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ORDINANCE NO. 13-2226 An ordinance of the City of Hoover to modify Sections 12-36 and 12-72 of Chapter 12 Planning and Development, Article III. Flood Damage Prevention of the Municipal Code of the City of Hoover, Alabama and to repeal all ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict therewith. WHEREAS, the National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”) State Coordinator has requested that certain changes be made to Chapter 12, Article III Flood Damage Prevention of the Municipal Code of the City of Hoover to comply with the requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”); WHEREAS, the changes requested include the deletion of the word “permanent” from the definition of the term “Development” defined in Section 12-36 of Chapter 12, Article III; and WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City of Hoover to comply with all aspects of the NFIP program. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Hoover, in regular meeting duly assembled, a quorum being present, as follows: Section 1. CHAPTER 12, ARTICLE III, SECTION 12-36 – MODIFICATIONS THERETO. Section 12-36 is hereby amended by deleting the current language of Section 12-36 in its entirety and replacing it with the following: Section 12-36. Definitions. Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this article shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this article its most reasonable application. Addition (to an existing building) means any walled and roofed expansion to the perimeter of a building in which the addition is connected by a common load-bearing wall other than a fire wall. Any walled and roofed addition which is connected by a fire wall or is separated by independent perimeter load-bearing walls is new construction. Appeal means a request for a review of the article administrator's interpretation of any provision of this article or a request for a variance. Area of shallow flooding means a designated AO or AH zone on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with base flood depths from one to three feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate, and where velocity flow may be evident. Area of special flood hazard is the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. In the absence of official designation by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Areas of Special Flood Hazard shall be those designated by the local community and referenced in section 12-41. Base flood means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Basement means that portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides. ---PAGE BREAK--- Breakaway wall means a wall that is not part of the structural support of the building and is intended through its design and construction to collapse under specific lateral loading forces without causing damage to the elevated portion of the building or the supporting foundation system. Building means any structure built for support, shelter, or enclosure for any occupancy or storage. Building official means any employee authorized by the city department of building inspection to conduct building inspections. Development means 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, drilling operations, and storage of equipment or materials. Elevated building means a non-basement building which has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground level by foundation walls, pilings, posts, columns, piers, or shear walls. Existing construction means any structure for which the start of construction commenced before December 15, 1980. the effective date of the first floodplain management code or ordinance adopted by the community as a basis for that community's participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)]. Existing manufactured home park or subdivision) means a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before December 15, 1980. Expansion to an existing manufactured home park or subdivision means the preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed, including the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads. Flood or flooding means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from: The overflow of inland or tidal waters; or The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source. Flood hazard boundary map (FBHM) means an official map of a community, issued by the Federal Insurance Administration, where the boundaries of the areas of special flood hazard have been defined as Zone A. Flood insurance rate map (FIRM) means an official map of a community, on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated the areas of special flood hazard and/or risk premium zones applicable to the community. Flood insurance study (FIS) is the official report by the federal insurance administration evaluating flood hazards and containing flood profiles and water surface elevations of the base flood. Floodplain means any land area susceptible to flooding. ---PAGE BREAK--- Floodway (regulatory floodway) means the channel of a river 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. Floor means the top surface of an enclosed area in a building (including basement), i.e., top of slab in concrete slab construction or top of wood flooring in wood frame construction. The term does not include the floor of a garage used solely for parking vehicles. Functionally dependent facility means a facility which cannot be used for its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water, such as a docking or port facility necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, shipbuilding, ship repair, or seafood processing facilities. The term does not include long-term storage, manufacture, sales, or service facilities. Highest adjacent grade means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior to construction, next to the proposed walls of a structure. Historic structure means any structure that is: Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the U.S. Department of 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 and determined as eligible by 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 and determined as eligible by communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either: a. By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or b. Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs. Levee means a man-made structure, usually an earthen embankment, designed and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to contain, control, or divert the flow of water so as to provide protection from temporary flooding. Levee system means a flood protection system which consists of a levee, or levees, and associated structures, such as closure and drainage devices, which are constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering practices. Lowest floor means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, used solely for parking of vehicles, building access, or storage, in an area other than a basement, is not considered a building's lowest floor, provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of other provisions of this Code. Manufactured home means a building, transportable in one or more sections, built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected ---PAGE BREAK--- to the required utilities. The term also includes park trailers, travel trailers, and similar transportable structures placed on a site for one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days or longer and intended to be improved property. Manufactured home park or subdivision means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale. Mean sea level means the average height of the sea for all stages of the tide. It is used as a reference for establishing various elevations within the floodplain. For purposes of this article, the term is synonymous with National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD). National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) as corrected in 1929 is a vertical control used as a reference for establishing varying elevations within the floodplain. North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) is a vertical control used as a surveying reference based upon the General Adjustment of the North American Datum of 1988. The NAVD 88 replaced the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929. The NAVD 88 is currently used in the effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Flood Insurance Study. New construction means any structure (see definition) for which the start of construction commenced after December 15, 1980 and includes any subsequent improvements to the structure. the effective date of the first floodplain management ordinance adopted by the community as a basis for community participation in the (NFIP)) and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures. New manufactured home park or subdivision means a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured 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 completed on or after December 15, 1980 the effective date of the first floodplain management regulations adopted by the city). Repetitive loss means flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a ten-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds twenty-five (25) percent of the market value of the structure before the damages occurred. Recreational vehicle means a vehicle which is: Built on a single chassis; Four hundred (400) 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. Remedy a violation means to bring the structure or other development into compliance with State or local flood plain management regulations, or, if this is not possible, to reduce the impacts of its noncompliance. Ways that impacts may be reduced include protecting the structure or other affected development from flood damages, implementing the enforcement provisions of the ordinance or otherwise deterring future similar violations, or reducing Federal financial exposure with regard to the structure or other development. ---PAGE BREAK--- Start of construction means the date the development permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, or improvement was within one hundred eighty (180) days of the permit date. The actual start means the first placement of permanent construction of the structure such as the pouring of slabs or footings, installation of piles, construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation, and includes the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. (Permanent construction does not include initial land preparation, 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 foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of buildings appurtenant to the permitted structure, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or part of the main structure. (Note: accessory structures are not exempt from any requirements of this article) 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. Structure means a walled and roofed building that is principally above ground, a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank or other manmade facilities or infrastructures. Substantial damage means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. Substantial damage also means flood related damages sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a ten-year period of which the cost of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds twenty-five (25) percent of the market value of the structure before the damages occurred. Substantial improvement means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred repetitive loss or substantial damage, regardless of the actual repair work performed. The market value of the building should be the appraised value of the structure prior to the start of the initial repair or improvement, or in the case of damage, the value of the structure prior to the damage occurring. This term includes structures which have incurred substantial damage regardless of the actual amount of repair work performed. 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 building. The term does not, however, include either: 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 official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or Any alteration of a historic structure, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a historic structure. Substantially improved existing manufactured home parks or subdivisions is where the repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of the streets, utilities and pads equals or exceeds fifty (50) percent of the value of the streets, utilities and pads before the repair, reconstruction or improvement commenced. ---PAGE BREAK--- Variance is a grant of relief from the requirements of this article which permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this article where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship. Violation means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community's flood plain management regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §44, Sec. 60.3(b)(5), or and corresponding parts of this ordinance is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided. Section 2. CHAPTER 12, ARTICLE III, SECTION 12-73 – MODIFICATIONS THERETO. Section 12-73 is hereby amended by deleting the current language of Section 12-73 in its entirety and replacing it with the following: Section 12-73. Building and design standards for streams without established base flood elevations (approximate A-Zones). Located within the areas of special flood hazard established in section 12-41, where streams exist but no base flood data have been provided (approximate A-Zones), the following provisions apply: When base flood elevation data or floodway data have not been provided in accordance with this article, then the article administrator shall obtain, review, and reasonably utilize any scientific or historic base flood elevation and floodway data available from a federal, state, or other source, in order to administer the provisions of this article. Only if data is not available from these sources, then the following provisions and shall apply. No encroachments, including structures or fill material, shall be located within an area equal to the width of the stream or twenty-five (25) feet, whichever is greater, measured from the top of the stream bank, unless certification by a registered professional engineer is provided demonstrating that such encroachment shall not result in any increase in flood levels during the occurrence of the base flood discharge. All development in Zone A must meet the requirements of section 12-71 and 12-72. In special flood hazard areas without base flood elevation data, new construction and substantial improvements of existing structures shall have the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement) elevated no less than three feet above the highest adjacent grade at the building site. Also, in the absence of a base flood elevation, a manufactured home must also meet the elevation requirements of section 12-72(4)(b)(2) in that the structure must be elevated to a maximum of thirty- six (36) inches. Openings sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded movements of flood waters shall be provided in accordance with standards of section 12-72(3), elevated buildings. The article administrator shall certify the lowest floor elevation level and the record shall become a permanent part of the permit file. ---PAGE BREAK--- Section 3. ORDINANCES REPEALED. All other ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. Section 4. SEVERABILITY. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is, for any reason, held to be unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance, and each section, subsection, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses and phrases be declared unconstitutional. Section 5. LEGAL RIGHTS NOT IMPAIRED. Nothing in this Ordinance hereby adopted shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding impending in any court, or any rights acquired, or liability incurred, or any cause or causes of action acquired or existing, under any act or ordinance hereby repealed; nor shall any just or legal right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired or affected by this Ordinance. Section 6. PUBLICATION OF ORDINANCE. That the City Clerk of the City of Hoover is hereby ordered and directed to cause this Ordinance to be published and that a copy of this Ordinance be entered upon the minutes of the meeting of the City Council. Section 7. EFFECTIVE DATE OF ORDINANCE. That this Ordinance and the rules, regulations, provisions, requirements, orders and matters established and adopted hereby shall be in full force and effect immediately after the adoption and publication and shall continue in full force and effect from month to month and year to year from its effective date until repealed. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Hoover does hereby ordain, resolve, and enact the foregoing Ordinance for the City of Hoover. DONE THIS THE 8TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2013. Jack Wright, President of the City Council APPROVED: Gary Ivey, Mayor ATTESTED: Margie Handley, City Clerk