As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
An azonal great group of soils, developed from transported
and relatively recently deposited material (alluvium) characterized
by a weak modification (or none) of the original materials by soil-forming
processes.
The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent
land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the waters
of a one-hundred-year flood without cumulatively increasing the water
surface elevation more than one foot at any point.
The area of the floodplain not lying within a floodway which
may hereafter be covered by flood waters up to the one-hundred-year
flood.
The highest level of flooding that, on the average, is likely
to occur once every 100 years (i.e., that has a 1% chance of occurring
each year).
That portion of the precipitation of a drainage area or water
shed that is discharged from the area in stream channels. Types include
surface runoff, groundwater runoff, or seepage.
Any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure,
the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the
structure either before the improvement or repair is started, or,
if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the
damage occurred. For the purposes of this definition "substantial
improvement" is considered to occur when the first alteration of any
wall, ceiling, floor or other structural part of the building commences,
whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of
the structure. The term does not, however, include either any project
for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local
health, sanitary or safety code specifications which are solely necessary
to assure safe living conditions, or any alteration of a structure
listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory
of Historic Places.
A.
The floodplain areas of the Borough of Chester Heights
are subject to periodic inundation which has resulted in the loss
of property, damage to structures, disruption of public and private
activities and services, burdensome public expenditures for flood
protection and relief, and impairment of the tax base and may result
in loss of life, all of which adversely affect the public health,
safety and welfare.
B.
The general causes of these flood losses are the cumulative
effect of impervious cover and obstructions in the floodplain causing
increases in flood heights and velocities, and the occupancy of floodplains
by uses vulnerable to floods.
It is the purpose of this article to promote the public health, safety and general welfare and to minimize those losses described in § 185-87, by provisions designed to:
A.
Restrict or prohibit uses which are dangerous to health,
safety or property in times of flood and/or cause increased flood
height or velocities.
B.
Protect the quality and quantity of surface and subsurface
water supplies adjacent to and/or underlying the floodplain.
C.
Provide areas for the deposition of floodborne sediment.
D.
Require that all uses vulnerable to floods (including
public facilities), where they are permitted by special exception
or variance, be so constructed as to be protected against flood damage.
E.
Require that, where uses are permitted by special
exception or variance, written notice be given to prospective purchasers
and/or lessees that the land under consideration for agreement of
sale or lease is designated as lying either partially or totally within
the floodplain as it is defined by this article and/or the Borough
Zoning Map.
F.
Protect the natural drainage ways in order to provide
areas for flood water transport with the least possible perturbance
to life and property.
A.
The Flood Plain Conservation District of Chester Heights
is defined and established to be the low areas adjoining and including
a watercourse or other body of water (such as a pond, marsh, or lake)
which are subject to the one-hundred-year flood level as delineated
in the National Flood Insurance Study and including the areas defined
as floodway, floodway fringe and approximate floodplain; the low areas
adjoining and including any water or drainage course or body of water
subject to periodic flooding or overflow and delineated as alluvial
soils by the Soil Conservation Service, United States Department of
Agriculture in the Soil Survey of Chester and Delaware Counties Series
1959, No. 19, issued May 1963; and the areas subject to the Standard
Project Flood as outlined and delineated in Flood Plain Information
Report on Chester Creek, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, prepared for
Delaware County Planning Commission by U.S. Army Engineer District,
Philadelphia, Corps of Engineers, December 1966. Where discrepancies
between the three reports exist, the wider area will be considered
the floodplain.
(1)
The Flood Plain Conservation District as hereinabove
defined will be shown on a map available to the public upon request
to the Borough Secretary. Additional copies are on file in the Department
of Environmental Protection, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and in the
office of the Prothonotary, Delaware County Court House, Media, Pennsylvania.
(2)
For the purposes of defining the application of the
ordinance and its map to any specific areas, the maps, the data and
other sources of material for the above report shall be available
and shall be proof of the intended limits of the Flood Plain Conservation
District. Any changes which are officially adopted will be recorded
on the above map.
B.
For the purposes of defining the application of this article and its map to any specific area, the Chester Heights Borough Zoning Map, data and other sources of material specified in § 185-89 shall be available and shall be proof of the intended limits of the Flood Plain Conservation District. No reductions in the Flood Plain Conservation District shall be made without prior consultation with and approval of the Federal Insurance Administrator. Any changes which are officially adopted will be recorded on the Borough Zoning Map.
(1)
In case of any dispute concerning the boundaries of
the Flood Plain Conservation District, an initial determination shall
be made by the Borough Engineer and a report made to Borough Council
in writing.
(2)
Any party aggrieved by any determination of the Borough
Engineer which has been approved by Borough Council as to the boundaries
of the Flood Plain Conservation District or other decision or determination
under this article may appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board. The burden
of proof in such appeal shall be on the applicant.
The following uses and no others (unless by
special exception or variance granted by the Zoning Hearing Board)
are permitted in the Flood Plain Conservation District:
A.
Cultivation and harvesting of crops in accordance
with recognized soil conservation practices, as defined and determined
by the U.S. Soils Conservation Service.
B.
Pasture and grazing.
C.
Outdoor plant nursery, orchard, tree farm.
D.
Fish hatchery, hunting and fishing preserve.
E.
Wildlife sanctuary, woodland preserve, and arboretums.
F.
Permeable parking areas and driveways when permitted
by the regulations for the contiguous zoning district otherwise applicable
to the lot.
G.
Closed sanitary sewer line systems, when constructed
on the floodway fringe of the Flood Plain Conservation District, but
in no case running along or directly within the floodway, except when
such required course must cross a floodway junction.
H.
A maximum of 3/4 of any setback required for
the development of any lot or tract in any district contiguous to
the Flood Plain Conservation District, provided that such setback
shall not be used for any on-site sewage disposal system or a well.
The following uses may be allowed when granted
by the Zoning Hearing Board:
A.
Sewage treatment plants and piping stations, water
pumping stations and water treatment plants, and storm sewer systems,
subject to approval of the Department of Environmental Protection
of the Commonwealth and the Borough Engineer, when constructed on
the floodway fringe of the Flood Plain Conservation District, but
in no case within the floodway. These systems shall be designed and
constructed to eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems
and discharges from the systems into the waters of the Commonwealth.
B.
Dams, culverts and bridges when approved by the Department
of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth and the Borough Engineer.
C.
Recreational uses, both public and private, such as
parks, day camps, athletic fields, excluding permanent structures.
D.
Grading and/or fill provided that the effect is not
adversely to affect either the cross-sectional profile of the stream,
watercourse and Flood Plain Conservation District, or increase the
ten-year flood level of the floodway or the velocity of the water
in the floodway at the point of such grading or fill. All requests
for change of grade shall be accompanied by a detailed engineering
report, including maps showing all existing contours and all proposed
contours. In no case shall fill be used which should in any way contaminate
or pollute the stream, pond, lake or other body of water.
E.
Factors to be considered by the Zoning Hearing Board
in passing upon each application for a special exception are as follows:
(1)
The danger to life and property due to increased flood
levels or velocities caused by encroachments.
(2)
The danger that materials may be swept on to other
lands or downstream to the possible injury of others.
(3)
The ability of any proposed water supply and/or sanitation
systems to avoid, causing disease, contamination and unsanitary conditions.
(4)
The susceptibility of the proposed use to flood damage
and the effect of such damage on the owner and the community.
(5)
The requirements of the use for a floodway or floodway
fringe location.
(6)
The availability of alternative locations, not subject
to flooding, for the proposed use.
(7)
The compatibility of the proposed use with existing
and foreseeable nearby uses.
(8)
The relationship of the proposed use to the Comprehensive
Plan and Flood Plain Conservation Management Program for the area.
(9)
The safety of access to the property in times of flood
for ordinary and emergency vehicles.
(10)
The expected levels, velocity, duration, rate
of rise, and sediment transport of the flood waters in the Flood Plain
Conservation District expected at the site, resulting from a study
by a registered professional engineer qualified in hydrology in the
commonwealth.
(11)
Such other factors which may be considered relevant
to the purposes of the article.
A.
Standards. In any instance where the Zoning Hearing
Board is required to consider a request for a variance from the provisions
of this article, the Board shall first determine that the standards
and criteria enumerated in Section 912 of the Municipalities Planning
Code, Act 247,[1] are met before granting the request. In considering whether
the proposed use would be injurious to the public health, welfare
and safety, the Board shall give special and particular consideration
to the following factors:
(1)
The danger to life and property due to increased flood
levels or velocities caused by encroachments.
(2)
The danger that materials may be swept on to other
lands or down stream to the possible injury of others.
(3)
The ability of any proposed water supply and/or sanitation
system to avoid the causing of disease, contamination and unsanitary
conditions.
(4)
The susceptibility of the proposed use to flood damage
and the effect of such damage on the owner or occupant and the community.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 912 of the Municipalities
Planning Code was repealed 12-21-1998 by P.L. 1329, No. 170. See now
53 P.S. § 10912.1.
Upon consideration of the purposes of this article,
the Board may attach such conditions to the granting of a special
exception or variance as it deems necessary to further the purposes
of this article including, without limitation because of specific
enumeration, the following:
A.
Any new construction and/or substantial improvement
to an existing structure shall have the lowest floor (including basement)
elevated to 1 1/2 feet above the water surface elevation for
a one-hundred-year flood at the place of construction. In any area
for which the said elevation is not designated in the Flood Insurance
Study or Flood Insurance Rate Map for the Borough, the required elevation
shall be determined by selecting the point on the boundary of the
floodplain nearest to the site in question and elevating the lowest
floor (including basement) of the structure to 1 1/2 feet above
such elevation. All such structures shall be securely anchored to
prevent flotation, collapse and lateral movement; all such structures
shall employ construction materials and techniques to minimize flood
damage. Adequate drainage shall be provided. The elevation of the
proposed lowest floor shall be indicated on the application for a
building permit. The provisions of all other state and federal rules
and regulations are applicable to such construction.
B.
That such uses shall be designed so that the floodway
shall carry the waters of the one-hundred-year flood without increasing
the water surface elevation of that flood at any point in the Flood
Plain Conservation District.
A.
Procedure. Upon receiving an application for a special
exception or a variance, the Zoning Hearing Board shall, prior to
hearing, require the applicant to furnish such of the following materials
as are deemed necessary by the Board under the existing use conditions
and as it would exist if the proposed use were approved, as appropriate.
(1)
Five copies of plans drawn to scale showing the nature,
location, dimensions and elevation of the lot; photographs showing
existing uses and vegetation; soil types and other pertinent information.
(2)
A series of cross sections at twenty-foot intervals
along the lot shoreline showing the stream channel, or the lake or
pond bottom, and elevation of adjoining land areas to be occupied
by the proposed uses, and high water information.
(3)
Profile showing the existing slope of the bottom of
the channel, lake or pond and calculations as to the effect of the
proposed use upon the bottom and banks of the channel, lake or pond.
(4)
Specifications for building materials and construction,
floodproofing, filling, dredging, grading, storage water supply, and
sanitary facilities.
(5)
Computation of the change, if any, in the level and
velocity of the water which would be attributable to any proposed
uses.
(6)
Specific elevations of the lowest point of the nearest
building line to the floodplain boundary and point at which building
leaves Flood Plain Conservation District.
B.
In considering any application for a special exception
or variance, the Zoning Hearing Board may request before the hearing,
the written advice of Borough Council, the Planning Commission, the
Borough Engineer, and other technical experts, concerning the extent
to which the proposed use would:
(1)
Diminish the capacity of the Flood Plain Conservation
District to store and absorb floodwaters, increase flood velocities,
and to increase sediment;
(2)
Be subject to flood damage;
(3)
Cause erosion and impair the amenity to the Flood
Plain Conservation District; and
(4)
Adversely affect the area contiguous to the Flood
Plain Conservation District as well as the areas downstream.
In addition to and without limitation of the
uses specifically permitted in the Flood Plain Conservation District
by the provisions of this article, the following activities are specifically
prohibited in the Flood Plain Conservation District:
A.
The clearing of vegetation except for weeds and the
removal of diseased shrubs or trees, or trees or portions thereof,
which might cause hazard to life or property; and except where such
clearing is necessary for construction permitted as a result of action
by the Zoning Hearing Board.
B.
Sod farming.
C.
Storage of any material which, if inundated, would
float.
D.
Storage of flammable or toxic material or any other
material which, if inundated, would degrade or pollute the stream,
or cause damage if swept downstream.
E.
Installation or maintenance of on-site sewage disposal
systems and wells.
F.
Placement or maintenance of a structure, including
a mobile home.
G.
Alteration or relocation of any watercourse, unless
and until the applicant has notified the governing bodies of adjacent
municipalities and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic
Development, with copies of such notices being sent to the Federal
Insurance Administrator, and demonstrated to the satisfaction of the
Borough Engineer that the flood-carrying capacity of the watercourse
as altered or relocated is maintained at a level equal to or better
than the existing flood carrying capacity. This requirement shall
be in addition to the requirements of the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection pertaining to such alteration or relocation.
H.
Any hospital, nursing home, jail or prison, mobile
home park or mobile home subdivision or any "Development Which May
Endanger Human Life" as defined in Section 38.7 of the Department
of Community and Economic Development Flood Plain Management regulations
is not permitted anywhere within the Flood Plain Management District.
The degree of flood protection required by this
article is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based
on scientific study. Larger floods may occur or the flood height may
be increased by man-made or natural causes. In such instances, areas
within or without the Flood Plain Conservation District may be subject
to flooding or flood damage. This article shall not create liability
on the part of the Borough of Chester Heights or any officer or employee
thereof for any flood damage that results from reliance on this article
or any administrative decision made thereunder.
This article is designed to reduce flood losses
and shall take precedence over any conflicting laws, ordinances, or
codes; and where the provisions of this article and all standards
and specifications adopted under it impose greater restrictions than
those of any other ordinance or regulation, the provisions of this
article and its standards and specifications shall be controlling.
In addition to penalties as are set forth for
violations of this chapter, any development performed in violation
of the provisions hereof shall be restored to its previous condition,
including the destruction of illegally constructed buildings, replacement
of excavated earth, removal of illegally placed fill, and restoration
of grades and plantings to the original conditions.
