal high hazard areas (V Zones), comply with the specific requirements of Article
VII.
H. Comply with the requirements of the most restrictive designation
if located on a site that has more than one flood zone designation (A Zone, designated floodway, Coastal A Zone, V Zone).
Repair, alteration, addition, rehabilitation, or other improvement
of historic structures shall be subject to the requirements
of these regulations if the proposed work is determined to be a substantial improvement, unless a determination is made
that the proposed work will not preclude the structure's continued designation as an historic structure. The Floodplain Administrator may require documentation of a structure's continued eligibility and designation as
an historic structure.
Recreational vehicles shall:
A. Meet the requirements for
manufactured homes in §
14:3-31; or
B. Be fully licensed and ready for highway use; or
C. Be on a site for less than 180 consecutive days.
Critical and essential facilities shall:
A. Not be located in coastal high hazard areas (V Zones), Coastal A Zones or floodways.
B. If located in (flood hazard areas other than coastal high hazard areas,) Coastal A Zones or floodways, be elevated to the higher of elevation
required by these regulations plus one foot, the elevation required
by the building code, or the elevation of the two-tenths-percent
chance (five-hundred-year) flood.
Applications for
functionally dependent uses that do not conform to the requirements of these regulations shall
be approved only by
variances issued pursuant to Article
VIII. If approved,
functionally dependent uses shall be protected by methods that minimize
flood damage during the
base flood, including measures
to allow floodwaters to enter and exit, use of
flood damage-resistant
materials, and elevation of electric service and equipment
to the extent practical given the use of the building.