Article I — STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION, FINDINGS OF FACT, PURPOSE AND METHODS

The Legislature of the State of California has conferred upon local government units authority to adopt regulations designed to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of its residents. Therefore, the City Council of the City of Parlier does hereby adopt the following floodplain management policies and regulations.

(Ord. No. 2009-01, § 1, 5-20-2009)

A.

Flood hazard areas in the City of Parlier are subject to period inundation which could result in loss of life, property damage, health and safety hazards, disruption of commerce and governmental services, extraordinary public expenditures for flood protection and relief, and impairment of the tax base, all of which adversely affect the public health, safety, and general welfare.

B.

These expected flood losses are caused by uses that are inadequately elevated, floodproofed, or protected from flood damage. The cumulative effect of obstructions in areas of special flood hazards which increase flood heights and velocities also contribute to potential flood losses.

(Ord. No. 2009-01, § 1, 5-20-2009)

It is the purpose of this chapter to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare, and to minimize public and private losses due to flood conditions in specific areas by provisions designed to:

A.

Protect human life and health;

B.

Minimize expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects;

C.

Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding and general undertaken at the expense of the general public;

D.

Minimize prolonged business interruptions;

E.

Minimize damage to public facilities and utilities such as water and gas mains; electric, telephone and sewer lines; and streets and bridges located in areas of special flood hazard;

F.

Help maintain a stable tax base providing for the sound use and development of areas of special flood hazard so as to minimize future blighted areas cause by flood damage; Ensure that potential buyers can discover that property is in an area of special flood hazard;

G.

Ensure that potential buyers can discover that property is in an area of special flood hazard; and

H.

Ensure that those who occupy the areas of special flood hazard are responsible for their actions.

(Ord. No. 2009-01, § 1, 5-20-2009)

In order to accomplish its purposes, this chapter includes methods and provisions to:

A.

Restrict or prohibit uses which are dangerous to health, safety, and property due to flood water, or which result in dangerous increases in flood heights or velocities;

B.

Require that uses vulnerable to floods, including facilities which serve such uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of initial construction;

C.

Control the alteration of natural floodplains, stream channels, and natural protective barriers which help accommodate or channels, and natural protective barriers which help accommodate or channel floodwaters;

D.

Control filling, grading, dredging, and other development which may increase flood damage; and

E.

Prevent or regulate the construction of flood barriers which unnaturally divert floodwaters or which may increase flood hazards in other areas.

(Ord. No. 2009-01, § 1, 5-20-2009)

Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable application.

"Accessory use" means a use which is incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the parcel of land on which it is located.

"Alluvial fan" means a geomorphologic feature characterized by a cone or fan-shaped deposit of boulders, gravel, and fine sediments that have been eroded from mountain slopes, transported by floodflows, and deposited on valley floors, and which is subject to flash flooding, high velocity flows, debris flows, erosion, sediment movement and deposition, and channel migration.

"Apex" means the point of highest elevation on an alluvial fan, which on undisturbed fans is generally the point where the major stream that formed the fan emerges from the mountain front.

"Appeal" means a request for a review of the floodplain administrator's interpretation of any provision of this chapter.

"Area of special flood hazard." See "Special flood hazard area."

"Base flood" means a flood which has a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the "100-year flood").

"Basement" means an area of a building in which it is floor is subgrade; i.e., below ground level on all sides.

"Breakaway walls" are type of walls, whether solid or lattice, and whether constructed of concrete, masonry, wood, metal, plastic or any other suitable building material, which are not part of the structural support of the building and which are designed to break away under abnormally high tides, wave action, or high water without causing any damage to the structural integrity of the building on which they are used or any buildings to which they might be carried by floodwaters. A breakaway wall shall have a safe design loading resistance of not less than ten and no more then twenty pounds per square foot. Use of breakaway walls must be certified by a registered engineer or architect and shall meet the following conditions:

Breakaway wall collapse shall result from a water load less than that which would occur during the base flood; and

The elevated portion of the building shall not incur any structural damage due to the effects of wind and water loads acting simultaneously in the event of the base flood.

"Building." See "Structure."

"Development" means any manmade change to improved or unimproved land, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.

"Encroachment" means the advance or infringement of uses, plant growth, fill, excavation, buildings, permanent structures or development into a floodplain which may impede or alter the flow capacity of the floodplain.

"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, installation of utilities, construction of streets, and either final site grading or pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date that these floodplain management regulations were adopted by the city.

"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 installation of utilities, construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads).

"Flood, flooding, or floodwater" means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland waters; the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.

"Flood boundary and floodway map (FBFM)" means the official on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the floodway.

"Flood hazard boundary map" means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated the areas of flood hazards.

"Flood insurance rate map (FIRM)" means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

"Flood insurance study" means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles, the flood insurance rate map, the flood boundary and floodway map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.

"Floodplain or flood-prone area" means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source. See "Flooding."

"Floodplain administrator" is the Parlier City Manager.

"Floodplain management" means the operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage and preserving and enhancing, where possible, natural resources in the floodplain, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works, floodplain management regulations, and open space plans.

"Floodplain management regulations" means this chapter and the zoning chapter, subdivision chapter, building codes, health regulations, special purpose chapters (such as grading), and other applications of the city's police power which control development in flood-prone areas. This term describes federal, state or local regulations in any combination thereof which provide standards for preventing or reducing flood loss and damage.

"Floodproofing" means any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures, and their contents.

"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 one foot. Also referred to as "regulatory floodway."

"Floodway fringe" is that area of the floodplain on either side of the "regulatory floodway" where encroachment may be permitted.

"Fraud and victimization" as related to Section 15.48.500 et seq., Variances, of this chapter, means that the variance granted must not cause fraud on or victimization of the public. In examining this requirement, the city council will consider the fact that every newly constructed building adds to government responsibilities and remains a part of the community for fifty to one hundred years. Buildings that are permitted to be constructed below the base flood elevation are subject during those years to increased risk of damage from floods, while future owners of the property and the community as a whole are subject to the costs, inconvenience, danger, and suffering that those increase flood damages bring. In addition, future owners may purchase the property unaware that it is subject to potential flood damage and can be insured only at very high flood insurance rates.

"Functionally dependent use" means 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 manufacturing facilities.

"Governing body" means the Parlier City Council.

"Hardship" as related to Section 15.48.500, Variances, of this chapter means the exceptional hardship that would result from a failure to grant the requested variance. The requested variance must be exceptional, unusual, and peculiar to the property involved. Mere economic or financial hardship alone is not exceptional. Inconvenience, aesthetic consideration, physical handicaps, personal preferences, or this disapproval of one's neighbors likewise cannot qualify as an exceptional hardship. All of these problems can be resolved through other means without granting a variance, even if the alternative is more expensive, or requires the property owner to build elsewhere or put the parcel to a different use than originally intended.

"Highest adjacent grade" means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure of a structure.

"Historic structure" means a structure that is:

Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the U.S. 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 by an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states with approved programs.

"Levee" means a manmade 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 accord with sound engineering practices.

"Lowest floor" means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area, including basement (see "Basement" definition).

An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure below the lowest floor that is usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other that a basement area, is not considered a building's lowest floor, provided it conforms to applicable non-elevation design requirements, including, but not limited to:

a.

The wet floodproofing standard in Section 15.48.400(C)(3).

b.

The anchoring standards in Section 15.48.400(A).

c.

The construction materials and methods standards in Section 15.48.400(B).

d.

The standards for utilities in Section 15.48.410.

For residential structures, all subgrade enclosed areas are prohibited as they are considered to be basements (see "Basement" definition). This prohibition includes below-grade garages and storage areas.

"Manufactured home" means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities. The term "manufactured home" does not include a "recreational vehicle."

"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.

"Market value" shall be determined by estimating the cost to replace the structure in new condition and adjusting that cost figure by the amount of depreciation which has accrued since the structure was constructed. The cost of replacement of the structure shall be based on a square foot cost factor determined by reference to a building cost estimating guide recognized by the building construction industry. The amount of depreciation shall be determined by taking into account the age and physical deterioration of the structure and functional obsolescence as approved by the floodplain administrator, but shall not include economic or other forms of external obsolescence. Use of replacement costs or accrued depreciation factors different from those contained in recognized building costs estimating guides may be considered only if such factors are included in a report prepared by an independent professional appraiser and supported by a written explanation of the differences.

"Mean sea level" means, for purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community's flood insurance rate map are referenced.

"New construction," for floodplain management purposes, means structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of the chapter, 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 the effective date of this chapter.

"Obstruction" includes, but is not limited to, any dam, wall, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, protection, excavation, channelization, bridge, conduit, culvert, building, wire, fence, rock, gravel, refuse, fill, structure, vegetation or other material in, along, across or projecting into any watercourse which may alter, impede, retard or change the direction and/or velocity of the flow of water, snare or collect debris carried by the flow of water, or is likely to be carried downstream.

"One-hundred-year flood" or "100-year flood." See "Base flood."

"Public safety and nuisance" as related to Section 15.48.500 et seq., Variances, of this chapter means that the granting of a variance must not result in anything which is injurious to the safety or health of the community, neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, river, by stream, canal and basin.

"Recreational vehicle" means a vehicle which is:

Built on a single chassis;

Is 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.

"Regulator 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 one foot.

"Remedy a violation" means to bring the structure or other development into compliance with state or local floodplain management regulations, or if this is not possible, to reduce the impacts of noncompliance. Ways that impacts may be reduced include protecting the structure or other affected development from flood damages, implementing the enforcement provisions of the chapter or otherwise deterring future exposure with regard to the structure of other development.

"Riverine" means relating to, formed by, or resembling a river (including tributaries), stream, brook, etc.

"Sheet flow area." See "Area of shallow flooding."

"Special flood hazard area (SFHA)" means an area in the floodplain subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on an FHBM or FIRM as zone A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, AH, V1-V-30, VE or V.

"Start of construction" includes substantial improvement and other proposed new development, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was within one hundred eighty days from the date of issuance of the permit. The actual start means wither the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any site work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include 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 accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure. 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; this includes a gas or liquid storage tank or a manufactured home.

"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 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

"Substantial improvement" means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other proposed new development of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent of the market value of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage," regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term, however, does not include either:

Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations or state or local health, sanitary, or safety code requirements which have been identified by the local code requirements 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.

"Variance" means a grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this chapter.

"Violation" means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully complaint with this chapter. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in this chapter is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.

"Water surface elevation" means the height, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 (or other datum where specified), or floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.

"Watercourse" means a lake, river, creek, stream, wash, arroyo, channel or other topographic feature on or over which waters flow at least periodically. Watercourse includes specifically designated areas in which substantial flood damage may occur.

(Ord. No. 2009-01, § 1, 5-20-2009)