[Added 6-15-2023 by Ord. No. 23.322]
A.
The purpose of the Floodplain Overlay District is to:
(1)
Ensure public safety through reducing the threats to life and
personal injury.
(2)
Eliminate new hazards to emergency response officials.
(3)
Prevent the occurrence of public emergencies resulting from
water quality, contamination, and pollution due to flooding.
(4)
Avoid the loss of utility services which if damaged by flooding
would disrupt or shut down the utility network and impact regions
of the community beyond the site of flooding.
(5)
Eliminate costs associated with the response and cleanup of
flooding conditions.
(6)
Reduce damage to public and private property resulting from
flooding waters.
B.
The district includes all special flood hazard areas within the City
of Northampton designated as Zone A, AE, AH, AO, A99, V, or VE on
the Hampshire County Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) dated April 3,
1978, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for
the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program. These
are defined by the 1% chance base flood elevations shown on the FIRM
and further defined by the Hampshire County Flood Insurance Study
(FIS) report dated November 1976. The FIRM and FIS report are incorporated
herein by reference and are on file with the City Clerk, Office of
Planning and Sustainability, and Building Department.
For the purposes of this § 350-16, the following terms
shall have the following definitions:
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 (US Code of Federal Regulations,
Title 44, Part 59).
An official map of a community issued by FEMA that depicts,
based on detailed analyses, the boundaries of the 100-year and 500-year
floods and the 100-year floodway. (For maps done in 1987 and later,
the floodway designation is included on the FIRM.)
An official map of a community issued by the Federal Insurance
Administrator, where the boundaries of the flood and related erosion
areas having special hazards have been designated as Zone A or E (US
Code of Federal Regulations, Title 44, Part 59).
The channel of the river, creek or other 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 a designated height (Base Code, Chapter 2, Section 202).
A use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it
is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term includes
only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the
loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and ship building and
ship repair facilities, but does not include long-term storage or
related manufacturing facilities (US Code of Federal Regulations,
Title 44, Part 59; also Referenced Standard ASCE 24-14).
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure (US Code
of Federal Regulations, Title 44, Part 59).
Any structure that is:
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places
(a listing maintained by the Department of the Interior) or preliminarily
determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements
for individual listing on the National Register;
Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the
Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered
historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary
to qualify as a registered historic district;
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
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified either:
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of the first floodplain management
code, regulation, ordinance, or standard adopted by the authority
having jurisdiction, including any subsequent improvements to such
structures. New construction includes work determined to be substantial
improvement (Referenced Standard ASCE 24-14).
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest
horizontal projection;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; and
Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as
temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal
use (US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 44, Part 59).
See "floodway."
The land area subject to flood hazards and shown on a Flood
Insurance Rate Map or other flood hazard map as Zone A, AE, A1-30,
A99, AR, AO, AH, V, VO, VE or V1-30 (Base Code, Chapter 2, Section
202).
The date of issuance for new construction and substantial
improvements to existing structures, provided the actual start of
construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement
or other improvement is within 180 days after the date of issuance.
The actual "start of construction" means the first placement of permanent
construction of a building (including a manufactured home) on a site,
such as the pouring of a slab or footings, installation of pilings
or construction of columns. Permanent construction does not include
land preparation (such as clearing, excavation, grading or filling),
the installation of streets or walkways, excavation for a basement,
footings, piers or foundations, the erection of temporary forms or
the installation of accessory buildings such as garages or sheds not
occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main building. 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 that alteration affects the external
dimensions of the building (Base Code, Chapter 2, Section 202).
For floodplain management purposes, a walled and roofed building,
including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally aboveground,
as well as a manufactured home (US Code of Federal Regulations, Title
44, Part 59).
When work to repair or replace a foundation results in the
repair or replacement of a portion of the foundation with a perimeter
along the base of the foundation that equals or exceeds 50% of the
perimeter of the base of the foundation measured in linear feet, or
repair or replacement of 50% of the piles, columns or piers of a pile-,
column- or pier-supported foundation, the building official shall
determine it to be substantial repair of a foundation. Applications
determined by the building official to constitute substantial repair
of a foundation shall require all existing portions of the entire
building or structure to meet the requirements of 780 CMR (as amended
by MA in 9th Edition BC).
A grant of relief by a community from the terms of a floodplain
management regulation (US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 44, Part
59).
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations.
A structure or other development without the elevation certificate,
other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in
44 CFR 60.3(b)(5), (c)(4), (c)(10), (d)(3), (e) (2), (e)(4), or (e)(5)
is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation
is provided (US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 44, Part 59).
The floodplain management regulations found in this Floodplain
Overlay District section shall take precedence over any less restrictive
conflicting local laws, ordinances or codes.
The degree of flood protection required by this § 350-16
is considered reasonable but does not imply total flood protection.
If any section, provision or portion of this § 350-16
is deemed to be unconstitutional or invalid by a court, the remainder
of § 350-16 shall be effective.
If the City acquires data that changes the base flood elevation
in the FEMA mapped special flood hazard areas, the City will, within
six months, notify FEMA of these changes by submitting the technical
or scientific data that supports the change(s.) Notification shall
be submitted to:
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FEMA Region I Risk Analysis Branch Chief
99 High St., 6th Floor
Boston, MA 02110
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And copy of notification to:
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Massachusetts NFIP State Coordinator
MA Dept. of Conservation & Recreation
251 Causeway Street
Boston, MA 02114
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The City will request from the State Building Code Appeals Board
a written and/or audible copy of the portion of the hearing related
to the variance, and will maintain this record in the community's
files. The City shall also issue a letter to the property owner regarding
potential impacts to the annual premiums for the flood insurance policy
covering that property, in writing, over the signature of a community
official that i) the issuance of a variance to construct a structure
below the base flood level will result in increased premium rates
for flood insurance up to amounts as high as $25 for $100 of insurance
coverage, and ii) such construction below the base flood level increases
risks to life and property. Such notification shall be maintained
with the record of all variance actions for the referenced development
in the Floodplain Overlay District.
A variance from this § 350-16 must meet the requirements
set out by state law, and may only be granted if:
The City of Northampton requires a permit for all proposed construction
or other development in the NFIP Overlay District, including new construction
or changes to existing buildings, placement of manufactured homes,
placement of agricultural facilities, fences, sheds, storage facilities
or drilling, mining, paving and any other development that might increase
flooding or adversely impact flood risks to other properties. Proponents
must acquire all necessary permits, and must demonstrate that all
necessary permits have been acquired.
All subdivision proposals and development proposals in the Floodplain
Overlay District shall be reviewed to assure that:
When proposing subdivisions or other developments greater than
50 lots or five acres (whichever is less), the proponent must provide
technical data to determine base flood elevations for each developable
parcel shown on the design plans.
In A Zones, in the absence of FEMA BFE data and floodway data,
the Building Department will obtain, review and reasonably utilize
base flood elevation and floodway data available from a federal, state,
or other source as criteria for requiring new construction, substantial
improvements, or other development in Zone A as the basis for elevating
residential structures to or above base flood level, for floodproofing
or elevating nonresidential structures to or above base flood level,
and for prohibiting encroachments in floodways.
A.
In Zones A, A1-30, 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.
B.
In Zones A1-30 and AE, along watercourses that have a regulatory
floodway designated on the City's FIRM or Flood Boundary and Floodway
Map (choose map which delineates floodways for your community), encroachments
are prohibited in the regulatory floodway which would result in any
increase in flood levels within the community during the occurrence
of the base flood discharge.
In a riverine situation, the Building Commissioner shall notify
the following of any alteration or relocation of a watercourse:
A.
Adjacent communities, especially upstream and downstream.
B.
Bordering states, if affected.
C.
NFIP State Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of Conservation
and Recreation, 251 Causeway Street, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02114.
D.
NFIP Program Specialist. Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region
I, 99 High Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02110.
In A1-30, AH, AE, V1-30, VE, and V Zones, all recreational vehicles
to be placed on a site must be elevated and anchored in accordance
with the zone's regulations for foundation and elevation requirements
or be on the site for less than 180 consecutive days or be fully licensed
and highway ready.
