Bellingham City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVI
Special Flood Hazard Area Requirements
§ 240-110 Purpose.
A.
The purpose of the Special Flood Hazard Area is to:
(1)
Ensure public safety through reducing the threats to life and personal injury.
(2)
Eliminate new hazards to emergency response officials.
(3)
Prevent the occurrence of public emergencies resulting from water quality, contamination, and pollution due to flooding.
(4)
Avoid the loss of utility services which if damaged by flooding would disrupt or shut down the utility network and impact regions of the community beyond the site of flooding.
(5)
Eliminate costs associated with the response and cleanup of flooding conditions.
(6)
Reduce damage to public and private property resulting from flooding waters.
§ 240-111-1 Definitions.
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to building or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.
FLOODWAY
The channel of the river, creek 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 a designated height.
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE
A use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term includes only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and ship building and ship repair facilities, but does not include long-term storage or related manufacturing facilities.
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
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.
D.
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified by an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of the first floodplain management code, regulation, ordinance, or standard adopted by the authority having jurisdiction, including any subsequent improvements to such structures. New construction includes work determined to be substantial improvement. (Referenced Standard ASCE 24-14).
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
Vehicle which is built on a single chassis, 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection, 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 a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA
The land area subject to flood hazards and shown on a Flood Insurance Rate Map or other flood hazard map as Zone A, AE, A1-30, A99, AR, AO, or AH.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
The date of issuance for new construction and substantial improvements to existing structures, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement or other improvements is within 180 days after the date of issuance. The actual start of construction means the first placement of permanent construction of a building (including a manufactured home) on a site, such as pouring of a slab or footings, installation of pilings or construction of columns.
Permanent construction does not include land preparation (such as clearing, excavation, grading, or filling), the installation of streets or walkways, excavation for a basement, footings, piers or foundations, the erection of temporary forms or the installation of accessory buildings such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main building. For a substantial improvement, the actual "start of construction" means the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor or other structural part of a building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building. |
STRUCTURE
For floodplain management purposes, a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
SUBSTANTIAL REPAIR OF A FOUNDATION
When work to repair or replace a foundation results in the repair or replacement of a portion of the foundation with a perimeter along the base of the foundation that equals or exceeds 50% of the perimeter of the base of the foundation that equals or exceeds 50% of the perimeter of the base of the foundation measured in linear feet, or repair or replacement of 50% of the piles, columns or piers of a pile, column or pier supported foundation, the building official shall determine it to be substantial repair of a foundation. Applications determined by the building official to constitute substantial repair of a foundation shall require all existing portions of the entire building or structure to meet the requirements of 780 CMR.
VARIANCE
A grant of relief by a community from the terms of a floodplain management regulation.
VIOLATION
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in § 60.3 is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
§ 240-111-2 Designation of Community Floodplain Administrator.
A.
The Town of Bellingham hereby designates the position of Building Commissioner/Zoning Enforcement Officer to be the official floodplain administrator for the Town.
§ 240-111-3 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 25021C0138F, 25021C0139F, 25021C0299F, 25021C0301F, 25021C0302F, 25021C0303F, 25021C0304F, 25021C0311F, 25021C0312F, 25021C0313F, and 25021C0314F, dated July 8, 2025. The exact boundaries of the district may be defined by the 100-year base flood elevations shown on the FIRM and further defined by the Norfolk County Insurance Study (FIS) report dated July 8, 2025. The FIRM and the FIS report are incorporated herein by reference and are on file with the Town Clerk and Building Inspector.
§ 240-111-4 Development regulations.
The following requirements apply in Special Flood Hazard Area Districts:
A.
In A Zones, in the absence of FEMA BFE data and floodway data, the building department will obtain, review and reasonably utilize base flood elevation and floodway data available from Federal, State, or other source as criteria for requiring new construction, substantial improvements, or other development in Zone A and as the basis for elevating residential structures to or above base flood level, and for prohibiting encroachments in floodways.
B.
In the floodway designated on the Flood Insurance Rate Map, the following provisions shall apply:
(1)
In Zones A1-30 and AE, along watercourses that have a regulatory floodway designated on the Town's/City's FIRM or Flood Boundary & Floodway Maps (choose map which delineates floodways for your community) encroachments are prohibited, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements, and other development within the adopted regulatory floodway unless it has been demonstrated through hydrologic and hydraulic analyses performed in accordance with standard engineering practice that the proposed encroachment would not result in any increase in flood levels within the community during the occurrence of the base flood discharge.
(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.
(4)
All subdivision proposals must be designed to assure that:
(a)
Such proposals minimize flood damage;
(b)
All public utilities and facilities are located and constructed to minimize or eliminate flood damage; and
(c)
Adequate drainage is provided to reduce exposure to flood hazards.
(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:
(a)
Adjacent communities.
(b)
NFIP State Coordinator.
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
(c)
NFIP Program Specialist.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region I.
(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.
C.
Recreational vehicles. In A, A1-30, AH, AO, and AE Zones, all recreational vehicles to be placed on a site must be elevated and anchored in accordance with the zone's regulations for foundation and elevation requirements or be on the site for less than 180 consecutive days or be fully licensed and highway ready.
§ 240-111-5 Required permits for proposed development in the special flood hazard area.
A.
The Town of Bellingham requires a permit for all proposed construction or other developments in the Floodplain Overlay District, including new construction or changes to existing buildings, placement of manufactured homes, placement of agricultural facilities, fences, sheds, storage facilities or drilling, mining, paving and any other development that might increase flooding or adversely impact flood risks to other properties.
B.
An applicant shall submit a narrative, development plans, and supporting material to document compliance with § 240-113, to the Floodplain Administrator to receive a permit. The development plan shall include;
(1)
A stamp from a Massachusetts Licensed Surveyor or Professional Engineer.
(2)
Existing and proposed contours in no greater than two-foot intervals.
(3)
A base flood elevation or approximate location of the Zone A boundary, if applicable.
(4)
Existing and proposed site features which may affect the Special Flood Hazard Area.
(5)
Proposed fill volumes and compensatory flood storage volumes labelled in stage-storage increments at a maximum of one-foot intervals.
C.
The Town's permit review process includes the requirement that the proponent obtain all local, state, and federal permits that will be necessary in order to carry out the proposed development in the Floodplain Overlay District. The proponent must acquire all necessary permits, and must demonstrate that all necessary permits have been acquired.
§ 240-111-6 Requirement to submit new technical data.
A.
If the Town acquires data that changes the base flood elevation in the FEMA mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas, the Town will, within six months, notify FEMA of these changes by submitting the technical or scientific data that supports the change(s). Notification shall be submitted to:
(1)
NFIP state coordinator.
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
(2)
NFIP program specialist.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region I.
§ 240-111-7 Variances.
A.
Variances to Building Code Floodplain Standards.
(1)
The Town will request from the State Building Code Appeals Board a written and/or audible copy of the portion of the hearing related to the variance, and will maintain this record in the community's files.
(2)
The Town shall also issue a letter to the property owner regarding potential impacts to the annual premiums for the flood insurance policy covering that property, in writing over the signature of a community official that (i) the issuance of a variance to construct a structure below the base flood level will result in increased premium rates for flood insurance up to amounts as high as $25 for $100 of insurance coverage and (ii) such construction below the base flood level increases risks to life and property.
(3)
Such notification shall be maintained with the record of all variance actions for the referenced development in the Floodplain Overlay District.
B.
Variances to Local Zoning Bylaws related to Community Compliance with the NFIP.
(1)
A variance from these floodplain bylaws must meet the requirements set out by State law, and may only be granted if:
(a)
Good and sufficient cause and exceptional non-financial hardship exists.
(b)
The variance will not result in additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, or fraud or victimization of the public.
(c)
The variance is the minimum action necessary to afford relief.
§ 240-111-8 Abrogation and greater restriction section.
A.
The floodplain management regulations found in this Floodplain Overlay District section shall take precedence over any less restrictive conflicting local laws, ordinances, or codes.
§ 240-111-9 Disclaimer of liability.
A.
The degree of flood protection required by this bylaw [ordinance] is considered reasonable but does not imply total flood protection.
