Dimensional standards
Servicing
- Applies near
- FEMA special flood hazard areas
- Geographic extent
- Special flood hazard areas as identified by FEMA FIRM and FBFM maps
Extracted standards
11 individual requirements pulled out of this section’s prose, each with the sentence it came from.
Environmental
- Watercourse alteration maintenance
Maintenance shall be provided within the altered or relocated portion of said watercourse so that the flood-carrying capacity is not diminished.
Floodplain
- Openings for enclosed areas below lowest floor1 sq in per sq ftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000.
A minimum of two openings having a total net area of not less than one square inch for every square foot of enclosed area subject to flooding shall be provided. The bottom of all openings shall be no higher than one foot above grade.
- Nonresidential elevation or floodproofing
New construction or substantial improvements of nonresidential structures shall either have the lowest floor, including basements, elevated to or above the regulatory base flood elevation; or, together with attendant utility and sanitary facilities, shall be floodproofed so that below the base flood level the structure is watertight with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water.
- Residential lowest floor elevation
New construction or substantial improvements of residential structures shall have the lowest floor, including basements, elevated to or above the regulatory base flood elevation.
Other
- Anchoring to prevent flotation, collapse, lateral movement
New construction, substantial improvements, prefabricated buildings and other developments shall be designed or anchored to prevent flotation, collapse or lateral movement of the structure resulting from hydrodynamic and hydrostatic loads, including the effects of buoyancy.
- Development permit required
A development permit shall be obtained before any construction or other development begins within any area of special flood hazard identified in Section 18.32.030.
- Flood-resistant construction materials
All new construction and substantial improvements shall be constructed using materials and utility equipment resistant to flood damage.
- Subgrade enclosed areas prohibitedProhibitedNot allowed in the district at all, short of rezoning or a variance. for residential
For residential structures in special flood hazard areas, all subgrade enclosed areas are prohibited as they are considered to be basements (see 'basement' definition). This prohibition includes below-grade garages and storage areas.
- Utility and sanitary facilities floodproofing1 ft
Utility and sanitary facilities shall be floodproofed to one foot above the one-hundred-year flood elevation, unless a higher elevation is recommended by the floodplain administrator...
- VarianceVariancePermission to depart from a specific dimensional rule, granted on a showing of hardship. lot size limit0.5 acresacre43,560 square feet — about the size of an American football field without the end zones.
Generally, variances may be issued for new construction, substantial improvement, and other proposed new development 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...
Use
- Recreational vehicle restrictions
All recreational vehicles placed on sites within Zones A1-30 and intended for temporary occupancy... will be on the site for no longer than a maximum of one year... However, location of a recreational vehicle to be used for temporary occupancy in an A Zone shall only be permitted when it has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the floodplain administrator that there is no other viable location on the site not within an A Zone.
From the ordinance
The provisions of this section apply to land and structures in the special flood hazard areas as identified by the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the flood insurance study (FIS) dated April 1978 and accompanying FIRMs and flood boundary and floodway maps (FBFMs) dated November 13, 1979, and all subsequent amendments and/or revisions are hereby adopted by reference and declared to be part of this chapter.