[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Dartmouth 6-1-2021 by Art. 20, approved 9-27-2021. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this Chapter is to ensure that all Development
within the Floodplain is subject to a local review process in order
to confirm compliance with the minimum requirements of the NFIP as
laid out in the regulations of FEMA. By confirming such compliance,
this local review process will promote public health and safety, decrease
the likelihood of hazards to first responders, mitigate secondary
public impacts of flooding such as water pollution, utility disruption
and cleanup costs, and reduce damage to real and personal property.
Any terms that have not been defined specifically herein shall
have their normal English meanings, unless the context indicates otherwise.
Shall mean the Board of Public Works of the Town.
Shall mean any manmade change to, or alteration of the existing
vegetation or underlying soil of, improved or unimproved real property,
including, but not limited to: the construction, expansion, reconstruction
or razing of buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling,
clearing, compacting, grading, paving, excavation, drilling or stockpiling
or storage of materials or equipment, and installation of permanent
or temporary water-crossings.
Shall mean the Director of Public Works of the Town.
Shall mean a grant of relief from the requirements of 44 C.F.R. § 60.3 that is granted by the Town pursuant to this Chapter 363.
Shall mean the Federal Emergency Management Agency, inclusive
of any successor agency to the same.
The Town's floodplain as determined, delineated and described by § 375-27.2 of the Zoning Bylaw.
Shall mean the Massachusetts Building Code Appeals Board,
inclusive of any successor agency to the same.
Shall mean the National Flood Insurance Program.
Shall mean the official within the Massachusetts Department
of Conservation and Recreation who is responsible for coordinating
the NFIP between municipalities and FEMA, or any successor official
or agency designated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to fulfill
that role.
Shall mean the Town of Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
Shall mean the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with this Article 27.
For all purposes as are now, or may be in the future, required
or assigned by FEMA for such positions, the Planning Director is hereby
designated as the Town's Floodplain Administrator.
A.
Notification of Data Changes. If the Town acquires any technical
or scientific data that changes the base flood elevation in the FEMA
mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas, then the Floodplain Administrator,
within six months of said acquisition, shall notify both the local
FEMA branch and the NFIP State Coordinator of these changes by submitting
the data that supports any such change.
(1)
Notification to FEMA shall be submitted to the following address,
or to such future address as FEMA provides:
|
FEMA Region I Risk Analysis Branch Chief
99 High Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02110
|
(2)
Notification to the NFIP State Coordinator shall be submitted to
the following address, or to such future address as said Coordinator
provides:
|
MA Dept. of Conservation & Recreation
251 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02114
|
B.
Building Code Variances. In the event that the BCAB issues a variance
to the flood-resistance standards of the State Building Code, then
the Floodplain Administrator shall undertake the following actions:
(1)
Request from the BCAB a written transcript or recording copy of the
relevant portion of the hearing relating to the variance, and maintain
this transcript or recording copy with the files for the real property
in question.
(2)
Issue a letter to the owner of record for the real property in question,
which letter shall be maintained in the files for said real property,
stating that federal regulations stipulate that the issuance of a
variance to the State Building Code to construct a structure below
the base flood level:
C.
Watercourse Alterations and Relocations. Whenever the Conservation
Commission receives any wetlands submission seeking to alter or relocate
a watercourse of any kind, it shall notify the Floodplain Administrator
in writing of said submission prior to taking any decision on the
same. Upon receipt of such notification, the Floodplain Administrator
in turn shall provide notification of such wetlands submission to
the following:
This Chapter is intended to supplement existing federal, state
and local review and enforcement procedures for regulating Development
in the Floodplain.
A.
Before undertaking any Development in the Floodplain, the owner of
the real property in question must demonstrate to the satisfaction
of the Floodplain Administrator that all federal, state and local
permits and other approvals that are required for such Development
have been obtained. The Floodplain Administrator shall create and
make available to the public a permit checklist for this purpose.
B.
Any Development that occurs in the Floodplain shall require a floodplain
permit, except the following.
(1)
Any land disturbance that is undertaken as part of, and in accordance
with, customary agricultural practices on established agricultural
land only, including, but not limited to, soil manipulation by harrowing
or plowing, stone removal from harrowed or plowed fields, the harvesting
of root crops, and nursery or orchard stock cultivation or removal,
but excluding the regrading of such land or the creation of new agricultural
land;
(2)
Maintenance of existing gardens and landscaping;
(3)
Any construction, expansion, reconstruction or razing of buildings or other structures that is authorized by a building permit, provided that Building Department has consulted with the Floodplain Administrator in order to ensure full compliance with the requirements of § 363-5D; further provided, that a building permit shall not exempt from the requirements of this Chapter any alteration of land or other Development on the same real property as said building or other structure and which is unrelated to such construction, expansion, reconstruction or razing; further provided, that a building permit shall not exempt from the requirements of this Chapter any building or structure for which a zoning variance was issued by the Zoning Board of Appeals with respect to any provision of Article 27 of the Zoning Bylaw.
(4)
Any excavation, removal or relocation of earth minerals or soils that is authorized by the Soil Conservation Board in accordance with Chapter 184 of the General Bylaws, provided that said Board has consulted with the Floodplain Administrator in order to ensure full compliance with the requirements of § 363-5D, and provided that no zoning variance has been granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals for that activity with respect to any provision of Article 27 of the Zoning Bylaw;
(5)
Any activity that is authorized by a recorded order of conditions that has been issued by the Conservation Commission pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 131, Section 40 or any successor statute thereto, provided that said Board has consulted with Floodplain Administrator in order to ensure full compliance with the requirements of § 363-5D;
(7)
Any activity that is undertaken in accordance with a special permit that is granted under the Zoning Bylaw, provided that the Special Permit Granting Authority has consulted with the Floodplain Administrator in order to ensure full compliance with the requirements of § 363-5D; and provided that no zoning variance has been granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals for such activity with respect to any provision of Article 27 of the Zoning Bylaw;
(8)
The construction and installation of private ways, sidewalks, open space landscaping, common drainage systems, water and sewer mains, street lighting and any other common infrastructure and facilities, but excluding any construction upon or improvement to any individual residential lots, that is undertaken in accordance with a recorded subdivision plan that was approved by the Planning Board pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 41, Sections 81K through 81GG, or any successor statute thereto, and provided that the Planning Board has consulted with the Floodplain Administrator in order to ensure full compliance with the requirements of § 363-5D; and provided that no zoning variance has been granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals for such activity with respect to any provision of Article 27 of the Zoning Bylaw; and
(9)
The construction, reconstruction, maintenance and repair of public ways, public stormwater or drainage facilities, or public water or sewer facilities, by the Department of Public Works or any state or federal agency; provided that, with respect to the Department of Public Works, said Department has consulted with Floodplain Administrator in order to ensure full compliance with the requirements of § 363-5D.
Any Development in the Floodplain that is not exempted under § 363-4B shall require a floodplain permit from the Department of Public Works. No aspect of such qualifying Development, including any clearing of land, excavation or other site preparation activities, may occur prior to the issuance of a floodplain permit.
A.
Application submission; application form; rejection without prejudice.
(1)
The application for an original floodplain permit, or for an amendment
to a floodplain permit that was granted by the Director, shall be
submitted to the Director. The application for an amendment to a floodplain
permit that was granted by the Board must be submitted directly to
the Board.
(2)
Applications shall be in such form, shall require such information
and documentation, and shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee
in such amount, as the Board may establish from time to time by regulation.
(3)
For any Development of at least 50 lots or five acres, whichever
is smaller, the applicant shall submit one of the following:
(4)
Applications that are incomplete, or that are submitted to the wrong
reviewing authority, shall be rejected without prejudice.
B.
Review by Director of Public Works; delegation of review; appeal.
(1)
Within 14 days of receipt of any properly submitted and complete
application, the Director shall review said application and issue
a decision.
(2)
The Director may delegate to any subordinate the review of any given
floodplain permit application for compliance with these requirements,
but the final decision on whether to issue said permit shall remain
with the Director.
(3)
The applicant may appeal to the Board the decision of the Director
to deny a floodplain permit; provided, that any such appeal must be
received by the Board within 14 days of the date of said decision.
C.
Review by the Board of Public Works; hearing notice; imposition of
conditions.
(1)
Within 30 days of receipt of either an appeal of a denial by the
Director or a properly submitted and complete application to amend
a prior decision of the Board, the Board shall hold a public hearing
and issue a decision.
(2)
At least seven days prior to the public hearing, notice of the same
shall be provided to the applicant and to all abutters to the parcel
for which the floodplain permit is sought (including any abutters
across any public or private way, body or water, or municipal boundary).
(3)
In granting a floodplain permit, the Board may impose, in its sole
discretion, reasonable conditions in order to protect the environment,
abutting properties and any public and private ways and other infrastructure.
D.
Prerequisites for approval. A floodplain permit shall be granted
if, but only if, the applicant demonstrates that the proposed Development:
E.
A Federal Variance may be granted with respect to a floodplain permit
only if the following standards are met:
(1)
There is good and sufficient cause and exceptional nonfinancial hardship;
(2)
The Federal Variance will not result in additional threats to public
safety, extraordinary public expense, or fraud or victimization of
the public; and
(3)
The Federal Variance is the minimum action necessary to afford relief.
F.
Third-party consultant. In reviewing an application for a floodplain permit, either or both the Director and the Board may seek the assistance of a third-party consultant. The cost of any such consultant shall be paid by the applicant, and the imposition and administration of said fee shall be governed by the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 44, Section 53G.
All granted floodplain permits are subject to the following
standard limitations:
A.
Surety. In order to receive a granted floodplain permit, the applicant
must first post a performance bond or other surety in an amount that
is sufficient to ensure the completion of all obligations under the
floodplain permit. The calculation of said amount for any given floodplain
permit shall be governed by the regulations of the Board. The Director
shall release this surety upon the receipt of an as-built plan demonstrating
that the Development has been completed in accordance with the floodplain
permit.
B.
Adherence to floodplain permit. All Development shall be undertaken
only in accordance with all plans that were approved, and all conditions,
if any, that were imposed, as part of the grant of the floodplain
permit.
C.
Limited authority of Director to amend. The Director may not approve
any amendment to a floodplain permit that was granted by the Board.
The issuance of a floodplain permit for Development shall not
substitute for, or satisfy or preempt the need for, any other permit,
license, approval or authorization that must be obtained for such
activities pursuant to any other local, state or federal statute,
regulation, code or bylaw.
The provisions of this Chapter shall be enforced by any officer
or employee of the Department of Public Works, and may be enforced
by any agent of the Conservation Commission, any agent of the Board
of Health, any officer or employee of the Building Department, any
agent of the Planning Board, and any agent of the Soil Conservation
Board.
A.
Inspections. The Director and any other officer or employee of the
Department of Public Works may inspect the parcel at any time after
issuance of a floodplain permit, and without advance notice, in order
to ensure compliance with the same. Acceptance of a floodplain permit
concurrently shall constitute acceptance of this inspection authority.
Nothing herein shall be construed as preempting or limiting the authority
of any Town employee, agent or official to conduct inspections pursuant
to any other local, state or federal statute, regulation or bylaw.
B.
Penalties. A fine of $300 shall be imposed for each violation of
the provisions of this Chapter, or of any term, condition or incorporated
plan of any floodplain permit that is granted pursuant to the same,
which fine shall be enforced through the noncriminal method of disposition
as provided by Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40, Section 21D.
Each day of a continuing violation shall be considered a separate
violation.
The provisions of this Chapter are severable. If any court of
competent jurisdiction determines that any provision is in violation
of the laws, constitutions or regulations of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
or the United States of America, the remaining provisions shall not
be affected thereby and shall continue in full force and effect.
