Chowchilla Municipal Code Ch. 15.60 Floodplain Management

These regulations, in combination with the flood provisions of the California Code of Regulations Title 24 (California Building Standards Code) (hereinafter "building codes," consisting of the Building Code, Residential Code, Existing Building Code, and related codes) and Appendix G of the Building Code (hereinafter "Appendix G"), shall be known as the Floodplain Management Regulations of city of Chowchilla (hereinafter "these regulations").

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 1, 5-28-2019; Ord. No. 517-23, § 91, 11-28-2023)

The legislature of the state of California has in Government Code Sections 65302, 65560, and 65800 conferred upon local governments the authority to adopt regulations designed to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of its citizenry. Therefore, in addition to the adoption of Appendix "G" - Flood Resistant Construction, of the International Building Code in the city of Chowchilla Building Code, dated December 10, 2013, the city council of the city of Chowchilla does hereby adopt the following programmatic floodplain management requirements.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 2, 5-28-2019; Ord. No. 517-23, § 92, 11-28-2023)

The purposes of these regulations and the flood load and flood resistant construction requirements of the building codes are to promote the public health, safety and general welfare and to minimize public and private losses due to flood conditions in specific flood hazard areas through the establishment of comprehensive regulations for management of flood hazard areas, designed to:

1. Prevent unnecessary disruption of commerce, access and public service during times of flooding;

2. Manage the alteration of natural floodplains, stream channels and shorelines;

3. Manage filling, grading, dredging and other development which may increase flood damage or erosion potential;

4. Prevent or regulate the construction of flood barriers which will divert floodwaters or which can increase flood hazards; and

5. Contribute to improved construction techniques in the floodplain.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 3, 5-28-2019)

The objectives of these regulations are to protect human life, minimize the expenditure of public money for flood control projects, minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding, minimize prolonged business interruption, minimize damage to public facilities and utilities, help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use and development of floodprone areas, contribute to improved construction techniques in the floodplain and ensure that potential owners and occupants are notified that property is within flood hazard areas.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 4, 5-28-2019)

Pursuant to the requirement established in Chapter 15.06 of the city municipal code that the city of Chowchilla administer and enforce the state building codes, the city council of city of Chowchilla does hereby acknowledge that the building codes contain certain provisions that apply to the design and construction of buildings and structures in flood hazard areas. Therefore, these regulations are intended to be administered and enforced in conjunction with the building codes.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 5, 5-28-2019; Ord. No. 517-23, § 93, 11-28-2023)

The provisions of these regulations, in combination with the flood provisions of the building codes shall apply to all proposed development in flood hazard areas established in Section 17.32.260, applicability, of these regulations.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 6, 5-28-2019)

The degree of flood protection required by these regulations and the building codes is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on scientific and engineering considerations. Larger floods can and will occur. Flood heights may be increased by manmade or natural causes. Enforcement of these regulations and the building codes does not imply that land outside the special flood hazard areas, or that uses permitted within such flood hazard areas, will be free from flooding or flood damage.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 7, 5-28-2019)

The provisions of these regulations shall not be deemed to nullify any provisions of local, state or federal law.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 8, 5-28-2019)

These regulations, in conjunction with the building codes, provide minimum requirements for development located in flood hazard areas, including the subdivision of land; site improvements and installation of utilities; placement and replacement of manufactured homes; placement of recreational vehicles; new construction and repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation or additions to new construction; substantial improvement of existing buildings and structures, including restoration after damage; installation of tanks; temporary structures and temporary or permanent storage; utility and miscellaneous Group U buildings and structures; and certain building work exempt from permit under the building codes; and other buildings and development activities.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 9, 5-28-2019)

The following words and terms shall, for the purposes of these regulations, have the meanings shown herein. Other terms are defined in the building code or Appendix G and used in the residential code.

"Alteration of a watercourse" means a dam, impoundment, channel relocation, change in channel alignment, channelization, or change in cross-sectional area of the channel or the channel capacity, or any other form of modification which may alter, impede, retard or change the direction and/or velocity of the riverine flow of water during conditions of the base flood.

"Development" means any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to, buildings or other structures, temporary structures, temporary or permanent storage of materials, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavations, operations and other land-disturbing activities.

"Encroachment" means the placement of fill, excavation, buildings, permanent structures or other development into a flood hazard area which may impede or alter the flow capacity of riverine flood hazard areas.

"Floodplain administrator" is the community official designated by title to administer and enforce the floodplain management regulations.

"Severability" means if any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of these regulations is, for any reason, declared by the courts to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the regulations as a whole, or any part thereof, other than the part so declared.

"Watercourse" means a river, creek, stream, channel or other topographic feature in, on, through, or over which water flows at least periodically.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 10, 5-28-2019)

The areas of special flood hazard identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the "Flood Insurance Study (FIS) for Madera County, California, Unincorporated Areas" dated August 4, 1987, with accompanying flood insurance rate maps (FIRM's) and flood boundary and floodway maps (FBFM's), dated August 4, 1987 and November 15, 1977 respectively, and all subsequent amendments and/or revisions, are hereby adopted by reference and declared to be a part of this chapter. This FIS and attendant mapping is the minimum area of applicability of this chapter and may be supplemented by studies for other areas which allow implementation of this chapter and which are recommended to the city of Chowchilla City Council by the floodplain administrator. The study, FIRM's and FBFM's are on file at the city of Chowchilla City Hall, Department of Public Works 130 S. 2nd Street, Chowchilla, CA 93610.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 11, 5-28-2019; Ord. No. 517-23, § 94, 11-28-2023)

The public works director is hereby appointed to administer, implement, and enforce this ordinance by granting or denying development permits in accord with its provisions.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 12, 5-28-2019)

The floodplain administrator is authorized and directed to administer the provisions of these regulations. The floodplain administrator shall have the authority to render interpretations of these regulations and to establish policies and procedures in order to clarify the application of its provisions. Such interpretations, policies and procedures shall be consistent with the intent and purpose of these regulations and the flood provisions of the building code.

Coordination. The floodplain administrator shall coordinate with the Building Official to administer and enforce the flood provisions of the building code, including Appendix G.

Duties. The duties of the floodplain administrator shall include but are not limited to:

A. Permit Review.

1. Review all permit applications to determine whether proposed development is located in flood hazard areas established in Section 15.60.110 of these regulations.

2. Require development in flood hazard areas to be reasonably safe from flooding and to be designed and constructed with methods, practices and materials that minimize flood damage.

3. Interpret flood hazard area boundaries, provide available flood elevation, and flood hazard information.

4. Determine whether additional flood hazard data shall be obtained or developed.

5. When base flood elevation data has not been provided, the floodplain administrator shall obtain, review, and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation and floodway data available from a federal or state agency, or other source.

6. All letters of map revision (LOMR's) for flood control projects are approved prior to the issuance of building permits. Building permits must not be issued based on conditional letters of map revision (CLOMR's). Approved CLOMR's allow construction of the proposed flood control project and land preparation as specified in the "start of construction" definition.

7. Review requests submitted to the building official that seek approval to modify the strict application of the flood load and flood resistant construction requirements of the building code, to determine whether such requests require consideration as a variance pursuant to Appendix G.

8. Require applicants who submit hydrologic and hydraulic engineering analyses to support permit applications to submit to FEMA the data and information necessary to maintain the flood insurance rate maps if the analyses propose to change base flood elevations, flood hazard area boundaries, or floodway designations; such submissions shall be made within six months of such data becoming available.

9. Require applicants who propose alteration of a watercourse to notify adjacent community and the NFIP state coordinating agency, and to submit copies of such notifications to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

10. Inspect development within the scope of Appendix G, if delegated by the building official, and inspect flood hazard areas to determine if development is undertaken without issuance of permits.

11. Maintain a record of all variance actions, including justification for their issuance, and report such variances issued in its biennial report submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

12. Notify the Federal Emergency Management Agency in writing whenever the corporate boundaries have been modified by annexation or other means and include a copy of a map of the community clearly delineating the new corporate limits.

B. Other Permits. It shall be the responsibility of the floodplain administrator to assure that approval of a proposed development shall not be given until proof that necessary permits have been granted by federal or state agencies having jurisdiction over such development.

C. Substantial Improvement and Substantial Damage Determinations. The floodplain administrator, in coordination with the building official, shall prepare and implement written procedures for administering and documenting determinations of substantial improvement and substantial damage for applications for building permits to improve buildings and structures, including alterations, movement, enlargement, replacement, repair, change of occupancy, additions, rehabilitations, renovations, substantial improvements, repairs of substantial damage, and any other improvement of or work on such buildings and structures.

D. Department Records. In addition to the requirements of the building code and Appendix G, and regardless of any limitation on the period required for retention of public records, the floodplain administrator shall maintain and permanently keep and make available for public inspection all records that are necessary for the administration of these regulations and the flood provisions of the building codes, including flood insurance rate maps; documents from FEMA that amend or revise FIRMs; records of issuance of permits and denial of permits; determinations of whether proposed work constitutes substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage; required certifications and documentation specified by the building codes and these regulations; notifications to adjacent communities, FEMA, and the state related to alterations of watercourses; assurance that the flood-carrying capacity of altered waterways will be maintained; documentation related to variances, including justification for their issuance; and records of enforcement actions taken pursuant to these regulations and the flood resistant provisions of the building codes.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 13, 5-28-2019; Ord. No. 517-23, § 95, 11-28-2023)

All new subdivision proposals and other proposed development, including proposals for manufactured home parks and subdivisions, greater than fifty lots or five acres, whichever is the lesser, shall:

1. Identify the special flood hazard areas (SFHA) and base flood elevations (BFE).

2. Identify the elevations of lowest floors of all proposed structures and pads on the final plans.

3. If the site is filled above the base flood elevation, the following as-built information for each structure shall be certified by a registered civil engineer or licensed land surveyor and provided as part of an application for a letter of map revision based on fill (LOMR-F) to the floodplain administrator:

a. Lowest floor elevation.

b. Pad elevation.

c. Lowest adjacent grade.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 14, 5-28-2019; Ord. No. 517-23, § 96, 11-28-2023)

Obtain and maintain for public inspection and make available as needed the following:

1. Certification required for lowest floor elevations of residential structures;

2. Certification required for elevation or floodproofing of nonresidential structures;

3. Certification required for elevation for subdivisions and other proposed development standards; and

4. Certification required for floodway encroachments.

(Ord. No. 498-19, § 15, 5-28-2019)