Green Lane City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XI
Floodplain Conservation District
§ 415-63 Purpose.
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 85-5]
The purpose of these provisions is to prevent the loss of property and life, 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, acting 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 areas subject to flooding.
C.
Requiring all those uses, activities and developments that do occur in flood-prone areas to be protected and/or floodproofed against flooding and flood damage.
D.
Protecting individuals from buying lands and structures which are unsuited for intended purposes because of flood hazards.
§ 415-64 Applicability.
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 85-5]
Those provisions shall apply to all lands within the jurisdiction of the Borough of Green Lane and shown as being located within the boundaries of the designated floodplain districts which are considered as a part of the Official Zoning Map.
§ 415-65 Compliance.
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 85-5]
No structure or land shall hereafter be used and no structure shall be located, relocated, constructed, reconstructed, enlarged or structurally altered except in full compliance with the terms and provisions of this article and any other applicable ordinances and regulations which apply to uses within the jurisdiction of this article.
§ 415-66 Warning and disclaimer of liability.
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 85-5]
A.
The degree of flood protection sought by the provisions of this article is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on acceptable engineering methods of study. Larger floods may occur on rare occasions; flood heights may be increased by man-made or natural causes, such as ice-jams and bridge openings restricted by debris. This article does not imply that areas outside the floodplain districts or that land uses permitted within such districts will be free from flooding or flood damages.
B.
This article shall not create liability on the part of the Borough or any officer or employee thereof for any flood damages that result from reliance on this article or any administrative decision lawfully made thereunder.
§ 415-67 Basis of districts.
[Amended 12-9-1996 by Ord. No. 96-6]
The various floodplain districts shall include areas subject to inundation by waters of the one-hundred-year flood. The basis for the delineation of these districts shall be the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and the accompanying maps for the Borough prepared by the Federal Insurance Administration, dated December 19, 1996, or the most recent revision thereof.
A.
The Floodway District (FW) is delineated for purposes of this article using the criteria that a certain area within the floodplain must be capable of carrying the waters of the one-hundred-year flood without increasing the water surface elevation of that flood more than one foot at any point. The areas included in this district are specifically defined in the Floodway Data Table of the above-referenced Flood Insurance Study and shown on the accompanying Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
B.
The Flood-Fringe District (FF) shall be that area of the one-hundred-year floodplain not included in the Floodway District. The basis for the outermost boundary of this district shall be the one-hundred-year flood elevations contained in the flood profiles of the above-referenced Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and as shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map.
§ 415-68 Overlay concept.
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 85-5]
A.
The Floodplain Districts described above shall be overlays to the existing underlying districts as shown on the Official Zoning Map, and as such, the provisions for the floodplain districts shall serve as a supplement to the underlying district provisions.
B.
Where there happens to be any conflict between the provisions or requirements of any of the floodplain districts and those of any underlying district, the more restrictive provisions and/or those pertaining to the Floodplain Districts shall apply.
C.
In the event any provision concerning a Floodplain District is declared inapplicable as a result of any legislative or administrative action or judicial discretion, the basic underlying district provisions shall remain applicable.
§ 415-69 Zoning Map.
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 85-5; 1-6-1992 by Ord. No. 92-3]
The boundaries of the Floodplain Districts are established as a part of the Official Zoning Map of the Borough which is declared to be a part of this chapter and which shall be kept on file with the Borough Secretary as well as the Borough's Code Enforcement Officer.
§ 415-70 District boundary changes.
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 85-5]
The delineation of any of the Floodplain Districts may be revised by the Borough Council where natural or man-made changes have occurred and/or more detailed studies conducted or undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a river basin commission or other qualified agency or individual documents the notification for such change. However, prior to any such change, approval must be obtained from the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA).
§ 415-71 Interpretation of district boundaries.
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 85-5; 1-6-1992 by Ord. No. 92-3]
Initial interpretation of the boundaries of the Floodplain Districts shall be made by the Code Enforcement Officer. Should a dispute arise concerning the boundaries of any of the districts, the Zoning Hearing Board shall make the necessary determination. The person questioning or contesting the location of the district boundary shall be given a reasonable opportunity to present his case to the Board and to submit his own technical evidence if he so desires.
§ 415-72 District provisions.
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 85-5]
A.
All uses, activities and development occurring within any Floodplain District shall be undertaken only in strict compliance with the provisions of this article and with all other applicable codes and ordinances such as Chapter 135, Construction Codes, Uniform, and Chapter 370, Subdivision and Land Development. In addition, all such uses, activities and development shall be undertaken only in compliance with federal or state law including Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, 33 U.S.C. § 1334.
B.
Under no circumstances shall any use, activity and/or development adversely affect the capacity of the channels or floodways of any watercourse, drainage ditch or any other drainage facility or system.
C.
Prior to any proposed alteration or relocation of any stream, watercourse, etc., within the Borough, a permit shall be obtained from the Department of Environmental Protection, Dams and Encroachment Division. Further, notification of the proposal by the Borough shall be given to all affected adjacent municipalities. Copies of such notification shall be forwarded to both the Federal Insurance Administration and the Department of Community and Economic Development.
§ 415-73 Floodplain Districts (FP).
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 85-5]
No construction or development shall take place within any identified floodplain area of the Borough.
§ 415-74 Flood-Fringe District (FF).
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 85-5]
Repairs, improvements or modifications to any existing structure which amount to less than 50% of the market value are permitted, provided such work does not result in the expansion or enlargement of the structure.
§ 415-75 Variances.
[Amended 12-9-1996 by Ord. No. 96-6]
A.
If compliance with any of the requirements of this article (Article XI) would result in an exceptional hardship to a prospective builder, developer or landowner, the Zoning Hearing Board may, upon request, grant relief from the strict application of the requirements. Requests for variances shall be considered by the Zoning Hearing Board in accordance with the procedures contained in § 415-134 with conclusions based upon the following criteria:
(1)
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, no variance shall be granted for:
(b)
The commencement of, or any construction of, a new mobile home park or mobile home subdivision, or substantial improvement to an existing mobile home park or mobile home subdivision.
(c)
Any new or substantially improved structure which will be used for the production or storage of any of the following dangerous materials or substances or which will be used for any activity requiring the maintenance of a supply (more than 550 gallons or other comparable volume or any amount of radioactive substances) or any of the following dangerous materials or substances on the premises:
[1]
Acetone.
[2]
Ammonia.
[3]
Benzene.
[4]
Calcium carbide.
[5]
Carbon disulfide.
[6]
Celluloid.
[7]
Chlorine.
[8]
Hydrochloric acid.
[9]
Hydrocynanic acid.
[10]
Magnesium.
[11]
Nitric acid and oxides of nitrogen.
[12]
Petroleum products (gasoline, fuel oil, etc.).
[13]
Phosphorus.
[14]
Potassium.
[15]
Sodium.
[16]
Sulphur and sulphur products.
[17]
Pesticides (including insecticides, fungicides and rodenticides).
[18]
Radioactive substances, insofar as such substances are not otherwise regulated.
(d)
Any activity within an identified floodway which would cause any increase in flood levels during the one-hundred-year flood.
(2)
If granted, a variance shall involve only the least modification necessary to provide relief. If it should become necessary to grant any variance, the applicant shall be required to comply with all applicable requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program regulations [40 CFR § 60.3(a), (b), (c) and (d)], including the requirements for elevation, floodproofing and anchoring. The applicant must also comply with any other requirements considered necessary by the Borough.
(3)
In granting any variance, the Borough shall attach whatever reasonable conditions and safeguards it considers necessary in order to protect the public health, safety and welfare, and to achieve the objectives of this section.
(5)
In reviewing any request for a variance, the Zoning Hearing Board shall consider, at a minimum, the following:
(a)
That there is good and sufficient cause.
(b)
That failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant.
(c)
That the granting of the variance will neither result in an unacceptable or prohibited increase in flood heights, additional threats to public safety, or extraordinary public expense, nor create nuisances, cause fraud on, or victimize the public, or conflict with any other applicable state or local ordinances and regulations.
(6)
A complete record of all variance requests and related actions shall be maintained by the Borough. In addition, a report of all variances granted during the year shall be included in the Annual Report to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
B.
Notwithstanding any of the above, however, all structures shall be designed and constructed so as to have the capability of resisting the one-hundred-year flood.
§ 415-76 Administration.
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 85-5]
A zoning permit shall be required for all construction and development which includes, but is not limited to, paving, filling, grading, excavation, mining, dredging or drilling operations, etc.
§ 415-77 Definitions.
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 85-5]
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, the placement of mobile homes, streets and other paving, utilities, filling, grading, excavation, mining, dredging or drilling operations, the subdivision of land and the storage of materials or equipment.
[Amended 12-9-1996 by Ord. No. 96-6]
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
(1) A relatively flat or low land area adjoining a river, stream or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete inundation; (2) an area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
Those floodplain districts specifically designated in this chapter as being inundated primarily by the one-hundred-year flood. Included would be areas identified as Floodway District (FW) and Flood-Fringe District (FF).
A flood that, on the average, is likely to occur once every 100 years (i.e., that has a 1% chance of occurring each year, although the flood may occur in any year).