Bellingham City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVI
Special Flood Hazard Area Requirements
§ 240-110 District establishment.
A.
The Floodplain District herein also called "Special Flood Hazard Area" (SFHA) is hereby established as an overlay district to all other districts. All development in the SFHA District, including structural and nonstructural activities, whether permitted by right or by special permit, must be in compliance with M.G.L. ch. 131, § 40, and with the following:
(1)
Section of the Massachusetts State Building Code which addresses special flood hazard area and coastal high hazard areas, 780 CMR.
(2)
Wetlands Protection Regulations, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), 310 CMR 10.00.
(3)
Inland Wetland Restriction, DEP, currently 310 CMR 13.00.
(4)
Minimum Requirements for the Subsurface Disposal of Sanitary Sewage, DEP, 310 CMR 15, Title 5.
B.
The district also includes all special flood hazard areas within the Town of Bellingham designated as Zone A and AE on the Norfolk County Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The map panels of the Norfolk County FIRM that are wholly or partially with the Town of Bellingham are panel numbers 25021C0138E, 25021C0139E, 25021C0299E, 25021C0301E, 2502CO302E, 25021C0303E, 25021C0304E, 25021C0311E, 25021C0312E, 25021C0313E and 25021C0314E, dated July 17, 2012. The exact boundaries of the district may be defined by the one-hundred-year base flood elevations shown on the FIRM and further defined by the Norfolk County Insurance Study (FIS) report dated July 17, 2012. The FIRM and the FIS report are incorporated herein by reference and are on file with the Town Clerk and Building Inspector.
§ 240-111 Development regulations.
The following requirements apply in Special Flood Hazard Area Districts:
A.
Within Zone A, where the base flood elevation is not provided on the FIRM, the applicant shall obtain any existing base flood elevation data and it shall be reviewed by the Building Inspector for its reasonable utilization toward meeting the elevation of floodproofing requirements, as appropriate, of the State Building Code.
B.
In the floodway designated on the Flood Insurance Rate Map, the following provisions shall apply:
(1)
All encroachments, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements to existing structures, and other development, are prohibited unless certification by a registered professional engineer is provided by the applicant demonstrating that such encroachment shall not result in any increase in flood level during the occurrence of the base flood. The base flood is the flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given one year.
(2)
Any encroachment meeting the above standard shall comply with the floodplain (special flood hazard area) standards of the State Building Code as well as the performance standards in 310 CMR (Wetlands Protection Regulations).
(3)
Base flood elevation data is required for subdivision proposals or other developments greater than 50 lots or five acres, whichever is the lesser, within the unnumbered A Zones.
(5)
Notification of watercourse alteration. In a riverine situation, the Building Inspector or Board of Selectmen shall require the applicant to notify the following of any alteration or relocation of a watercourse:
(6)
In Zones A and AE, along watercourses that have not had a regulatory floodway designated, the best available federal, state, local, or other floodway data shall be used to prohibit encroachments in floodways which would result in any increase in flood levels within the community during the occurrence of the base flood discharge.