San Bernardino Municipal Code Art. 103 Duties and Powers of the Floodplain Administrator

The City Engineer is designated the Floodplain Administrator. The Floodplain Administrator shall have the authority to delegate the performance of certain duties to other employees.

(Ord. MC-1622, passed 1-17-2024)

The Floodplain Administrator is authorized and directed to administer and enforce this chapter. The Floodplain Administrator shall have the authority to render interpretations of this chapter 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 this chapter and the flood provisions of the building code and shall not have the effect of waiving specific requirements without the granting of a variance pursuant to Article 107. The Floodplain Administrator is authorized to waive the submission of site plans, construction documents and other data that are required by this chapter but that are not required to be prepared by a qualified state licensed land surveyor or civil engineer when it is found that the nature of the proposed development is such that the review of such submissions is not necessary to ascertain compliance with this chapter.

(Ord. MC-1622, passed 1-17-2024)

The Floodplain Administrator shall coordinate with and provide comments to the Building Official to administer and enforce the flood provisions of the building code and to ensure compliance with the applicable provisions of this chapter. The Floodplain Administrator and the Building Official have the authority to establish written procedures for reviewing applications and conducting inspections for buildings and for administering and documenting determinations of substantial improvement and substantial damage made pursuant to § 8.79.170.

(Ord. MC-1622, passed 1-17-2024)

The Floodplain Administrator, in coordination with other pertinent offices of the community, shall:

(A) Review all permit applications and plans to determine whether proposed development is located in flood hazard areas;

(B) Review all applications and plans for development in flood hazard areas for compliance with this chapter;

(C) Review, in coordination with the Building Official, required design certifications and documentation of elevations specified by the building code to determine that such certifications and documentations are complete;

(D) Review applications and plans for modification of any existing development in flood hazard areas for compliance with this chapter;

(E) 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;

(F) Interpret flood hazard area boundaries and provide available flood elevation and flood hazard information;

(G) Determine whether additional flood hazard data shall be obtained from other sources or developed by the applicant;

(H) Complete the appropriate section of the Department of Housing and Community Development Floodplain Ordinance Compliance Certification for Manufactured Home/Mobile Home Installations when submitted by applicants;

(I) Review requests submitted to the Building Official seeking 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 Article 107;

(J) Coordinate with the Building Official and others to identify and investigate damaged buildings located in flood hazard areas and inform owners of the requirement to obtain permits for repairs;

(K) 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 when the analyses indicate changes in base flood elevations, flood hazard area boundaries or floodway designations; such submissions shall be made within six months of such data becoming available;

(L) Require applicants who propose alteration of a watercourse to notify adjacent communities and the NFIP State Coordinating Agency, and to submit copies of such notifications to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”);

(M) Inspect development in accordance with Article 106 and inspect flood hazard areas to determine when development is undertaken without issuance of permits;

(N) Prepare comments and recommendations for consideration when applicants seek variances for development other than buildings in accordance with Article 107;

(O) Cite violations in accordance with Article 108; and

(P) Notify FEMA when the corporate boundaries of the city have been modified and provide a map and legal description of the changes in the corporate boundaries.

(Ord. MC-1622, passed 1-17-2024)

For applications for building permits to improve buildings and structures, including alterations, movement, enlargement, replacement, repair, additions, rehabilitations, renovations, substantial improvements, repairs of substantial damage and any other improvement of or work on such buildings and structures, the Floodplain Administrator, in coordination with the Building Official, shall:

(A) Estimate the market value or require the applicant to obtain an appraisal of the market value prepared by a qualified independent appraiser, of the building or structure before the start of construction of the proposed work; in the case of repair, the market value of the building or structure shall be the market value before the damage occurred and before any repairs are made;

(B) Compare the cost to perform the improvement, the cost to repair the damaged building to its pre-damaged condition or the combined costs of improvements and repairs, when applicable, to the market value of the building or structure;

(C) Determine and document whether the proposed work constitutes substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage; and

(D) Notify the applicant when it is determined that the work constitutes substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage and that compliance with the flood resistant construction requirements of the building code is required and notify the applicant when it is determined that work does not constitute substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage.

(Ord. MC-1622, passed 1-17-2024)

In addition to the requirements of the building code and this chapter, 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 this chapter and the flood provisions of the building codes, including flood insurance studies and 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 this chapter; 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 issuance or denial; and records of enforcement actions taken pursuant to this chapter and the flood resistant provisions of the building codes.

(Ord. MC-1622, passed 1-17-2024)