1. The Legislature of the State of Iowa has in Chapter 414, Code of Iowa, as amended, delegated the power to cities to enact zoning regulations to secure safety from flood and to promote health and the general welfare.
2. It is the purpose of the Flood Channel (Floodway) District to apply special regulations to the use of land in those areas of the City which are subject to predictable inundation and flow of flood waters such that the floodway efficiency will not be affected, or its capacity restricted. Such land use controls are necessary to qualify property owners for flood insurance under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (as amended). The regulations, while permitting reasonable economic and social use of such properties, will help protect the public health, safety, and general welfare and reduce financial burdens imposed on the community, governmental units, and its individuals caused by frequent and periodic floods and the overflow of lands.
3. The standards required by this Chapter are considered reasonable for regulatory purposes. This Chapter does not imply that areas outside the designated Floodway District areas will be free from flooding or flood damages. This Chapter shall not create liability on the part of the City of Muscatine or any officer or employee thereof for any flood damages that result from reliance on this Chapter or any administrative decision lawfully made there under.

The boundaries of the Flood Channel (Floodway) District are here by established as the areas shown as “Regulatory Floodway ” as shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for Muscatine County and Incorporated Areas, City of Muscatine, Panels 19139C0169D, 175D, 187D, 188D, 189D, 193D, 281D, 282D,and 301D, dated April 16, 2014; Panels 19139C0183D, and 191D, dated November 4, 2016; and Panels 19139C0179E, 184E, 185D, 192D, 225D, dated January 28, 2022; which were prepared as part of the Flood Insurance Study for Muscatine County. These maps hereby adopted by reference and declared to be the Official Floodplain Zoning Map. The flood profiles and all explanatory material contained with the Flood Insurance Study are also declared to be a part of this ordinance.

All lands included in such Flood Channel (Floodway) District shall be subject to the terms imposed herein.

1. It is not intended by this Chapter to repeal, abrogate or impair any existing easements, covenants, or deed restrictions. However, where this Chapter imposes greater restrictions, the provision of this Chapter shall prevail.
2. All activities in this district shall obtain all necessary permits as required by Federal or State law (including Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, 33 U.S.C. 1334).
3. No use shall affect the capacity or conveyance of the channel or floodway of any tributary to the main stream, drainage ditch or any other drainage facility or system.
4. Rules for Interpretation of District Boundaries. The boundaries of the zoning district areas shall be determined by scaling distances on the Official Floodplain Zoning Map. When an interpretation is needed as to the exact location of a boundary, the City Administrator or his/her designee shall make the necessary interpretation. The Board of Adjustment shall hear and decide appeals when it is alleged that there is an error in any requirement, decision, or determination made by the City Administrator or his/her designee in the enforcement or administration of this Chapter.
5. Responsibility for Studies.
   1. Where topographic data, engineering studies, or other studies are needed by the appropriate City agency and/or Iowa Department of Natural Resources to determine the effects of flooding on a structure and/or the effects of the structure on the flow of water, the applicant shall submit such data or studies. All such data shall be prepared by technically qualified persons. All such data shall be maintained by the City of Muscatine.
   2. Any development which involves placement of structures, factory-built homes, fill or other obstructions, storage of materials or equipment, excavation or alteration of a watercourse located in Zone A floodplains (without Base Flood Elevations or delineated floodways) shall be reviewed by the Department of Natural Resources to determine (i) whether the land involved is either wholly or partly within the floodway or floodway fringe and (ii) the base flood elevation. The applicant shall be responsible for providing the Department of Natural Resources with sufficient technical information to make the determination.
   3. Review by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is not required for the proposed construction of new or replacement bridges or culverts where:
      1. The bridge or culvert is located on a stream that drains less than two (2) square miles, and
      2. The bridge or culvert is not associated with a channel modification that constitutes a channel change as specified in 567-71.2(2), Iowa Administrative Code.
   4. All development, or portions thereof, to be located in the floodway as determined by the Department of Natural Resources shall meet the applicable provisions and standards of Section 10-5-5.
6. Compliance. No structure or land shall hereafter be used and no structure shall be located, extended, converted or structurally altered without full compliance with the terms of this Chapter and other applicable regulations which apply to uses within the jurisdiction of this Chapter.
7. Interpretation. In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this Chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements and shall be liberally construed in favor of the governing body and shall not be deemed a limitation or repeal of any other powers granted by State statutes.
8. Disclaimer of Liability. The standards required by this Chapter are considered reasonable for regulatory purposes. This Chapter does not imply that areas outside the designated Flood Channel (Floodway) District areas will be free from flooding or flood damages. This Chapter shall not create liability on the part of the City of Muscatine or any officer or employee thereof for any flood damages that result from reliance on this Chapter or any administrative decision lawfully made there under.
9. Severability. If any section, clause, provision or portion of this Chapter is adjudged unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Chapter shall not be affected thereby.

The following open space uses shall be permitted within the Flood Channel (Floodway) District to the extent that they are not prohibited by any other ordinance and provided that they do not require structures, placement of factory built buildings, fill, other obstructions, excavation, alteration of a watercourse, or storage of materials or equipment unless as otherwise provided by this Ordinance.

1. Agricultural uses such as general farming, pasture, grazing, outdoor plant nurseries, horticulture, viticulture, truck farming, forestry, sod farming and wild crop harvesting.
2. Industrial and commercial uses such as docks, dock piers, boat landings, loading areas, parking areas, and airport landing strips.
3. Open recreational uses such as golf courses, tennis courts, driving ranges, archery ranges, picnic grounds, boat launching ramps, swimming areas, parks, wildlife and nature preserves, game farms, fish hatcheries, shooting preserves, target ranges, trap and skeet ranges, hunting and fishing areas, hiking and horseback riding trails.
4. Open space, nonstructural uses such as lawns, gardens, parking areas, and play areas.
5. For residential districts, area within the Flood Channel (Floodway), may be used for computing lot area requirements.
6. Other water-oriented uses such as dams, power plants, underground pipelines, canals, drainage ditches, and bridges, provided such uses shall be approved by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and meet other applicable Federal, State, and local regulations (including Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, 33 U.S.C. 1334).

1. Any permissive or conditional use in the Zoning District applicable to the location in question and not identified as a permissive use in Section 10-5-4 is considered a conditional use.
2. Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate located in the Flood Plain District, including but not limited to buildings or other structures (including the placement of factory built buildings), mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, or drilling operations, is considered a conditional use.
3. In addition to complying with the provisions contained within Section 10-22-1 of the City Code, conditional uses in the Floodway District must meet the following criteria to be approved:
   1. No development shall be permitted in the Floodway District that would result in any increase in the base flood elevation. Consideration of the effects of any development on flood levels shall be based upon the assumption that an equal degree of development would be allowed for similarly situated lands.
   2. All development within the Floodway District shall:
      
      Be consistent with the need to minimize flood damage.
      1. Use construction methods and practices that will minimize flood damage.
      2. Use construction materials and utility equipment that are resistant to flood damage.
   3. No development shall affect the capacity or conveyance of the channel or floodway of any tributary to the main stream, drainage ditch or any other drainage facility or system.
   4. Structures, buildings, recreational vehicles, and sanitary and utility systems, if permitted, shall meet the applicable performance standards of the Floodway Fringe District, Section 10-4-5(C) and shall be constructed or aligned to present the minimum possible resistance to flood flows.
   5. Structures, if permitted, shall have a low flood damage potential and shall not be for human habitation.
   6. Storage of materials or equipment that are buoyant, flammable, explosive or injurious to human, animal or plant life is prohibited. Storage of other material may be allowed if readily removable from the Floodway District within the time available after flood warning.
   7. Watercourse alterations or relocations (channel changes and modifications) must be designed to maintain the flood carrying capacity within the altered or relocated portion. In addition, such alterations or relocations must be approved by the Department of Natural Resources.
   8. Any fill allowed in the floodway must be shown to have some beneficial purpose and shall be limited to the minimum amount necessary.
   9. Pipeline river or stream crossings shall be buried in the streambed and banks or otherwise sufficiently protected to prevent rupture due to channel degradation and meandering or due to the action of flood flows.

Duties and responsibilities of the City Administrator or his/her designee, specifically relating to this Chapter, shall include following and the provisions of Sections 10-4-8, 10-4-9 and 10-4-10:

1. Review conditional use permit applications to assure that all necessary permits have been obtained from federal, state and local governmental agencies including approval when required from the Department of Natural Resources for floodplain construction.
2. Notify adjacent communities/counties and the Department of Natural Resources prior to any proposed alteration or relocation of a watercourse and submit evidence of such notifications to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Words or phrases used in this ordinance shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this ordinance its most reasonable application, additionally definitions as contained in Section 10-4-11 shall also apply to this Chapter.