CHAPTER 17
FLOOD HAZARD REGULATIONS
1710 Statutory Authorization, Findings of fact, and Statement of purpose
1720 Definitions
1730 Scope of controls; use and conditions
1740 Areas of special flood hazard defined
1750 Lands to which special flood hazard applies
1755 Basis for establishing the areas of special flood hazard
1760 Floodplain manager action
1765 Flood development permits
1770 Standards for floodways
1775 Standards for areas of shallow flooding
1780 Variance procedures
1785 Exemptions
1790 Enforcement and Penalties
SECTION 1710 STATUTORY
AUTHORIZATION, FINDINGS OF
STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION –
The Legislature of the State of
FINDINGS OF
1) The flood hazard areas of the
City of
2) These flood losses are created by the cumulative effect of obstructions in floodplains which cause an increase in flood heights and velocities, and by the occupancy of flood hazard areas by uses vulnerable to floods and hazardous to other lands because they are inadequately elevated, floodproofed or otherwise protected from flood damage.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE –
It is the purpose of this ordinance 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:
1. Protect human life and health;
2. Minimize expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects;
3. Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;
4. Minimize prolonged business interruptions;
5. Minimize damage to public facilities and utilities such as water and gas mains, electric, telephone and sewer lines, streets and bridges located in floodplains;
6. Help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use and development of flood-prone areas in such a manner as to minimize future flood blight areas; and
7.
Insure that potential buyers are notified that property
is in a flood area.
SECTION 1720 DEFINITIONS
For the purpose of this chapter the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribes to them in this section:
1. “Area of special flood hazard” means that land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year;
2. “Base flood” means the flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year;
3. “Development” means 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;
4. “Flood or flooding” means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source;
5. “Flood boundary and floodway map (FBFM)” means an official map of a community, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where the areas within the boundaries of special flood hazards have been designated;
6. “Habitable floor” means any floor usable for living purposes, which includes working, sleeping, eating, cooking, or recreation, or a combination thereof. A floor used for storage purposes only is not a “habitable floor”;
7. “Mean sea level” means the average height of the sea for all states of the tide;
8. “Mobile home” means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be user with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. It does not include recreational vehicles or travel trailers;
9. “Structure” means a walled and roofed building that is principally above ground, as well as a mobile home; and
10. “Substantial damage” means 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 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
(Ord.
No. 304,
SECTION 1730 SCOPE OF CONTROLS; USE
This chapter shall apply to all areas of special flood hazard within the jurisdiction of the city. Uses normally permitted in applicable zoning districts shall be permitted providing the following provisions have been met:
1. All new construction and substantial improvements (including the placement of prefabricated buildings and mobile homes) shall:
a. Be designed (or modified) and adequately anchored to prevent flotation, collapse, or lateral movement of the structure;
b. Be constructed with materials and utility equipment resistant to flood damage; and
c. Be constructed by methods and practices that minimize flood damage;
2. All new and replacement water supply systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems;
3. All new and replacement sanitary sewage systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems and discharges from the systems into flood waters;
4. All new and replacement on-site waste disposal systems shall be located to avoid impairment to them or contamination from them during flooding;
5. All new construction and substantial improvements of residential structures shall have the lowest floor elevated to or above the base flood level calculated on the basis of one hundred percent (100%) upstream urbanization or development;
6. All new construction and substantial improvements of non-residential structures shall have the lowest floor flood-proofed or elevated to or above the base flood level calculated on the basis of one hundred percent (100%) upstream urbanization or development;
7. Any altered or relocated water course shall maintain its original flood carrying capacity;
8. No man-made change to improved or unimproved property, including filling, grading, paving, or excavating shall be commenced until a building permit or zoning clearance permit has been obtained for each change; and
9. All mobile homes shall be anchored to resist flotation, collapse, or lateral movement by providing over-the-top and ground ties to anchors. Specific requirements shall be:
a. Over-the-top ties at each of the four (4) corners of the mobile home, with two (2) additional ties per side at intermediate locations and mobile homes less than fifty (50) feet long requiring one additional tie per side;
b. Frame ties at each corner of the home with five (5) additional ties per side at intermediate points and mobile homes less than fifty (50) feet long requiring four (4) additional ties per side.
c. All components of the anchoring system be capable of carrying a force of four thousand eight hundred (4,800) pounds; and
d. Any additions to the mobile home be similarly anchored.
e. For new mobile home parks and subdivisions, for expansions to existing mobile home parks and subdivisions; for existing mobile home parks and subdivisions where the repair, reconstruction or improvement of the streets, utilities and pads equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the value of the streets, utilities and pads before the repair, reconstruction or improvement has commenced, require:
(1) Stands or lots are elevated on compacted fill or on pilings so that the lowest floor of the mobile home will be at or above the base flood level. A registered professional engineer, architect or land surveyor shall submit a certification to the building inspector or zoning officer that the standards of this paragraph complies with this section;
(2) Adequate surface drainage and access for a hauler are provided; and
(3) In the instance of elevation on pilings: (1) lots are large enough to permit steps; (2) piling foundations are placed in stable soil no more than ten (10) feet apart, and (3) reinforcement is provided for pilings more than six (6) feet above the ground level.
(Ord.
No. 304,
SECTION 1740 AREAS OF
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD DEFINED
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to and
govern the placement of structures and improvements and man-made changes of
land, and the issuance of building permits or zoning clearance permits for
property within the areas of special flood hazard in the city. The areas of special flood hazard identified
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a scientific and engineering
report entitled “The Flood Insurance Study for Tulsa County, Oklahoma and
Incorporated Areas” dated
B. It is the responsibility of the city manager, through the floodplain manager, to determine, on request for a building permit or zoning clearance permit, if a particular tract of land is in part or in whole within the areas of special flood hazard as shown on the flood hazard boundary and floodway maps.
SECTION 1750 LANDS TO WHICH SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD
APPLIES
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to and govern the placement of structures and improvements and man-made changes of land, and the issuance of building permits or occupancy permits for property within the areas of special flood hazard in the city.
SECTION 1755 BASIS FOR ESTABLISHING THE AREAS OF
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD
The areas of special flood hazard identified by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency in a scientific and engineering report
entitled, "The Flood Insurance Study for
SECTION 1760 FLOODPLAIN MANAGER ACTION
The building inspector or zoning officer shall act upon all such applications on which he is authorized to act under these regulations within thirty (30) days, after these are filed in compliance with the provisions hereof. He shall either issue a building permit or zoning clearance permit within the thirty (30) day period or he shall notify the applicant, in writing, of his refusal of such a permit and set forth the reason therefore. Failure to notify the applicant in case of such refusal within thirty (30) days shall entitle the applicant to the building permit or zoning clearance permit, unless the applicant consents to an extension time. Under such rules as may be adopted by the board of adjustment, the building inspector or zoning officer may issue a temporary building permit or zoning clearance permit. He shall also:
1. Review all permits to determine whether proposed building sites will be reasonably safe from flooding;
2. Maintain a record of all lowest habitable floor elevations submitted to him;
3. In the absence of other Federal Emergency Management Agency base flood elevation data, consider other available data basis for determining lowest permitted floors;
4. Notify adjacent communities of all proposed water course alterations;
5. Require that all other state and federal permits are obtained; and
6. Review all applications and determine their conformance with the subdivision regulations of the city as applicable.
SECTION 1765 FLOOD DEVELOPMENT PERMITS
A request for the processing and issuance of a flood development permit pertaining to property situated within the boundary of the defined areas of special flood hazard shall be accompanied by such plans as may be necessary, including, at the discretion of the floodplain manager, plans in duplicate, drawn to scale in black line or blueprint, showing:
1. The actual shape and dimensions of the lot to be built upon or to be changed in its use, in whole or in part;
2. The exact location, size and height of any building or structure to be constructed or altered;
3. The existing and intended use of each building or structure or part thereof;
4. The number of families, dwellings, or housekeeping units the building is designed to accommodate;
5. When no buildings are involved, the location of the present use and proposed use to be made on the lot;
6. When the property lies within the area of special flood hazard, the elevation (in relation to mean sea level) of the lowest habitable floor of all new or substantially improved structures; and
7. Such other information with regard to the lot and neighboring lots as may be necessary to determine and provide for the enforcement of these regulations.
One copy of any such plan or plans shall be returned to the owner when such plans have been approved by the floodplain manager, together with such flood development permit as may be granted. All dimensions shown on these plans relating to the location of the buildings thereon shall be staked out on the ground before construction is started. Whenever a lot is not provided and is not proposed to be provided with public sewers, the application for flood development permit shall be accompanied by a certificate of approval by the county health officer of the proposed method of water supply or disposal of sanitary wastes.
SECTION 1770 STANDARDS FOR FLOODWAYS
Located within areas of special flood hazard established in Section 12-404 of this code are areas designated as floodways. Since the floodway is an extremely hazardous area due to the velocity of flood waters which carry debris, potential projectiles and erosion potential, the following provisions shall apply:
1. Encroachments are prohibited, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements and other developments unless certification by a registered professional engineer or architect is provided demonstrating that encroachments shall not result in any increase in flood levels during occurrence of the base flood discharge;
2. If paragraph 1 hereof is satisfied, all nr construction and substantial improvements shall comply with all applicable flood hazard reduction provisions in Section 12-403 of this code; and
3. Prohibit placement of any mobile homes, except in an existing mobile home park or subdivision.
SECTION 1775 STANDARDS FOR AREAS OF SHALLOW
FLOODING
Located within the areas of special flood hazard established in Section 12-404 of this code are areas designated as shallow flooding. These areas have special flood hazards associated with base flood depths of one to three (3) feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist and where the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; therefore, the following provisions apply:
1. All new construction and substantial improvements of residential structures shall have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated above the crown of the nearest street to above the depth number specified on the flood boundary and floodway map;
2. All new construction and substantial improvements on non-residential structures shall:
a. Have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated above the crown of the nearest street or above the depth number specified on the flood boundary map; and
b. Together with attendant utility and sanitary facilities be completely floodproofed to or above that level so that any space below that level is watertight with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water and with structural components having the capability of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and effects of buoyancy; and
3. A registered professional engineer or architect shall submit a certification to the building inspector or zoning officer that the standards of this section and Sections 12-405 through 12-407 of this code are satisfied.
SECTION 1780 VARIANCE PROCEDURES
The board of adjustment as established by the city shall hear and render judgment on requests for variances from the requirements of this chapter in accordance with the provisions of the zoning code of the city.
SECTION 1785 EXEMPTIONS
Provisions of this chapter shall not be applicable to:
1. Any building permit, zoning clearance permit, zoning special exception approval, zoning variance approval, site plan approval, license, permit, or other approval granted prior to the initiation of the development controls hereby enacted; however, nothing herein contained shall limit the city’s right to revoke any building permit, certificate of occupancy, license or other approval previously issued when such revocation is in the best interest of the health, safety and welfare of the community;
2. Agricultural activities, except for new construction of structures or substantial improvements to structures;
3. Home gardening; and
4. Emergency repairs of a temporary nature made on public or private property which are necessary for the preservation of life, health or property, and which are made under such circumstances where is would be impossible to obtain prior building permit or zoning clearance permit. However, such repairs shall not be considered as being exempt from the provisions of this chapter and they shall be conclusively deemed temporary and non-permanent unless subsequently authorized by an appropriate building permit or zoning clearance permit approval.
SECTION 1790 ENFORCEMENT
A. Any building permit or zoning clearance permit may be revoked or suspended by the city council after a public hearing. Ten (10) calendar days advance written notice shall be given to the grantee specifying the grounds for such contemplated revocation or suspension and advising the grantee of the date, place and time of the hearing before the city council; the permits may be revoked or suspended upon occurrence of any one of the following events:
1. Violation of any condition of the approval;
2. Violation of any provision of this chapter or any other applicable law, ordinance, rule or regulation pertaining to the work authorized by building permit or zoning clearance permit approval; or
3. Existence of any condition or the doing of any act constituting or creating a nuisance, hazard, or endangering human life or the property of others.
B. Any person, firm or corporation or other legal entity violating the requirements of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction, shall be punished as provided in Section 1-108 of this code.
C. In addition to any fine, the city may institute appropriate actions or proceeding at law or equity for the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter, or to correct the violations thereof. If applicable and appropriate, the city may institute appropriate actions or proceedings at law or equity against any surety company, escrow holder, or any third party who has affirmatively acted as surety or guarantor for the grantee’s performance as authorized by the special exception approval.