The Town Board of the Town of Boston, Erie County, New York, finds that
the potential and/or actual damages from flooding and erosion may be a problem
to the residents of the Town of Boston and that such damages may include:
destruction or loss of private and public housing, damage to public facilities,
both publicly and privately owned, and injury to and loss of human life. In
order to minimize the threat of such damages and to achieve the purposes and
objectives hereinafter set forth, this chapter is adopted.
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 to:
A.
Regulate 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.
B.
Require that uses vulnerable to floods, including facilities
which serve such uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of initial
construction.
C.
Control the alteration of natural floodplains, stream
channels and natural protective barriers which are involved in the accommodation
of floodwaters.
D.
Control filling, grading, dredging and other development
which may increase erosion or flood damages.
E.
Regulate the construction of flood barriers which will
unnaturally divert floodwaters or which may increase flood hazards to other
lands.
F.
Qualify for and maintain participation in the National
Flood Insurance Program.
The objectives of this chapter are:
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, sewer lines, streets and
bridges, located in areas of special flood hazard.
F.
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.
G.
To provide that developers are notified that property
is in an area of special flood hazard.
H.
To ensure that those who occupy the areas of special
flood hazard assume responsibility for their actions.
A.
Word usage. Unless specifically defined below, words
or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the
meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable
application.
B.
ALLUVIAL FAN FLOODING
APEX
APPEAL
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD
BASE FLOOD
BASEMENT
BREAKAWAY WALL
BUILDING
CELLAR
COASTAL HIGH-HAZARD AREA
DEVELOPMENT
ELEVATED BUILDING
EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
EXPANSION TO AN EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
FLOOD BOUNDARY AND FLOODWAY MAP (FBFM)
FLOOD or FLOODING
FLOOD HAZARD BOUNDARY MAP (FHBM)
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY
FLOODPROOFING
FLOODWAY
FLOOR
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
LOWEST FLOOR
MANUFACTURED HOME
MEAN SEA LEVEL
MOBILE HOME
NATIONAL GEODETIC VERTICAL DATUM (NGVD)
NEW CONSTRUCTION
NEW MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR-FLOOD
PRINCIPALLY ABOVE GROUND
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
REGULATORY FLOODWAY
SAND DUNES
START OF CONSTRUCTION
STRUCTURE
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
(1)
(2)
(3)
VARIANCE
Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Flooding occurring on the surface of an alluvial fan or similar landform
which originates at the apex and is characterized by high-velocity flows;
active processes of erosion, sediment transport and deposition; and unpredictable
flow paths.
[Added 2-21-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990]
A point on an alluvial fan or similar landform below which the flow
path of the major stream that formed the fan becomes unpredictable and alluvial
fan flooding can occur.
[Added 2-21-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990]
A request for a review of the local administrator's interpretation
of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
A designated AO or VO Zone on a community's Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) with base flood depths from one to three feet where a clearly
defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable
and indeterminate and where velocity flow may be evident.
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to a 1% or
greater chance of flooding in any given year. This area may be designated
as Zone A, AE, AH, AO, A1 through A99, V. VO, VE or V1 through V30. It is
also commonly referred to as the "base floodplain" or "one-hundred-year floodplain."
The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any
given year.
That portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below ground
level) on all sides.
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.
Any structure built for support, shelter or enclosure for occupancy
or storage.
Has the same meaning as "basement."
The area subject to high-velocity waters, including but not limited
to hurricane wave wash. The area is designated on a FIRM as Zone V1 through
V30, VE, VO or V.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including
but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling,
paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment and materials,
located within the area of special flood hazard.
[Amended 2-21-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990]
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 and piers) or shear walls.
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 floodplain management regulations
adopted by a community.
[Added 2-21-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990]
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.
[Added 2-21-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990]
An official map of the community published by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency as part of a riverine community's Flood Insurance Study.
The FBFM delineate a regulatory floodway along watercourses studied in detail
in the Flood Insurance Study.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation
of normally dry land areas from:
An official map of a community issued by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency where the boundaries of the areas of special flood hazard have been
defined but no water surface elevation is provided.
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.
The official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency. The report contains flood profiles, as well as the Flood Boundary
— Floodway Map and the water surface elevations of the base flood.
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.
Has the same meaning as "regulatory floodway."
The top surface of an enclosed area in a building, including basement,
i.e., top of slab in concrete slab construction or top of wood flooring in
wood frame construction.
A use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located
or carried out in close proximity to water, such as a docking or port facility
necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, shipbuilding
and ship repair. The term does not include long-term storage, manufacture,
sales or service facilities.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior to construction,
next to the proposed walls of a structure.
[Added 2-21-1990 by L.L.
No. 1-1990]
Any structure that is:
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing
maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the
Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing
on the National register;
Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior
as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district;
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
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic preservation programs
which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior or by an approved
state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or directly by
the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
Lowest level, including basement or cellar, of the lowest enclosed
area. An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure usable solely for parking
of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other than a basement 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.
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.
[Amended 2-21-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990]
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.
Has the same meaning as "manufactured home."
As corrected in 1929, a vertical control used as a reference for
establishing varying elevations within the floodplain.
For the purposes of determining insurance rates, structures for which
the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of an initial
FIRM or after December 31, 1974, whichever is later, and includes any subsequent
improvements to such structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted
by a community and includes any such structures.
[Amended 2-21-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990]
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.
[Added 2-21-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990]
Has the same meaning as "base flood."
Means that at least 51% of the actual cash value of the structure,
excluding land value, is above ground.
A vehicle which is:
[Added 2-21-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990]
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 a designated height as determined
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a Flood Insurance Study or by
other agencies as provided in § 60-12B of this chapter.
Naturally occurring accumulations of sand in ridges or mounds landward
of the beach.
The initiation, excluding planning and design, of any phase of a
project or physical alteration of the property, reconstruction, rehabilitation
or addition and shall include land preparation, such as clearing, grading
and filling; installation of streets and/or walkways; excavation for a basement,
footings, piers or foundations or the erection of temporary forms. It also
includes the placement and/or installation on the property of accessory buildings
(garages, sheds), storage trailers and building materials. For manufactured
homes, the "actual start" means the affixing of the manufactured home to its
permanent site. 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.
[Amended 2-21-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990]
A walled and roofed building, a manufactured home or a gas or liquid
storage tank that is principally above ground.
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% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
[Added 2-21-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990]
[Amended 2-21-1990
by L.L. No. 1-1990]
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvement
of a structure before the start of construction of the improvement. This term
includes structures which have incurred substantial damage, regardless of
the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either:
Any project for improvement of a structure to 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 assure safe living conditions; or
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided that alteration will
not preclude the structure's continued designation as an historic structure.
Any alteration of a structure or contributing structure listed on the
National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places.
A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which permits
construction or use in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this
chapter.
