Dimensional standards
Servicing
- Applies near
- Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA)
- Geographic extent
- All lands within the jurisdiction of the City of Suffolk identified as areas of special flood hazard according to the FIRM provided by FEMA.
Extracted standards
20 individual requirements pulled out of this section’s prose, each with the sentence it came from.
Floodplain
- Maximum rise in AE/AH zones1 ft
will not increase the water surface elevation of the base flood more than one foot at any point within the City of Suffolk
- Minimum elevation in AO zone2 ft
If no flood depth number is specified, the lowest floor, including basement, shall be elevated no less than two feet above the highest adjacent grade.
- Coastal A freeboard1 ft
Buildings and structures within this zone shall have the lowest floor elevated to or above the base flood elevation plus one foot of freeboard
- Enclosure opening heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first.1 ft
The bottom of all required openings shall be no higher than one (1) foot above the adjacent grade.
- Enclosure opening ratio1 sq in/sq ftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000.
The total net area of all openings must be at least one (1) square inch for each square foot of enclosed area subject to flooding.
- Enclosure use restriction
Not be designed or used for human habitation, but shall only be used for parking of vehicles, building access, or limited storage of maintenance equipment
- Floodway encroachment restriction0 ft
no encroachments, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements, or other development shall be permitted unless it has been demonstrated through hydrologic and hydraulic analysis ... that the proposed encroachment will not result in any increase in flood levels
- Maximum floodway rise1 ft
capable of carrying the waters of the one percent annual chance flood without increasing the water surface elevation of that flood more than one (1) foot at any point
- Lowest floor elevation (residential)
New construction or substantial improvement of any residential structure (including manufactured homes) in Zones A1-30, AE, AH and A with detailed base flood elevations shall have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated to or above the base flood level.
- Lowest floor elevation (non-residential)
New construction or substantial improvement of any commercial, industrial, or non-residential building (or manufactured home) shall have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated to or above the base flood level.
- Zoning permit required
All uses, activities, and development occurring within any floodplain district, including placement of manufactured homes, shall be undertaken only upon the issuance of a zoning permit.
- Recreational vehicle stay limit180 days
Be on the site for fewer than 180 consecutive days, be fully licensed and ready for highway use
- Subdivision BFE data threshold (acresacre43,560 square feet — about the size of an American football field without the end zones.)5 acresacre43,560 square feet — about the size of an American football field without the end zones.
Base flood elevation data shall be obtained from other sources or developed using detailed methodologies ... for subdivision proposals and other proposed development proposals (including manufactured home parks and subdivisions) that exceed fifty lots or five acres, whichever is the lesser.
- Subdivision BFE data threshold50 lots
Base flood elevation data shall be obtained from other sources or developed using detailed methodologies ... for subdivision proposals and other proposed development proposals (including manufactured home parks and subdivisions) that exceed fifty lots or five acres, whichever is the lesser.
- Substantial improvement threshold50 pct
The modification, alteration, repair, reconstruction, or improvement of any kind to a structure and/or use, regardless of its location in a floodplain area to an extent or amount of fifty (50) percent or more of its market value shall be undertaken only in full compliance with this ordinance
- 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.
Variances may be issued by the Board of Zoning Appeals 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
- VE breakaway wall load20 psf
a breakaway wall shall have a design safe loading resistance of not less than 10 and no more than 20 pounds per square foot
- VE dune alteration prohibitedProhibitedNot allowed in the district at all, short of rezoning or a variance.
The man-made alteration of sand dunes, which would increase potential flood damage, is prohibited.
- VE zone elevation
The bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member of the lowest floor (excluding the pilings or columns) is elevated to or above the base flood level if the lowest horizontal structural member is parallel to the direction of wave approach or elevated at least one foot above the base flood level if the lowest horizontal structural member is perpendicular to the direction of wave approach
- VE fillGrading (cut & fill)Reshaping land by removing earth (cut) or adding it (fill), often capped by volume. prohibitedProhibitedNot allowed in the district at all, short of rezoning or a variance.
The use of fill for structural support of buildings is prohibited.
From the ordinance
These provisions shall apply to all privately and publicly owned lands within the jurisdiction of the City of Suffolk and identified as areas of special flood hazard according to the flood insurance rate map (FIRM) that is provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).