[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Alderman of the City of Derby 5-9-1991.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
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. The flood hazard areas of the City of Derby
are subject to periodic inundation which results in loss of life and property,
health and safety hazards, disruption of commerce and governmental services,
extraordinary public expenditures for flood protection and relief and impairment
of the tax base, all of which adversely affect the public health, safety and
general welfare.
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.
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to one-percent
or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including
but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, excavating,
filling, grading, paving, drilling operations or permanent storage of materials.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
The preparation of additional sites by construction of facilities
for servicing the lots on which manufactured homes are to be affixed, including
the construction of streets, final site grading and the pouring of concrete
pads on which such manufactured home might rest.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
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.
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (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.
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. Recreational vehicles
and similar transportable structures, including construction trailers, are
not considered manufactured homes.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land divided in accordance with
the applicable zoning regulation and/or subdivision regulation of the City
of Derby[1] for the purpose of creating parcels of land, either for sale or
lease, for the placement or installation of a manufactured home.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
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.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after
September 29, 1977, including any subsequent improvements to such structures.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
A vehicle which is built on a single chassis; 400 square feet or
less when measured at the longest horizontal projections; designed to be self-propelled
or permanently towable by a light-duty truck; and designed primarily not for
use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational,
camping, travel or seasonal use.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
Includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building
permit was issued, provided that the actual start of construction, repair,
reconstruction or improvement was within 180 days of the permit date. The
actual start means the first placement of permanent construction of a structure
(including a manufactured home) on a site, such as the pouring of slabs or
footings, installation of piles, construction of columns or any work beyond
the stage of excavation or 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.
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of
restoring the structure to its before-damage condition would equal or exceed
50% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
Any combination of repairs, reconstruction, alteration or improvements
to a structure in which the cumulative cost equals or exceeds 50% of the market
value (as determined by the cost approach to value method) of the structure.
The market value of the structure should be the appraised value of the structure
prior to the start of the initial repair or improvement or, in the case of
damage, the value of the structure prior to the damage occurring. For the
purposes of this definition, substantial improvement is considered to occur
when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor or other structural
part of the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the
external dimensions of the structure. The term does not, however, include
any project for improvement of a structure required to comply with existing
health, sanitary or safety code specifications which are solely necessary
to assure safe living conditions.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
This chapter shall apply to all areas of special flood hazard within
the jurisdiction of the City of Derby. The areas of special flood hazard are
identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in its Flood Insurance
Study (FIS) and Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), dated July 16, 1991, which
study and map, with accompanying floodway maps and other supporting data and
any revision thereto, are adopted by reference and declared to be a part of
this chapter.[1] A development permit shall be required in conformance with the
provisions of this chapter prior to the commencement of any development activities.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Flood Insurance Study and Flood Insurance Rate
Map are on file in the office of the Building Official.
A.
The City Engineer shall be responsible for administering
this chapter. The duties of the City Engineer shall include, but not be limited
to, the following:
(1)
Review all permit applications to determine whether proposed
building sites will be reasonably safe from flooding.
(2)
Advise the permittee that additional federal or state
permits may be required.
(3)
Notify the adjacent communities and the Department of
Environmental Protection Bureau of Water Management prior to any alteration
or relocation of a watercourse and assure that maintenance is provided within
the altered or relocated portion of said watercourse so that the flood-carrying
capacity is not diminished.
(4)
Record the elevation (in relation to mean sea level)
of the lowest floor (including basement) of all new or substantially improved
or floodproofed structures. When floodproofing is utilized for a particular
structure, the City Engineer shall obtain certification from a registered
professional engineer or architect and record the elevation to which the building
is floodproofed.
C.
Where interpretation is needed as to the exact location
of boundaries of the areas or special flood hazard, the City Engineer shall
make the necessary interpretation. All records pertaining to the provisions
of this chapter shall be maintained in the office of the Building Official.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
In all areas of special flood hazard, the following provisions are required:
A.
New construction and substantial improvements. New construction
and substantial improvements shall be:
(1)
Anchored to prevent flotation, collapse or lateral movement
of the structure.
(2)
Constructed with materials and utility equipment resistant
to flood damage.
(3)
Constructed by methods and practices that minimize flood
damage.
(4)
Constructed with electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing
and air-conditioning equipment and other service facilities that are designed
and/or located so as to prevent water from entering or accumulating within
the components during conditions of flooding.
B.
Water supply and sanitary sewage systems. New and replacement
water supply systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration
of floodwaters into the system. New and replacement sanitary sewage systems
shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of floodwaters into
the systems and discharges from the system into floodwaters. On-site waste
disposal systems shall be located and constructed to avoid impairment to them
or contamination from them during flooding.
C.
Manufactured homes. All manufactured homes to be placed
within Zone A on a community's FIRM shall be installed using methods and practices
which minimize flood damage. For the purposes of this requirement, manufactured
homes must be elevated and anchored to resist flotation, collapse or lateral
movement. Methods of anchoring may include but are not to be limited to use
of over-the-top or frame ties to ground anchors.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
In all areas of special flood hazard where base flood elevation data
has been provided, as set forth in § 92-3 or as determined in § 92-4B,
the following provisions, in addition to those in § 92-5, are required:
A.
Residential structures. New construction or substantial
improvement of any residential structure shall have the lowest floor, including
basement, elevated to or above the base flood elevation.
B.
Nonresidential structures. New construction or substantial
improvement of any commercial, industrial or nonresidential structure located
in a special flood hazard area shall have the lowest floor, including basement,
elevated to or above the level of the base flood elevation.
C.
Floodproofing. Nonresidential structures located in all
A Zones may be floodproofed in lieu of being elevated, provided that, together
with all attendant utilities and sanitary facilities, the areas of the structure
below the required elevation are watertight with walls substantially impermeable
to the passage of water and use structural components having the capability
of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and the effects of buoyancy.
A registered professional engineer or architect shall review and/or develop
structural design specifications and plans for the construction and shall
certify that the design and methods of construction are in accordance with
acceptable standards of practice for meeting the provisions of this subsection.
D.
Elevated buildings. New construction or substantial improvements
of elevated buildings that include fully enclosed areas formed by foundation
and other exterior walls below the base flood elevation shall be designed
to preclude finished living space and designed to allow for the entry and
exit of floodwaters to automatically equalize hydrostatic flood forces on
exterior walls. Designs for complying with this requirement must either be
certified by a professional engineer or architect or meet the following minimum
criteria:
(1)
Provide a minimum of two openings having a total net
area of not less than one square inch for every square foot of enclosed area
subject to flooding.
(2)
The bottom of all openings shall be no higher than one
foot above grade.
(3)
Openings may be equipped with screens, louvers, valves
or other coverings or devices, provided that they permit the automatic flow
of floodwaters in both directions.
E.
Manufactured homes. All manufactured homes shall have
the lowest floor elevated to or above the base flood level. They shall be
placed on a permanent foundation which itself is securely anchored and to
which the structure is securely anchored.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
F.
New construction in A Zones. In A Zones where base flood
elevations have been determined but before a floodway is designated, no new
construction, substantial improvement or other development (including fill)
shall be permitted which would increase base flood elevations more than one
foot at any point along the watercourse when all anticipated development is
considered cumulatively with the proposed development.
G.
Recreational vehicles placed on sites within Zones A1-30,
AH and AE shall either:
(1)
Be on site for fewer than 180 consecutive days;
(2)
Be fully licensed and ready for highway use (A recreational
vehicle is ready for highway use if it is on its wheels or jacking system,
is attached to the site only by quick-disconnect-type utilities and security
devices and has no permanently attached additions.); or
In areas where floodways have been designated or determined encroachments
shall be prohibited, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements
and other developments unless certification (with supporting technical data)
by a registered professional engineer is provided demonstrating that encroachments
shall not result in any increase in flood levels during occurrence of the
base flood discharge. When utilizing data other than that provided by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, the following standard applies: select
and adopt a regulatory floodway based on the principle that the area chosen
for the regulatory floodway must be designed to carry the waters of the base
flood, without increasing the water surface elevation of that flood more than
one foot at any one point.
In all special flood hazard areas, the following requirements shall
apply:
A.
All subdivision proposals shall be consistent with the
need to minimize flood damage.
B.
All subdivision proposals shall have public utilities
and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems located and
constructed to minimize flood damage.
C.
All subdivision proposals shall have adequate drainage
provided to reduce exposure to flood hazards.
D.
In Zone A, base flood elevation data shall be provided
for subdivision proposals and other proposed development (including manufactured
home parks and subdivisions) which are five acres or 50 lots, whichever occurs
first.
[Amended 3-9-2000]
The Planning and Zoning Commission shall hear and decide appeals and
requests for variances from the requirements of this chapter.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
A.
Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that
the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford
relief; and, in the instance of a historical building, a determination that
the variance is the minimum necessary as so not to destroy the historic character
and result in the loss of historic designation of the building.
B.
Hardship.
(1)
Variances may only be issued upon:
(a)
A showing of good and sufficient cause;
(b)
A determination that failure to grant the variance would
result in exceptional hardship; and
(c)
A determination that the granting of a variance will
not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety
or extraordinary public expense or create nuisance, cause fraud on or victimization
of the public or conflict with existing local laws or ordinance.
(2)
Only hardships which are based on unusual physical characteristics
of the property in question qualify to meet Subsection B(1) above.
(3)
Claims of hardship based on the structure, on economic
or on personal circumstances are not sufficient cause for the granting of
a variance under this chapter.
C.
Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be
given written notice specifying the difference between the base flood elevation
and the elevation to which the structure is to be built and stating that the
cost of flood insurance will be commensurate with the increased risk resulting
from the reduced lowest floor elevation up to amounts as high as $25 for $100
of insurance coverage.
D.
The City Engineer shall maintain the records of all appeal
actions and report any variances to the Federal Emergency Management Agency
upon request.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
Violation of the provisions of this chapter or failure to comply with
any of its requirements, including violation of conditions and safeguards
established in connection with grants of variance or special exceptions, shall
constitute a misdemeanor. Any person who violates this chapter or fails to
comply with any of its requirements shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined
not more than $250 per day if proven done willfully and $100 per day if not,
or imprisoned for not more than 10 days for each day of violation, or both,
and in addition shall pay all costs and reasonable legal fees involved in
the case. Nothing herein contained shall prevent the City of Derby from taking
such other lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violation.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
This chapter is not intended to repeal, abrogate or impair any existing
easements, covenants or deed restrictions. Where this chapter and another
ordinance conflict or overlap, whichever imposes the more stringent restrictions
shall prevail.
[Amended 8-22-1994]
The degree of flood protection required by this chapter is considered
the minimum reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on scientific
and engineering consideration. Floods of greater magnitude 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 special flood hazard areas
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 of Derby or
any officer or employee thereof for any flood damages that result from reliance
on this chapter or any administrative decision lawfully made thereunder.
