Piscataway City Zoning Code
§ 21-803A.14
Substantial Improvement and Substantial Damage Determinations.
[Added 9-13-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-17]
When buildings and structures are damaged due to any cause including but not limited to man-made, structural, electrical, mechanical, or natural hazard events, or are determined to be unsafe as described in N.J.A.C. 5:23; and for applications for building permits to improve buildings and structures, including alterations, movement, repair, additions, rehabilitations, renovations, ordinary maintenance and minor work, substantial improvements, repairs of substantial damage, and any other improvement of or work on such buildings and structures, the Floodplain Administrator, in coordination with the Construction Official, shall:
a.
Estimate the market value, or require the applicant to obtain a professional appraisal prepared by a qualified independent appraiser, of the market value of the building or structure before the start of construction of the proposed work; in the case of repair, the market value of the building or structure shall be the market value before the damage occurred and before any repairs are made.
b.
Determine and include the costs of all ordinary maintenance and minor work, as discussed in Section 21-802A.2, performed in the floodplain regulated by this Section 21-8A in addition to the costs of those improvements regulated by the Construction Official in substantial damage and substantial improvement calculations.
c.
Compare the cost to perform the improvement, the cost to repair the damaged building to its pre-damaged condition, or the combined costs of improvements and repairs, where applicable, to the market value of the building or structure.
d.
Determine and document whether the proposed work constitutes substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage. This determination requires the evaluation of previous permits issued for improvements and repairs over a period of 10 years prior to the permit application or substantial damage determination as specified in the definition of substantial improvement.
e.
Notify the applicant in writing when it is determined that the work constitutes substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage and that compliance with the flood resistant construction requirements of the building code is required and notify the applicant in writing when it is determined that work does not constitute substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage. The Floodplain Administrator shall also provide all letters documenting substantial damage and compliance with flood resistant construction requirements of the building code to the NJDEP Bureau of Flood Engineering.