Source: https://ecode360.com/14813703
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 04:37:44+00:00

Document:
§ 230.04 Abrogation and greater restrictions.
§ 230.06 Warning and disclaimer of liability.
§ 230.07 Designation of Floodplain Administrator.
§ 230.09 Duties and responsibilities of Floodplain Administrator.
§ 230.10 Application procedures and requirements.
§ 230.11 Review of application by others.
§ 230.14 Start of construction.
§ 230.17 Identification of floodplain areas.
§ 230.18 Description and special requirements of identified floodplain areas.
§ 230.19 Changes in Identification of Area.
§ 230.21 Jurisdictional Boundary Changes.
§ 230.23 Elevation and Floodproofing Requirements.
§ 230.24 Design and Construction Standards.
§ 230.25 Development which may endanger human life.
§ 230.26 Special Requirements for Subdivisions and Development.
§ 230.27 Special Requirements for Manufactured Homes.
§ 230.28 Special Requirements for Recreational Vehicles.
§ 230.30 Existing structures identified floodplain areas.
§ 230.34 Variance procedures and conditions.
The Legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has, by the passage of the Pennsylvania Flood Plain Management Act of 1978, delegated the responsibility to local governmental units to adopt floodplain management regulations to promote public health, safety, and the general welfare of its citizenry. Therefore, the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Crescent does hereby order as follows.
It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, business or corporation to undertake, or cause to be undertaken, any construction or development anywhere within the Township of Crescent unless a permit has been obtained from the Floodplain Administrator.
If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this chapter shall be declared invalid for any reason whatsoever, such a decision shall not affect the remaining portions of the Ordinance, which shall remain in full force and effect, and for this purpose the provisions of this chapter are hereby declared to be severable.
This chapter shall not create liability on the part of the Township of Crescent or any officer or employee thereof for any flood damages that result from reliance on this chapter or any administrative decision lawfully made thereunder.
The Manager is hereby appointed to administer and enforce this chapter and is referred to herein as the Floodplain Administrator. The Floodplain Administrator may fulfill the duties and responsibilities set forth in these regulations; delegate duties and responsibilities set forth in these regulations to qualified technical personnel, plan examiners, inspectors, and other employees; or enter into a written agreement or written contract with another agency or private sector entity to administer specific provisions of these regulations. Administration of any part of these regulations by another entity shall not relieve the community of its responsibilities pursuant to the participation requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program as set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations at 44 CFR 59.22.
In the absence of a designated Floodplain Administrator, the Floodplain Administrator duties are to be fulfilled by the President of the Board of Commissioners.
A permit shall be required before any construction or development is undertaken within any area of the Township of Crescent.
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 750.1 et seq., 32 P.S. § 693.1 et seq. and 35 P.S. § 691.1 et seq., respectively.
In the case of existing structures, prior to the issuance of any development/permit, the Floodplain Administrator shall review the history of repairs to the subject building, so that any repetitive loss concerns can be addressed before the permit is issued.
In the event the Floodplain Administrator discovers that the work does not comply with the permit application or any applicable laws and ordinances, or that there has been a false statement or misrepresentation by any applicant, the Floodplain Administrator shall revoke the permit and report such fact to the Board of Commissioners for whatever action it considers necessary.
The Floodplain Administrator shall maintain in perpetuity all records associated with the requirements of this chapter including, but not limited to, finished construction elevation data, permitting, inspection and enforcement.
If available, information concerning flood depths, pressures, velocities, impact and uplift forces and other factors associated with a base flood; and floodway area (See § 230.18A) when combined with all other existing and anticipated development, will not increase the base flood elevation at any point.
Documentation, certified by a registered professional engineer or architect, to show that the cumulative effect of any proposed development within an AE Area/District without floodway (See § 230.18B) when combined with all other existing and anticipated development, will not increase the base flood elevation more than one foot at any point within the community.
The amount, location and purpose of any materials or substances referred to in §§ 230.24F; and 230.25 which are intended to be used, produced, stored or otherwise maintained on site.
A description of the safeguards incorporated into the design of the proposed structure to prevent leaks or spills of the dangerous materials or substances listed in § 230.25 during a base flood.
Applications for permits shall be accompanied by a fee, payable to the municipality based upon the estimated cost of the proposed construction as determined by the Floodplain Administrator.
A copy of all plans and applications for any proposed construction or development in any identified floodplain area to be considered for approval may be submitted by the Floodplain Administrator to any other appropriate agencies and/or individuals (e.g, Planning Commission, Municipal Engineer, etc.) for review and comment.
In addition to the permit, the Floodplain Administrator shall issue a placard which shall be displayed on the premises during the time construction is in progress. This placard shall show the number of the permit and the date of its issuance, and shall be signed by the Floodplain Administrator.
Work on the proposed construction or development shall begin within 180 days after the date of issuance of the development permit. Work shall also be completed within 12 months after the date of issuance of the permit or the permit shall expire unless a time extension is granted, in writing, by the Floodplain Administrator. The issuance of development permit does not refer to the zoning approval.
Time extensions shall be granted only if a written request is submitted by the applicant, who sets forth sufficient and reasonable cause for the Floodplain Administrator to approve such a request and the original permit is compliant with this chapter and FIRM/FIS in effect at the time the extension is granted.
Penalties. Any person who fails to comply with any or all of the requirements or provisions of this chapter or who fails or refuses to comply with any notice, order or direction of the Floodplain Administrator or any other authorized employee of the municipality shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall pay a fine to the Township of Crescent of not less than $25 nor more than $600 plus costs of prosecution. In addition to the above penalties all other actions are hereby reserved including an action in equity for the proper enforcement of this chapter. The imposition of a fine or penalty for any violation of, or noncompliance with, this chapter shall not excuse the violation or noncompliance or permit it to continue. All such persons shall be required to correct or remedy such violations and noncompliance within a reasonable time. Any development initiated or any structure or building constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, altered, or relocated, in noncompliance with this chapter may be declared by the Board of Commissioners to be a public nuisance and abatable as such.
Any person aggrieved by any action or decision of the Floodplain Administrator concerning the administration of the provisions of this chapter may appeal to the Court of Common Pleas. Such appeal must be filed, in writing, within 30 days after the decision, determination or action of the Floodplain Administrator.
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Court of Common Pleas may seek relief therefrom by appeal to court, as provided by the laws of this state including the Pennsylvania Flood Plain Management Act.
Any areas of the Township of Crescent classified as Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and the accompanying Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) dated September 26, 2014, and issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the most recent revision thereof, including all digital data developed as part of the Flood Insurance Study.
The above referenced FIS and FIRMs, and any subsequent revisions and amendments, are hereby adopted by the Township of Crescent and declared to be a part of this chapter.
The identified floodplain area may be revised or modified by the Board of Commissioners where studies or information provided by a qualified agency or person documents the need for such revision. However, prior to any such change to the special flood hazard area, approval must be obtained from FEMA. Additionally, as soon as practicable, but not later than six months after the date such information becomes available, a community shall notify FEMA of the changes to the special flood hazard area by submitting technical or scientific data. See § 230.22B for situations where FEMA notification is required.
Should a dispute concerning any identified floodplain boundary arise, an initial determination shall be made by the Township of Crescent and any party aggrieved by this decision or determination may appeal to the Board of Commissioners. The burden of proof shall be on the appellant.
No encroachment, alteration, or improvement of any kind shall be made to any watercourse unless it can be shown that the activity will not reduce or impede the flood carrying capacity of the watercourse in any way.
Upon receipt of the Administrator's conditional approval of map change and prior to approving the proposed encroachments, a community shall provide evidence to FEMA of the adoption of floodplain management ordinances incorporating the increased base flood elevations and/or revised floodway reflecting the post-project condition.
Upon completion of the proposed encroachments, a community shall provide as-built certifications. FEMA will initiate a final map revision upon receipt of such certifications in accordance with 44 CFR 67.
In A Zones, where there are no base flood elevations specified on the FIRM, any new construction or substantial improvement shall have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated up to, or above, the regulatory flood elevation determined in accordance with § 230.18C of this chapter.
The design and construction standards and specifications contained in the 2009 International Building Code (IBC) and in the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) or the most recent revisions thereof and ASCE 24 and 34 Pa. Code (Chapters 401 through 405, as amended) shall be utilized, where they are more restrictive.
In A Zones, where no base flood elevations are specified on the FIRM, any new construction or substantial improvement shall have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated or completely floodproofed up to, or above, the regulatory flood elevation determined in accordance with § 230.18C of this chapter.
Fully enclosed space below the lowest floor (excluding basements) which will be used solely for the parking of a vehicle, building access, or incidental storage in an area other than a basement, shall be designed and constructed to allow for the automatic entry and exit of flood waters for the purpose of equalizing hydrostatic forces on exterior walls. The term "fully enclosed space" also includes crawl spaces.
Designs for meeting this requirement must either be certified by a registered professional engineer or architect, or meet or exceed the following minimum criteria: a minimum of two openings having a net total area of not less than one square inch for every square foot of enclosed space.
Historic structures. Historic structures undergoing repair or rehabilitation that would constitute a substantial improvement as defined in this chapter must comply with all chapter requirements that do not preclude the structure's continued designation as a historic structure. Documentation that a specific chapter requirement will cause removal of the structure from the National Register of Historic Places or the State Inventory of Historic places must be obtained from the Secretary of the Interior or the State Historic Preservation Officer. Any exemption from chapter requirements will be the minimum necessary to preserve the historic character and design of the structure.
The structure will be located on the site so as to cause the least obstruction to the flow of flood waters.
Permanently affixed utility equipment and appliances such as furnaces, heaters, washers, dryers, etc, are prohibited.
Openings may be equipped with screens, louvers, etc., or other coverings or devices provided that they permit the automatic entry and exit of flood waters.
All new or replacement water supply and sanitary sewer facilities and systems shall be located, designed and constructed to minimize or eliminate flood damages and the infiltration of flood waters.
Sanitary sewer facilities and systems shall be designed to prevent the discharge of untreated sewage into flood waters.
The design and construction provisions of the UCC and FEMA #348, Protecting Building Utilities From Flood Damages and The International Private Sewage Disposal Code shall be utilized.
Storage. All materials that are buoyant, flammable, explosive, or in times of flooding could be injurious to human, animal, or plant life, and not listed in § 230.25, Development which may endanger human life, shall be stored at or above the regulatory flood elevation or floodproofed to the maximum extent possible.
Placement of buildings and structures. All buildings and structures shall be designed, located, and constructed so as to offer the minimum obstruction to the flow of water and shall be designed to have a minimum effect upon the flow and height of flood water.
Fuel supply systems. All gas and oil supply systems shall be designed to prevent the infiltration of flood waters into the system and discharges from the system into flood waters. Additional provisions shall be made for the drainage of these systems in the event that flood water infiltration occurs.
International Residential Building Code (IRC) 2009 or the latest edition thereof: §§ R104, R105, R109, R322, Appendix E, and Appendix J.
Within any identified floodplain area, any structure of the kind described in Subsection A, below, shall be prohibited. If a variance is obtained in accordance with the criteria in §§ 230.32 through 230.34, then the following provisions apply: (§ 230.25B, C, and D).
Within any floodway area, any structure of the kind described in Subsection A, above, shall be prohibited. Where permitted within any identified floodplain area, any new or substantially improved residential structure of the kind described in § 230.25A, above, shall be elevated to remain completely dry up to at least 1 1/2 feet above base flood elevation and built in accordance with §§ 230.22, 230-23, and 230.24.
Any such structure, or part thereof, that will be built below the regulatory flood elevation shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the standards for completely dry floodproofing contained in the publication Flood-Proofing Regulations (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, June 1972 as amended March 1992), or with some other equivalent watertight standard.
All subdivision proposals and development proposals containing at least 50 lots or at least five acres, whichever is the lesser, in identified floodplain areas where base flood elevation data are not available shall be supported by hydrologic and hydraulic engineering analyses that determine base flood elevations and floodway information. The analyses shall be prepared by a licensed professional engineer in a format required by FEMA for a conditional letter of map revision and letter of map revision. Submittal requirements and processing fees shall be the responsibility of the applicant.
Within any identified floodplain area, manufactured homes shall be prohibited within the area measured 50 feet landward from the top-of-bank of any watercourse.
Have all ductwork and utilities including HVAC/heat pump elevated to the regulatory flood elevation.
Installation of manufactured homes shall be done in accordance with the manufacturers' installation instructions as provided by the manufacturer. Where the applicant cannot provide the above information, the requirements of Appendix E of the 2009 International Residential Building Code or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Permanent Foundations for Manufactured Housing, 1984 Edition, draft or latest revision thereto and 34 Pa. Code Chapter 401 through 405 shall apply.
Consideration shall be given to the installation requirements of the 2009 IBC, and the 2009 IRC or the most recent revisions thereto and 34 Pa. Code, as amended where appropriate and/or applicable to units where the manufacturers' standards for anchoring cannot be provided or were not established for the proposed unit(s) installation.
Meet the permit requirements for manufactured homes in § 230.27.
The provisions of this chapter do not require any changes or improvements to be made to lawfully existing structures. However, when an improvement is made to any existing structure, the provisions of § 230.31 shall apply.
No expansion or enlargement of an existing structure shall be allowed within AE Area/District without floodway that would, together with all other existing and anticipated development, increase the BFE more than one foot at any point.
Any modification, alteration, reconstruction, or improvement of any kind to an existing structure to an extent or amount of 50% or more of its market value, shall constitute a substantial improvement and shall be undertaken only in full compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
The above activity shall also address the requirements of 34 Pa. Code, as amended and the 2009 IBC and the 2009 IRC.
Within any floodway area/district (See § 230.18A), no new construction or development shall be allowed, unless the appropriate permit is obtained from the Department of Environmental Protection Regional Office.
Within any AE Area/District without Floodway (See § 230.18B), no new construction or development shall be located within the area measured 50 feet landward from the top-of-bank of any watercourse, unless the appropriate permit is obtained from the Department of Environmental Protection Regional Office.
Note: If a municipality has a Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB), applications for a variance regarding flood plain provisions, whether or not they are amended into the municipality's zoning code, must be acted on by the Zoning Hearing Board following MPC procedures for ZHB hearings, decisions, etc. See MPC 909.1(a)(5). If a municipality does not have a ZHB, they must establish a process by which to consider variance requests.
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10909.1(a)(5).
If compliance with any of the requirements of this chapter would result in an exceptional hardship to a prospective builder, developer or landowner, the Township of Crescent may, upon request, grant relief from the strict application of the requirements.
Except for a possible modification of the regulatory flood elevation requirement involved, no variance shall be granted for any of the other requirements pertaining specifically to development regulated by prohibited activities § 230.29 or to development which may endanger human life (§ 230.25).
In granting any variance, the Township of Crescent shall attach whatever reasonable conditions and safeguards it considers necessary in order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, and to achieve the objectives of this chapter.
A complete record of all variance requests and related actions shall be maintained by the Township of Crescent. In addition, a report of all variances granted during the year shall be included in the annual report to the FEMA.
Note: In granting a variance, municipalities are held to the standard provided in 44 CFR 60.6. If a variance is granted erroneously, a municipality remains liable for failing to meet the minimum standards of the National Flood Insurance Program.
A flood which has a one-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the "one-hundred-year flood" or "one-percent annual chance flood").
This term is an umbrella term that includes all of the areas within which the community has selected to enforce floodplain regulations. It will always include the area identified as the special flood hazard area on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Flood Insurance Study, but may include additional areas identified by the community. See §§ 230.17 and 230.18 for the specifics on what areas the community has included in the identified floodplain area.
The lowest floor of the lowest fully enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished, flood-resistant partially enclosed area, used solely for parking of vehicles, building access, and incidental storage, in an area other than a basement area is not considered the lowest floor of a building, provided that such space is not designed and built so that the structure is in violation of the applicable non-elevation design requirements of this chapter.
The replacement of existing work with equivalent materials for the purpose of its routine maintenance and upkeep, but not including the cutting away of any wall, partition or portion thereof, the removal or cutting of any structural beam or bearing support, or the removal or change of any required means of egress, or rearrangement of parts of a structure affecting the exitway requirements; nor shall minor repairs include addition to, alteration of, replacement or relocation of any standpipe, water supply, sewer, drainage, drain leader, gas, oil, waste, vent, or similar piping, electric wiring, mechanical or other work affecting public health or general safety.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective start date of this chapter and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures. Any construction started after July 16, 1981, and before the effective start date of this chapter is subject to the ordinance in effect at the time the permit was issued, provided the start of construction was within 180 days of permit issuance.
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 floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement occurred after December 31, 1974, or on or after the community's initial Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) dated July 16, 1981, whichever is later, and, as such, would be required to be compliant with the regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program.
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement occurred on or before December 31, 1974, or before the community's initial Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) dated July 16, 1981, whichever is later, and, as such, would not be required to be compliant with the regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program.
An area in the floodplain subject to a one-percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the FIRM as Zone A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, or, AH.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract, or parcel of land by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions of land including changes in existing lot lines for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court for distribution to heirs, or devisees, transfer of ownership or building or lot development: Provided, however, that the subdivision by lease of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres, not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential dwelling, shall be exempted.
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, of which the cost equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred substantial damage or repetitive loss regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include 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.
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.
This chapter shall be effective on July 10, 2014, and shall remain in force until modified, amended or rescinded by Township of Crescent, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.

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