[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Garden City 6-19-2008 by L.L. No. 1-2008. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The Board of Trustees of the Village of Garden
City finds that the potential and/or actual damages from flooding
and erosion may be a problem to the residents of the Village of Garden
City 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 as authorized
by Article IX, Section 2 of the New York State Constitution and Article
36 of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law.
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; and
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; and
H.
To ensure that those who occupy the areas of special
flood hazard assume responsibility for their actions.
A.
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases
used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the same
meaning as they have in common usage and so as to give this chapter
its most reasonable application.
B.
APPEAL
BASEMENT
BUILDING
CELLAR
CRAWL SPACE
DEVELOPMENT
EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
EXPANSION TO AN EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
FLOOD or FLOODING
(1)
(2)
FLOODPLAIN or FLOOD-PRONE AREA
FLOODPROOFING
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
LOCAL ADMINISTRATOR
MANUFACTURED HOME
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
PERSON
START OF CONSTRUCTION
STRUCTURE
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
(1)
(2)
VARIANCE
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
A request for a review of the local administrator's interpretation
of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
That portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
See "structure."
Has the same meaning as "basement."
An enclosed area beneath the lowest elevated floor, 18 inches
or more in height, which is used to service the underside of the lowest
elevated floor. The elevation of the floor of this enclosed area,
which may be of soil, gravel, concrete or other material, must be
equal to or above the lowest adjacent exterior grade. The enclosed
crawl space area shall be properly vented to allow for the equalization
of hydrostatic forces which would be experienced during periods of
flooding.
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 or materials.
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 complete before the effective date of
the floodplain management regulations adopted by the community.
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).
The federal agency that administers the National Flood Insurance
Program.
Flood or flooding also means 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
a flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual
and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in B(1)(a)
above.
Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from
any source (see definition of "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.
Any structure that is:
Listed individually in the National Register
of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of the
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 or a district preliminarily determined
by the Secretary to qualify as 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 places in communities with historic preservation programs
that have been certified either:
The person appointed by the community to administer and implement
this chapter by granting or denying development permits in accordance
with its provisions. This person is often the Code Enforcement Officer,
Building Inspector or employee of an engineering department.
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without
a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The
term does not include a recreational vehicle.
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
Includes any individual or group of individuals, corporation,
partnership, association, or any other entity, including state and
local governments and agencies.
Includes substantial improvement and means the initiation,
excluding planning and design, of any phase of a project, physical
alteration of the property, 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
and sheds), storage trailers, and building materials. For manufactured
homes the "actual start" means affixing of the manufactured home to
its permanent site.
A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage
tank, that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured
home.
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.
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement
of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market
value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement.
The 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
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 assure
safe living conditions; or
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided
that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation
as an historic structure.
A grant of relief by a community from the terms of a floodplain
management regulation.
The Superintendent of the Building Department,
hereinafter referred to as the "local administrator" is responsible
for receiving applications, examining the plans and specifications
and issuing permits for the proposed construction or development.
A.
No person shall erect, construct, enlarge, alter,
repair, improve, move, or demolish any building or structure without
first obtaining a separate permit for each building or structure from
the local administrator.
B.
No man-made 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, shall be commenced until a separate permit has been obtained
from the local administrator for each change.
C.
No manufactured home shall be placed on improved or
unimproved real estate without first obtaining a separate permit for
each mobile home from the local administrator.
To obtain a permit, the applicant shall first
file a permit application on a form furnished for that purpose. The
form must be completed and submitted to the local administrator before
the issuance of a permit will be considered.
A.
After reviewing the application, the local administrator
shall require any additional measures which are necessary to meet
the minimum requirements of this chapter.
B.
The local administrator shall review proposed development
to assure that all necessary permits have been received from those
governmental agencies from which approval is required by federal or
state law, including Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act Amendments of 1972, 33 U.S.C. § 1334.
C.
The local administrator shall review all permit applications
to determine whether proposed building sites will be reasonably safe
from flooding. If a proposed building site is in a flood-prone area,
all new construction and substantial improvements (including the placement
of prefabricated buildings and mobile homes) shall:
D.
The local administrator shall review subdivision proposals
and other proposed new development to determine whether such proposals
will be reasonably safe from flooding. If a subdivision proposal or
other proposed new development is in a flood-prone area, any such
proposals shall be reviewed to assure that:
(1)
All such proposals are consistent with the need to
minimize flood damage within the flood-prone area;
(2)
All public utilities and facilities, such as sewer,
gas, electrical, and water systems, are located and constructed to
minimize or eliminate flood damage; and
(3)
Adequate drainage is provided to reduce exposure to
flood hazards.
E.
The local administrator shall require within flood-prone
areas new and replacement water supply systems to be designed to minimize
or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems; and
F.
The permitting official shall require within flood-prone
areas:
(1)
New and replacement sanitary sewage systems to be
designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of floodwaters into
the systems and discharges from the systems into floodwaters; and
(2)
On-site waste disposal systems to be located to avoid
impairment to them or contamination from them during flooding.
A.
The Zoning Board of Appeals, as established by the
Village of Garden City, shall hear and decide appeals and requests
for variances from the requirements of this chapter.
B.
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall hear and decide
appeals when it is alleged there is an error in any requirement, decision,
or determination made by the local administrator in the enforcement
or administration of this chapter.
C.
Those aggrieved by the decision of the Zoning Board
of Appeals may appeal such decision to the Supreme Court pursuant
to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
D.
In passing upon such applications, the Zoning Board
of Appeals shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant
factors, standards specified in other sections of this chapter 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
facility to the community;
(5)
The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location,
where applicable;
(6)
The availability of alternative locations for the
proposed use which are not subject to flooding or erosion damage;
(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 of that area;
(9)
The safety of access to the property in times of flood
for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
(10)
The costs to local governments and the dangers associated
with conducting search and rescue operations during periods of flooding;
(11)
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; and
(12)
The costs of providing governmental services during
and after flood conditions, including search and rescue operations,
maintenance and repair of public utilities and facilities, such as
sewer, gas, electrical, and water systems and streets and bridges.
E.
Upon consideration of the factors of Subsection D and the purposes of this chapter, the Zoning Board of Appeals may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this chapter.
F.
The local administrator shall maintain the records
of all appeal actions, including technical information, and report
any variances to the Federal Emergency Management Agency upon request.
A.
Variances shall be based upon a hardship that runs
with the land and shall not be issued for economic or other personal
hardships.
B.
Variances shall be issued upon:
(1)
A showing of good and sufficient cause;
(2)
A determination that failure to grant the variance
would result in significant hardship; and
(3)
A determination that the variance will not result
in increased flood risks, create nuisances, cause fraud or victimization
of the public or conflict with existing local laws and ordinances.
C.
Variances to this chapter shall be consistent with
requirements for variances to other local and state law, code or regulation.
