(a)   Protect human life and health;

   (b)   Minimize expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects;

   (c)   Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;

   (d)   Minimize damage to public facilities and utilities such as water and gas mains, electric, telephone and sewer lines, streets and bridges located in areas of flood hazards;

   (e)   Help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the proper use and development of Areas of Special Flood Hazard so as to minimize future flood blight areas;

   (f)   Ensure that potential buyers are notified that property is in the Areas of Special flood hazard; and

   (g)   Ensure that those who occupy the Areas of Special Flood Hazard assume responsibility for their actions.

   (a)   "Accessory Structure" shall have the meaning as set forth in Section 1123.02 of the Code.

   (b)   "Appeal" means a request for review of the City Manager’s Interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for variance.

   (c)   "Area of Shallow Flooding" means a designated AO or AH zone on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with a one percent or greater annual chance of flooding to an average depth of one to three feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.

   (d)   "Areas of Special Flood Hazard" means the land in the floodplain subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Areas of Special Flood Hazard are designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as Zone A, AE, AH, AO, Al-30, and A99.

   (e)   "Base Flood" means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The Base Flood may also be referred to as the one- hundred (100) year flood.

   (f)   "Basement" means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.

   (g)   "Development" means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.

   (h)   "Federal Emergency Management Agency" (FEMA) means the agency with the overall responsibility for administering the national flood insurance program.

   (i)   "Flood" or "Flooding" means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land area from:

      (1)   The overflow of inland or tidal waters, and/or

      (2)    The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.

   (j)   "Flood Insurance Rate Map" (FIRM) means an official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has delineated the Areas of Special Flood Hazard.

   (k)   "Flood Insurance Study" means the official report in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has provided flood profiles, floodway boundaries, and the water surface elevations of the Base Flood.

   (l)   "Floodway" means the channel of a river 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 one-half foot.

   (m)   "Historic Structure", for purposes of this chapter of the Code means any structure that is:

      (1)   Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the U.S. Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listings on the National Register;

      (2)    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;

      (3)    Individually listed on the State of Ohio's inventory of historic places maintained by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office; or

      (4)    Individually listed on the inventory of historic places maintained by the City of Worthington whose historic preservation program has been certified by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.

   (n)   "Lowest Floor" means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage, in an area other than a basement area, is not considered a building's lowest floor, provided that such enclosure is built in accordance with the applicable design requirements specified in this chapter for enclosures below the lowest floor.

   (o)   “New Construction” means structures for which the "Start of Construction" commenced on or after the initial effective date of the City of Worthington's Flood Insurance Rate Map, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

   (p)   "Recreational Vehicle" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 1173.04 of this Code.

   (q)   "Start of Construction" means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was within six months of the permit date. The actual start means either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation, or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing, grading and filling; nor does it include the installation of streets and/or walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure. 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 a building.

   (r)   "Structure" shall have the meaning as set forth in Section 1123.70 of this Code.

   (s)   "Substantial Damage" means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. Substantial damage also means flood related damage sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a 10-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds 25 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

   (t)   "Substantial improvement" means any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent of the market value of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage", regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either:

      (1)    Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary or safety Code specifications which have been identified prior to the application for a development permit and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions;

      (2)    "Historic Structure" provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a "Historic Structure"; or

      (3)    Any improvement to a structure which is considered new construction.

   (u)   "Variance" means a grant of relief from the standards of this chapter consistent with the variance conditions herein.

      (1)   Elevation in relation to mean sea level of the lowest floor, including basement, of all proposed structures located in Areas of Special Flood Hazard where Base Flood elevation data are utilized from any source;

      (2)    Elevation in relation to mean sea level to which any proposed nonresidential structure will be floodproofed in accordance with Section 1105.12 where Base Flood elevation data are utilized from any source;

      (3)    Certification by a registered professional engineer or architect that the floodproofing methods for any nonresidential structure meet the floodproofing criteria in Section 1105.12 where Base Flood elevation data are utilized from any source;

      (4)    Description of the extent to which any watercourse will be altered or relocated as a result of the proposed development and certification by a registered professional engineer that the flood carrying capacity of the watercourse will not be diminished;

      (5)    Certification by a registered professional engineer, architect, or surveyor of the structure's as-built lowest floor or floodproofed elevation.

      (1)    Anchored to resist flotation, collapse or lateral movement;

      (2)    Constructed with materials and utility equipment resistant to flood damage;

      (3)    Constructed using methods and practices that minimize flood damage.

      (1)   All new and replacement water supply systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems and discharge from the systems into flood waters; and

      (2)    New and replacement sanitary sewage systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems and discharge from the systems into flood waters; and

      (3)    On-site waste disposal systems shall be located to avoid impairment to them or contamination from them during flooding.

      (1)    Review of all development permit applications to determine that the permit requirements have been satisfied, including receipt of all necessary permits from applicable federal, state or local governmental agencies requiring prior approval.

      (2)    Review of all development permit allocations to determine if the proposed development is within a designated floodway, as delineated in the flood insurance study.

      (3)    Direct the City Engineer to inspect all development projects before, during and after construction to ensure compliance with this chapter.

      (1)   The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others;

      (2)    The danger to life and property due to flooding or erosion damage;

      (3)    The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;

      (4)    The importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community;

      (5)    The availability of alternative locations for the proposed use which are not subject to flooding or erosion damage;

      (6)    The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable;

      (7)    The compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;

      (8)    The relationship of the proposed use to the Comprehensive Plan and Floodplain Management Program for that area;

      (9)    The safety of access to the property in times of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;

      (10)    The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the flood waters and the effects of wave action, if applicable, expected at the site; and,

      (11)    The costs of providing governmental services during and after flood conditions, including maintenance and repair of public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical, and water systems, and streets and bridges.

      (1)    Variances may only be issued where due to physical characteristics of the property compliance with the requirements of this chapter creates an exceptional hardship. Increased cost or inconvenience of meeting the requirements of this chapter does not constitute an exceptional hardship.

      (2)    Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the Base Flood discharge would result.

      (3)    Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.

      (4)    Generally, variances may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements to be erected on a lot of one-half acre or less in size contiguous to and surrounded by lots with existing structures constructed below the Base Flood level, providing items (1-11) in Section 1105.14(b) have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond one-half acre, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.

      (5)    Variances may be issued for the repair or rehabilitation of historic structures upon a determination that the proposed repair or rehabilitation will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a historic structure and the variance is the minimum necessary to preserve the historic character and design of the structure.

      (6)    Variances shall only be issued upon:

         A.   A showing of good and sufficient cause;

         B.   A determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant;

         C.   A determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights beyond that which is allowed in this chapter, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, nuisances, fraud on or victimization of the public as identified in Section 1105.14(b), or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances; and

         D.   A determination that the structure or other development is protected by methods to minimize flood damages.

      (7)   Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notice that the structure will be permitted to be built with a lowest floor elevation below the Base Flood elevation and the cost of flood insurance will be commensurate with the increased risk resulting from the reduced lowest floor elevation.

      (8)   Upon consideration of the factors of Section 1105.14(b) and the purposes of this chapter, the Board of Zoning Appeals may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this chapter.