The purpose of these provisions is to prevent
the loss of life and property, the creation of health and safety hazards,
the disruption of commerce and governmental services, the extraordinary
and unnecessary expenditure of public funds for flood protection and
relief and the impairment of the tax base by:
A. Regulating uses, activities and development which,
alone or in combination with other existing or future uses, activities
and development, will cause unacceptable increases in flood heights,
velocities and frequencies.
B. Restricting or prohibiting certain uses, activities
and development from locating within districts subject to flooding.
C. Requiring all those uses, activities and developments
that do occur in flood-prone districts to be protected and/or floodproofed
against flooding and flood damage.
D. Protecting individuals from buying land and structures
which are unsuited for intended purposes because of flood hazards.
These provisions shall apply to all lands within
the jurisdiction of the Town of Stanley and identified as being in
the one-hundred-year floodplain by the Federal Insurance Administration.
This chapter supersedes any ordinance currently
in effect in flood-prone districts. However, any underlying ordinance
shall remain in full force and effect to the extent that its provisions
are more restrictive than this chapter.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
BASE FLOOD; ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOOD
A flood that, on the average, is likely to occur once every
100 years, i.e., that has a one-percent chance of occurring each year,
although the flood may occur in any year.
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS
The board appointed to review appeals made by individuals
with regard to decisions of the Zoning Administrator in the interpretation
of this article.
DEVELOPMENT
Any 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
or storage of equipment or materials.
FLOOD
A.
A general and temporary condition of partial
or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(1)
The overflow of inland or tidal waters.
(2)
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff
of surface waters from any source.
(3)
Mudslides, i.e., mudflows, which are proximately caused by flooding as defined in Subsection
A(2) of this definition and are akin to a river of liquid and flowing mud on the surfaces of normally dry land areas, as when earth is carried by a current of water and deposited along the path of the current.
B.
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 by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in Subsection
A(1) of this definition.
FLOODPLAIN
A.
A relatively flat or low land area adjoining
a river, stream or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete
inundation.
B.
An area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation
or runoff of surface water from any source.
FLOOD-PRONE AREA
Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from
any source.
FLOODWAY
The designated area of the floodplain required to carry and
discharge floodwaters of a given magnitude. For the purposes of this
chapter, a floodway shall be capable of accommodating a flood of the
one-hundred-year magnitude.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
Any structure that is:
A.
Listed individually in the National Register
of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of Interior)
or preliminary determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting
the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;
B.
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;
C.
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
D.
Individually listed on a local inventory of
historic places in communities with historic preservation programs
that have been certified either:
(1)
By an approved state program as determined by
the Secretary of the Interior; or
(2)
Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in
states without approved programs.
MANUFACTURED HOME
A structure subject to federal regulations which is transportable
in one or more sections; is eight body feet or more in width and 40
body feet or more in length in the traveling mode, or is 320 or more
square feet when erected on site; is built on a permanent chassis;
is designed to be used as a single-family dwelling, with or without
a permanent foundation when connected to the required facilities;
and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning and electrical
systems contained in the structure.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
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 (Flood Insurance Rate Map) or after December
31, 1974, whichever is later, and includes any subsequent improvements
to such structures. For floodplain management purposes, "new construction"
means 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 subsequent improvements to
such structures.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle which is:
A.
Built on a single chassis;
B.
Four hundred square feet or less when measured
at the largest horizontal projection;
C.
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently
towable by a light-duty truck; and
D.
Designed primarily not for use as a permanent
dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational camping,
travel or seasonal use.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
The date the building permit was issued, provided that the
actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation,
addition, placement or other improvement was within 180 days of the
permit date. The "actual start" means either the first placement of
permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring
of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of
columns or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the 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. For
a substantial improvement, the "actual start of construction" means
the first alteration on any wall, ceiling, floor or other structural
part of a building, whether or not the alteration affects the external
dimensions of the building.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
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.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
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.
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 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 structure or use of a structure or premises
which lawfully existed before the enactment of these provisions but
which is not in conformity with these provisions may be continued,
subject to the following conditions:
A. Existing structures in the floodway district shall
not be expanded or enlarged unless it has been demonstrated through
hydrologic and hydraulic analyses performed in accordance with standard
engineering practice that the proposed expansion would not result
in any increase in the one-hundred-year-flood elevation.
B. Any modifications, alteration, repair, reconstruction
or improvement of any kind to a structure and/or use located in any
floodplain area to an extent or amount of less than 50% of its market
value shall be elevated and/or floodproofed to the greatest extent
possible.
C. The modification, alteration, repair, reconstruction
or improvement of any kind to a structure and/or use, regardless of
its location in a floodplain area, to an extent or amount of 50% or
more of its market value shall be undertaken only in full compliance
with the provisions of this article and the Virginia Uniform Statewide
Building Code.