HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Adopting Flood Plain Regulations, National Flood Insurance Program Standards ORDINANCE NO. 3338
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF
AMES, IOWA, BY ADDING NEW SUBSECTIONS 9.5(2)(k) and 9.5(2)(1);
REPEALING SECTION 9.11 AND RE-ADOPTING THAT SECTION
REVISED; REPEALING ANY AND ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF
ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT TO THE EXTENT OF SUCH CONFLICT;
PROVIDING A PENALTY AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE;
ALL FOR THE PURPOSE OF ADOPTING CHANGES IN THE FLOOD
PLAIN REGULATIONS AS REQUESTED BY THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATION TO MEET THE NATIONAL FLOOD
INSURANCE PROGRAM STANDARDS.
BE IT ENACTED, by the City Council for the City of Ames, Iowa:
Section One. The Municipal Code of the City of Ames, Iowa shall be and the same is hereby amended by
adding new subsections 9.5(2)(k) and 9.5(2)(1) as follows:
"(k) For all new and substantially improved structures:
(i) Fully enclosed areas below the"lowest floor"(not including basements)that
are subject to flooding shall be designed to automatically equalize hydrostatic flood forces on
exterior walls by allowing for the entry and exit of floodwaters. Designs for meeting this
requirement must either be certified by a registered professional engineer or meet or exceed the
following minimum criteria:
a. 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.
b. The bottom of all openings shall be no higher than one foot above
grade.
C. Openings may be equipped with screens, louvers, valves, or other
coverings or devices provided that they permit the automatic entry and exit of floodwaters.
(ii) New and substantially improved structures must be designed (or modified)
and adequately anchored to prevent flotation, collapse, or lateral movement of the structure
resulting from hydrodynamic and hydrostatic loads, including the effects of buoyancy.
(iii) New and substantially improved structures must be constructed with
electrical,heating,ventilation,plumbing and air conditioning equipment and other service facilities
that are designed and/or located so as to prevent water from entering or accumulating within the
components during conditions of flooding.
(1) Recreational vehicles placed on sites within zones AI-30, AH,and AE on the Flood
Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) established for the City of Ames shall either:
(i) Be on the site for fewer than 180 consecutive days and be fully licensed and
ready for highway use, or
(ii) Meet the permit, elevation and anchoring requirements for "manufactured
homes".
A recreational vehicle is ready for highway use if it is on its wheels or jacking system; is
attached to the site only by disconnect type utilities and security devices, and has no permanent
attached additions."
Section Two. The Municipal Code of the City of Ames, Iowa shall be and the same is hereby amended by
repealing Section 9.11 as it now exists and enacting a new Section 9.11 as follows:
"Sec. 9.11. DEFINITIONS. Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases in this chapter
shall be interpreted so as to give the meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter
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its most reasonable application.
(1) Appeal. A request for review of the Building Official's interpretation of any
provision of this ordinance or request for a variance.
(2) Area of Shallow Flooding. 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 is unpredictable and sheer velocity flow
may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.
(3) Base Flood. The flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year for a given area.
(4) Base Flood Elevation (BFE). The height to which the base flood is estimated to
rise.
(5) Basement. Any area of the building having its floor subgrade(below ground level)
on all sides.
(6) Development. 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.
(7) Existing Construction. Structures for which the"start of construction"commenced
before the effective date of the initial FIRM (January 1, 1981). "Existing construction" may also
be referred to as "existing structures".
(8) Existing Factory-built Home Park or Subdivision. A factory-built home park or
subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the factory-built
homes are to be affixed(including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of
streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is complete before the
effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted by the community.
(9) Factory-Built Home. A structure,transportable in one or more sections, which is
built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when
attached to the required utilities. The term "manufactured home"does not include a"recreational
vehicle".
(10) Factory-built Home Park or Subdivision. A parcel(or continuous parcels)of land
divided into two or more factory-built home lots for rent or sale.
(11) Flood or Flooding. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from: (a) the overflow of inland or tidal waters; (b) the
usual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters from any source.
(12) Flood Fringe. That area of the floodplain,outside the floodway,that on the average
is likely to be flooded once every 100 years(0. that has a one percent chance of flood occurrence
in any one year).
(13) Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). An official map of a community, on which
the Flood Insurance Study has delineated the Flood Hazard Boundaries and the zones establishing
insurance rates applicable to the community.
(14) Flood Insurance Study. The official report provided by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency. The report contains flood profiles,as well as the Flood Boundary-Floodway
Map and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
(15) Floodplain. Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source
(see definition of flooding).
(16) Flood Proofing. A combination of structural provisions, changes, or adjustment to
properties and structures subject to flooding primarily for the reduction or elimination of flood
damages to properties, water and sanitary facilities, structures, and contents of buildings in a flood
hazard area.
(17) Floodway or Regulatory Floodway. The channel of the river or 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 tenth (.1) foot.
(18) Floodway Fringe. Those portions of the flood plain, other than the floodway,
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which can be filled, levied, or otherwise obstructed without causing substantially higher flood
levels or flow velocities.
(19) Freeboard. A factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for
purposes of floodplain management. "Freeboard tends to compensate for the many unknown
factors that could contribute to flood heights greater than the height calculated for a selected size
flood and floodway conditions, such as wave action,clogged bridge openings, and the hydrological
effect of urbanization of the water shed.
(20) General Flood Plain. Area of the floodway fringe and the floodway combined.
(21) Highest Adjacent Grade. The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
(22) Historic Structure. Any structure that is:
(a) Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing
maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the
Interior as meeting the requirement for individual listing on the National Register;
(b) Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of Interior as
contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily
determined by the Secretary to qualify as registered historic district;
(c) Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states with
historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or
(d) Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with
historic preservation programs that have been certified either:
(i) By either an approved state program as determined by the Secretary
of the Interior or
(ii) Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved
programs.
(23) Lowest Floor. The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area(including basement).
An unfinished or flood-resistance 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 not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable
non-elevation design requirements of this ordinance.
(24) New Construction. For floodplain management purposes, "new construction"
means structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of
the floodplain management regulation adopted by a community and includes any subsequent
improvements to such structure.
(25) Overlay District. It is a district in which additional requirements act in conjunction
with the underlying zoning district(s).
(26) Principally Above Ground. Principally above ground means that at least 51
percent of the cash value of the structure is above ground.
(27) Recreational Vehicle. A vehicle which is(a)build on a chassis;(b)400 square feet
or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections; (c) designed to be self propelled or
permanently towable by a light duty truck; and(d) designed primarily not for use as a permanent
dwelling but as temporary quarters for recreational, camping travel or seasonal use.
(28) Special Flood Hazard Area. The land in the F000dplain within a community
subject to one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
(29) Start of Construction. [for other than new construction or substantial
improvements under the coastal Barrier Resources Act (Pub. L. 97-348)] It includes substantial
improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of
construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was
within 180 days of the permit date. The actual start means the first placement of permanent
construction of a structure on a site,such as the poring 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,
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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 foundation 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 the alteration affects the external
dimensions of the building.
(30) Structure. Anything constructed or erected, on the ground, or attached to the
ground including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing: buildings, factories, sheds,
cabins, mobile homes, manufactured homes, other similar items, and walled and roofed buildings,
including gas or liquid storage tanks that are principally above ground.
(31) Substantial Damage. Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its condition before the damage occurred would equal or exceed
50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
(32) Substantial Improvement. Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other
improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 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 (a) 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 by the local code enforcement officer and which are the minimum necessary to assure
safe living conditions or(b) any alteration necessary to the structure's continued designation as a
"historic structure.
(33) Variance. A grant of relief to a person from the requirements of this ordinance
which permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this ordinance where specific
enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship."
Section Two. Violation of the provisions of this ordinance shall constitute a municipal infraction punishable
as set out in Section 1.9 of the Municipal Code.
Section Three. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent
of such conflict, if any.
Section Four. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as
required by law.
Passed this 25th day of JulY , 1995.
Sandra L. Ryan, City Clerk R. Curtis ayor
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