Town of Weymouth, MA Article XIIA Floodplain District

[Added May 1980 by Art. 50, approved 8-27-1980; amended January 1990 STM by Art. 16, approved 3-26-1990]

§ 120-38.1 Intent.

The Floodplain District is established for the following purposes:

A. To promote the health, safety and welfare of the occupants of land against the hazards of flooding.

B. To preserve and protect the streams and other watercourses in Weymouth and its adjoining lands.

C. To protect the community against detrimental use and development which cause increases in erosion, flood heights or flood velocities.

D. To minimize losses by provisions designed to restrict or prohibit uses which are dangerous to health, safety or property due to water or erosion hazards.

§ 120-38.2 Establishment; determination of boundaries.

A. The Floodplain District is herein established as an overlay district. The district includes all special flood hazard areas within the Town of Weymouth designated as Zone A, AE, AO, or VE on the Norfolk County Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program. The map panels of the Norfolk County FIRM that are wholly or partially within the Town of Weymouth are panel numbers 25021C0089E, 25021C0093E, 25021C0226E, 25021C0227E, 25021C0228E, 25021C0229E, 25021C10231E, 25021C0233E, 25021C0236E, 25021C0237E, 25021C0238E, 25021C0239E, 25021C0241E, and 25021C0243E, dated July 17, 2012. The exact boundaries of the district may be defined by the one-hundred-year base flood elevations shown on the FIRM and further defined by the Norfolk County Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report dated July 17, 2012. The FIRM and FIS report are incorporated herein by reference and are on file with the Town Clerk.

[Amended May 1999 ATM by Art. 18, approved 8-19-1999; 6-18-2012 by Ord. No. 12-091]

B. The boundaries of the Floodplain District shall be determined by scaling distance on the National Flood Insurance Program maps. Where interpretation is needed as to the exact location of the boundaries of the district as shown on the National Flood Insurance Program maps, the Inspector of Buildings shall make the necessary interpretation.

C. Any discrepancy with the boundaries and/or elevations as given on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) shall be submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Flood Insurance Administration, for its approval; otherwise, the conditions and requirements of this bylaw shall apply to the land in accordance with the Floodplain Zone as shown.

D. Notification of watercourse alteration. In a riverine situation, the Conservation Commission shall notify the following of any alteration or relocation of a watercourse:

[Added 6-18-2012 by Ord. No. 12-091]

(1) Adjacent communities.

(2) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) State Coordinator, MA DCR.

(3) NFIP Program Specialist, FEMA.

§ 120-38.3 Permitted uses.

A. Within the Floodplain Overlay District, all uses shall follow the specific permitted uses and special permit uses of the underlying zoning district.

B. All provisions of this bylaw affecting a permitted use shall be applicable in the Floodplain District.

C. The special permit granting authority shall be the Board of Zoning Appeals.

[Amended 6-18-2012 by Ord. No. 12-091]

D. In addition to all provisions of this bylaw that affect the underlying district, the following additional procedures shall apply for all filling, permitted uses, special permitted uses and substantial improvements of any structure (the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure) where any portion of such lies within the various floodplain zones as stipulated below:

[Amended May 1993 ATM by Art. 56, approved 7-9-1993; May 1999 ATM by Art. 18, approved 8-19-1999; 6-18-2012 by Ord. No. 12-091]

(1) Zones A, AO, AE: A special permit from the special permit granting authority is required, subject to the special criteria set forth in §§ 120-38.4 and 120-38.5 and subject to the procedures of § 120-123.

(2) Zone VE.

(a) A special permit from the special permit-granting authority is required, subject to the criteria set forth in §§ 120-38.4 and 120-38.5 and subject to the procedures of § 120-123 when any portion thereof is located landward of mean high tide.

(b) Seaward of mean high tide new structures are prohibited and existing structures shall not be enlarged.

(c) Man-made alteration of sand dunes within Zone VE which would increase potential flood damage is prohibited.

(3) Floodway, as shown on the maps, is essentially the natural drainage for the one-hundred-year floodwaters, comprising streams, brooks, etc. No building, filling or other encroachment is permitted in floodway.

(4) In Zones A and AE, along watercourses that have not had a regulatory floodway designated, the best available federal, state, local, or other floodway data shall be used to prohibit encroachments in floodways which would result in any increase in flood levels within the community during the occurrence of the base flood discharge.

§ 120-38.4 Special permit uses.

A. The special permit granting authority may require such information, data and testing to be performed at the applicant's expense in order to achieve a finding of compliance. Such information may include but not be limited to spot elevations and drainage calculations.

B. The special permit granting authority may approve any application for a special permit where specified in § 120-38.3D(3) only if it finds that, in its judgment, all of the following criteria are met:

(1) The subject land is not subject to flooding or, if Subsection B(1) is not proven, then:

(2) The subject land is not unsuitable because of drainage conditions on-site as well as on abutting properties upstream and downstream.

(3) The proposed activity will not increase the water surface elevation of the one-hundred-year flood at any point within the Town.

§ 120-38.5 Construction criteria for special permits.

The following criteria shall apply to any special permit use granted within the one-hundred-year floodplain:

A. All new construction and substantial improvements of residential structures shall have the lowest portion of all structural members supporting the lowest floor, including basement or cellar, elevated at least one foot above the one-hundred-year-flood elevation.

[Amended May 1999 ATM by Art. 18, approved 8-19-1999]

B. All new construction and substantial improvements of nonresidential structures shall be floodproofed at least to a point one foot above the one-hundred-year flood elevation. "Floodproofed" shall mean watertight, with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water and structural components having the capability of resisting hydrostatic loads and the effect of buoyancy.

C. Within the Floodplain District, one-hundred-year flood elevations shown on the approved Flood Insurance Rate Map shall govern. Where the one-hundred-year flood elevation is not provided, the Planning Board shall produce and maintain any already existing one-hundred-year flood elevation data, and it shall be used to meet the above requirements.

D. All subdivision proposals must be designed to assure that:

[Amended May 1999 ATM by Art. 18, approved 8-19-1999; 6-18-2012 by Ord. No. 12-091]

(1) Such proposals minimize flood damage;

(2) All public utilities and facilities are located and constructed to minimize or eliminate flood damage; and

(3) Adequate drainage is provided to reduce exposure to flood hazards.

E. Within Zone AO on the FIRM, adequate drainage paths must be provided around structures on slopes, to guide floodwaters around and away from proposed structures.

[Added 6-18-2012 by Ord. No. 12-091]

§ 120-38.6 Reference to existing regulations.

[Amended May 1999 ATM by Art. 18, approved 8-19-1999]

The Floodplain District is established as an overlay district to all other districts. All development in the floodplain, including structural and nonstructural activities, whether permitted by right or by special permit, may be subject to compliance with other regulations such as, but not limited to:

A. MGL c. 131, § 40.

B. Massachusetts State Building Code, 780 CMR 3107.0, Flood Resistant Construction.

C. Inland Wetland Restriction, DEP, 302 CMR 6.00.

D. Coastal Wetlands Restriction, DEP, 302 CMR 4.00.

E. Minimum Requirements for Subsurface Disposal of Sanitary Sewerage, DEP 310 CMR 15, Title 5.