(A) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to guide development in the flood hazard areas in order to reduce the potential for loss of life and property, reduce the potential for health and safety hazards and to reduce the potential for extraordinary public expenditures for flood protection and relief. Under the authority granted to local units of government to control land use within their jurisdiction, which includes taking into account the effects of flooding, floodplain management regulations are established in order to accomplish the following:
(1) To prevent unwise developments from increasing flood or drainage hazards to others;
(2) To protect new buildings and major improvements to buildings from flood damage;
(3) To protect human life and health from the hazards of flooding;
(4) To lessen the burden on the taxpayer for flood control projects repairs to flood-damaged public facilities and utilities and flood rescue and relief operations;
(5) To maintain property values and a stable tax base by minimizing the potential for creating flood blighted areas; and
(6) To make federally subsidized flood insurance available for property in Cass County by fulfilling the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program.
(a) Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate including but not limited to:
1. Construction, reconstruction or placement of a building or any addition to a building valued at more than $1,000;
2. Installing a manufactured home or mobile home on a site. preparing a site for a manufactured home or mobile home, or installing a recreational vehicle on a site for more than 180 days;
3. Installing utilities, erection of walls and fences, construction of roads or similar projects;
4. Construction of flood control structures such as levees, dikes, channel improvements and the like;
5. Mining, dredging, filling, grading, excavation or drilling operations;
6. Construction and/or reconstruction of bridges or culverts;
7. Storage of materials; or
8. Any other activity that might change the direction, height or velocity of flood or surface waters.
(b) Development does not include activities such as the maintenance of existing buildings and facilities such as painting; re-roofing; resurfacing roads; or gardening, plowing, and similar agricultural practices that do not involve filling, grading, excavation, or the construction of permanent buildings.
EXISTING MOBILE HOME PARK OR MANUFACTURED HOME SUBDIVISION. A mobile home park or manufactured home subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the mobile homes or the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including at minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets. and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted by Cass County as shown on the Federal Insurance Rate Maps dated August 3, 1981.
EXPANSION TO AN EXISTING MOBILE HOME PARK OR MANUFACTURED HOME SUBDIVISION. The preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the mobile homes or 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).
FHBM. Flood Hazard Boundary Map.
FIRM. Flood Insurance Rate Map.
FLOOD. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow, the unusual and rapid accumulation, or the runoff of surface waters from any source.
FLOODPLAIN. The channel proper and the areas adjoining any wetland, lake or watercourse which have been or hereafter may be covered by the regulatory flood. The floodplain includes both the floodway and the floodway fringe districts .
FLOOD PROTECTION GRADE or the FPG. The elevation of the regulatory flood plus 2 feet at any given location in the SFHA.
FLOODWAY. The channel of a river or stream and those portions of the flood plains adjoining the channel which are reasonably required to efficiently carry and discharge the peak flood flow of the regulatory flood of any river or stream.
FLOODWAY FRINGE. Those portions of the flood hazard areas lying outside the floodway.
LOWEST FLOOR. The lowest of the following:
(b) The garage floor, if the garage is the lowest level of the building;
(c) The first floor of buildings elevated on pilings or constructed on a crawl space with permanent openings; or
(d) The floor level of any enclosure below an elevated building where the walls of the enclosure provide any resistance to the flow of flood waters unless:
1. The walls are designed to automatically equalize the hydrostatic flood forces on the walls by allowing for the entry and exit of flood waters, through providing a minimum of 2 openings in addition to doorways and windows) having a total area of 1 square foot for every 2 square feet of enclosed floor area subject to flooding. The bottom of all such openings shall be no higher than 1 foot above the enclosed areas floor.
2. The enclosed space shall be usable for non-residential purposes and building access.
NEW MOBILE HOME PARK OR MANUFACTURED HOME SUBDIVISION. A mobile home park or manufactured home subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the mobile homes or 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.
REGULATORY FLOOD. The flood having a 1% probability of being equaled or exceeded in any given year, as calculated by a method and procedure which is acceptable to and approved by the Indiana Natural Resources Commission. The regulatory flood elevation at any location is as defined herein. The REGULATORY FLOOD is also known by the term BASE FLOOD.
SFHA or SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA. Those lands within the jurisdiction of Cass County that are subject to inundation by the regulatory flood. The SFHAs of Cass County are generally identified as such on the Flood Insurance Rate Map prepared for Cass County by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and dated August 3, 1981.
STRUCTURE. A structure that is principally above ground and is enclosed by walls and a roof. The term includes a gas or liquid storage tank, a mobile home, a manufactured home or a prefabricated building. The term also includes recreational vehicles to be installed on site for more than 180 days.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT. Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which 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” regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does no include improvements of structures to correct existing violations state or local health, sanitary or safety code requirements or any alteration of a “historic structure”, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structures continued designation as a “historic structure”.
(C) Duties of the Administrator. The Zoning Administrator for the Cass County Plan Commission is appointed to review all development and subdivision proposals to insure compliance with this section, including but not limited to the following duties:
(1) Ensure that all development activities within the SFHAs of the jurisdiction of the Cass County Plan Commission meet the requirement of this section;
(2) Provide information and assistance to citizens upon request at permit procedures and floodplain construction techniques;
(3) Ensure that construction authorization has been granted by the Indiana Natural Resources Commission for all development projects to division (F) below, and maintain a record of such authorization (either copy of actual permit or letter of recommendations);
(4) Maintain a record of the “as-built” elevation of the lowest floor (including basement) of all new and/or substantially improved buildings constructed in the SFHA;
(5) Maintain a record of the engineer’s certificate and the “as built” floodproofed elevation of all buildings subject to division (G) this section;
(6) Cooperate with state and federal floodplain management agencies to improve base flood and floodway data and to improve the administration of this section. Submit reports as required for the National Flood Insurance Program; and
(7) Maintain for public inspection and furnish upon request regulatory flood data, SFHA maps, copies of DNR permits and letters of recommendation, federal permit documents, and “as built” elevation and floodproof for all buildings constructed subject to this section.
(D) Regulatory flood elevation. This section’s protection standard is the regulatory flood. The best available regulatory flood data is listed below. Whenever a party disagrees with the best available data, the party submitting the detailed engineering study needs to replace existing data with better data and submit it to the Department of Natural Resources for review and approval.
(1) The regulatory flood elevation for the SFHAs of the Wabash River and Eel River and Goose Creek and Tick Creek and any other regulated waterway shall be as delineated on the 100-year flood profiles in the Flood Insurance Study of Cass County prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and dated February 3, 1981.
(2) The regulatory flood elevation for the SFHAs delineated as an “AH Zone” or “AO Zone” the elevation (or depth) will be delineated as “Zone A” on the Cass County Flood Insurance Rate Map. If the SFHA is delineated as “Zone A” on the County Flood Insurance Rate Map, the regulatory flood elevation shall be according to the best data available as provided by the Department of Natural Resources.
(E) Improvement location permit. No person, firm, corporation or governmental body not exempted by state law shall commence any “development” in the SFHA without first obtaining an improvement location permit from the Office of the Zoning Administrator. The Zoning Administrator shall not issue an Improvement Location Pen-nit if the proposed “development” does not meet the requirements of this chapter.
(1) The requirements for the application of an improvement location permit are determined herein.
(2) Upon receipt of an application for an improvement location permit, the Zoning Administrator shall determine if the site is located within an identified floodway or within the floodplain where the limits of the floodway have not yet been determined.
(a) If the site is in an identified floodway the Zoning Administrator shall require the applicant to forward the application, along with all pertinent plans and specifications, to the Department of Natural Resources and apply for a permit for construction in a floodway. Under the provisions of I.C. 14-28-3-5 a permit from the Natural Resources Commission is required prior to the issuance of a local building permit for any excavation, deposit, construction, or obstruction activity located in the floodway. This includes land preparation activities such as filling, grading, clearing and paving and the like undertaken before the actual start of construction of the building. No action shall be taken by the Zoning Administrator until a permit has been issued by the Natural Resources Commission granting approval for construction in the floodway. Once a permit has been issued by the Natural Resources Commission, the Zoning Administrator may issue the local improvement location permit, provided the provisions contained in divisions (F) and (G) of This section have been met. The improvement location permit cannot be less restrictive than the permit issued by the Natural Resources Commission.
(b) If the site is located in an identified floodway fringe then the Zoning Administrator may issue the local improvement location permit provided the provisions contained in divisions (F) and (G) of this section have been met. The key provision is that the lowest floor of any new or substantially improved structure shall be at or above the flood protection grade.
(c) If the site is in an identified floodplain where the limits of the floodway and floodway fringe have not yet been determined (shown as Zone A on the Flood Insurance Rate Map), and the drainage area upstream of the site is greater than 1 square mile, the Zoning Administrator shall require the applicant to forward the application, along with all pertinent plans and specifications, to the Department of Natural Resources for review and comment. No action shall be taken by the Zoning Administrator until either permit for construction in the floodway or a letter of recommendation citing the 100-year flood elevation and the recommended flood protection grade has been received from the Department of Natural Resources. Once the Zoning Administrator has received the proper permit or letter of recommendation approving the proposed development, an improvement location permit may be issued provided the conditions of the improvement location permit are not less restrictive than the conditions received from Natural Resources and the provisions contained herein have been met.
(F) Preventing increased damages. No development in the SFHA shall create a damaging or potentially damaging increase in flood heights or velocity or threat to public health and safety.
(1) Within the floodway identified on the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map or the Flood Insurance Rate Map, the following standards shall apply:
(a) No development shall be allowed which acting alone or in combination with existing or future similar works, will cause any increase in the elevation of the regulatory flood; and
(b) For all projects involving channel modifications or fill (including levees) Cass County shall submit a request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to revise the regulatory flood data.
(2) Within all SFHAs identified as A Zones (no 100-year flood elevation and/or floodway/floodway fringe delineation has been provided) the following standard shall apply: The total cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated development, will not increase the regulatory flood elevation more than 1/10 of 1 foot and will not increase flood damages or potential flood damages.
(3) Public health standards in all SFHAs:
(a) No development in the SFRA shall include locating or storing chemicals, explosives buoyant materials, flammable liquids, pollutants or other hazardous or toxic materials below the flood protection grade, unless the materials are stored in a storage tank or floodproofed building constructed according to the requirements of division (G) of this Section.
(b) New and replacement sanitary sewer lines and on-site waste disposal systems may be permitted providing all manholes or other above ground openings located below the FPG are watertight.
(G) Protecting buildings. In addition to the damage prevention requirements of division (F) above, all buildings to be located in the SFHA shall be protected from flood damage below the FPG.
(1) This building protection requirement applies to the following situations:
(a) Construction or placement of any new building valued at more than $1,000;
(b) Structural alterations made to an existing building that increase the market value of the building by more than 50% (excluding the value of the land);
(c) Reconstruction or repairs made to a damaged building that are valued at or more than 50% of the market value of the building (excluding the value of the land) before damage occurred;
(d) Installing a mobile home or manufactured home on a new site or a new mobile home or manufactured home on an existing site. This section does not apply to returning the existing mobile home or manufactured home to the same site it lawfully occupied before it was removed to avoid flood damage; and
(e) Installing a recreational vehicle on a site for more than 180 days.
(2) This building protection requirement may be met by one of the following methods. The Zoning Administrator shall maintain a record of compliance with these building protection standards as required herein.
(a) A residential or nonresidential building may be constructed on a permanent land fill in accordance with the following:
1. The fill shall be placed in layers no greater than 1 foot deep before compacting to 95% of the maximum density obtainable with the Standard Proctor Test method.
2. The fill should extend at least 10 feet beyond the foundation of the building before sloping below the FPG.
3. The fill shall be protected against erosion and scour during flooding by vegetative cover, riprap or bulkheading. If vegetative cover is used, the slopes shall be no steeper than 3 horizontal to 1 vertical.
4. The fill shall not adversely affect the flow of surface drainage from or onto neighboring properties.
5. The lowest floor (as defined) shall be at or above the FPG.
(b) A residential or nonresidential building may be elevated in accordance with the following:
1. The building or improvements shall be elevated on posts, piers, columns, extended walls or other types of similar foundation provided:
a. Walls of any enclosure below the elevated floor shall be designed to automatically equalize hydrostatic flood forces on the walls by allowing for the entry and exit of flood water through providing a minimum of 2 openings (in addition to doorways and windows) having a total area of 1, 1 square foot for every 2 square feet of enclosed floor area subject to flooding. The bottom of all such opening shall be no higher than 1 foot above the enclosed area’s floor.
b. Any enclosure below the elevated floor is used for nonresidential purposes and building access.
2. The foundation and supporting members shall be anchored and aligned in relation to flood flows and adjoining structures so as to minimize exposure to known hydrodynamic forces such as current, waves, ice and floating debris.
3. All areas below the FPG shall be constructed of materials resistant to flood damage. The lowest floor (including basement) all electrical, heating, ventilating, plumbing and air conditioning equipment and utility meters shall be located at or above the FPG Water and sewer pipes, electrical and telephone lines, submersible pumps and other waterproofed service facilities may be located below the FPG.
(c) Mobile homes, manufactured homes and recreational vehicles to installed or substantially improved on a site for more than 180 days must meet one of the following anchoring requirements:
1. The mobile home or manufactured home shall be elevated on a permanent foundation such that the lowest floor shall be at or above the FPG and securely anchored to an adequately anchored foundation system to resist flotation, collapse and lateral movement. This requirement applies to all mobile homes or manufactured homes to be placed on a site;
a. Outside a mobile home park or manufactured home subdivision;
b. In a new mobile home park or manufactured home subdivision;
c. In an expansion to an existing mobile home park or manufactured home subdivision; or
d. In an existing mobile home park or manufactured home subdivision on which a mobile home or manufactured home has incurred “substantial damage” as a result of a flood.
2. The mobile home or manufactured home shall be elevated so that the lowest floor of the mobile home or manufactured home chassis is supported by reinforced piers or other foundation elements that are no less than 36 inches in height above grade and be securely anchored to an adequately anchored foundation system to resist flotation, collapse and lateral movement. This requirement applies to all mobile homes and manufactured homes to be placed on a site in an existing mobile home park or manufactured home subdivision that has not been substantially damaged by flood.
(d) Recreational vehicles placed on a site shall either:
1. Be on the site for less than 180 consecutive days;
2. Be fully licensed and ready for highway use (defined as being on its wheels or jacking system, is attached to the site only by quick disconnect type utilities and security devices, and has no permanently attached additions); or
3. Meet the requirements for mobile homes or manufactured homes herein.
(e) A non-residential building may be floodproofed to the FPG (in lieu of elevating) if done in accordance with the following:
1. A Registered Professional Engineer shall certify that the building has been designed so that below the FPG, the structure and attendant utility facilities are watertight and capable of resisting the effects of the regulatory flood. The building design shall take into account flood velocities, duration, rate of rise, hydrostatic pressures and impacts from debris or ice.
2. Floodproofing measures shall be operable without human intervention and without an outside source of electricity.
(H) Other development requirements. The Subdivision Control Officer in conjunction with the Zoning Administrator shall review all proposed subdivisions to determine whether the subdivision lies in a flood hazard area as defined by ordinance. The Cass County Subdivision Control Ordinance regulates the development of subdivisions in the flood hazard area.
(I) Variances. The Board of Zoning Appeals may consider issuing a variance to the terms and provisions of this section as provided for herein.
(J) Disclaimer of liability. The degree of flood protection required by this section is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on available information derived from engineering and scientific methods of study. Larger floods can and will occur on rare occasions. Therefore, this section does not create any liability on the part of the Cass County, Department of Natural Resources, or the State of Indiana, for any flood damage that results from reliance on this section or any administrative decision made lawfully thereunder.
(K) Violations. Failure to obtain an improvement location permit in the SFHA or failure to comply with the requirements of a permit or conditions of a variance shall be deemed to be a violation of this chapter and subject hereto.
(1) The Cass County Plan Commission shall inform the owner that any such violation is considered a willful act to increase flood damages and therefore may cause coverage by a standard flood insurance policy to be suspended.
(2) Nothing herein shall prevent Cass County from taking such other lawful action to prevent or remedy any violations. All costs connected therewith shall accrue to the person or persons responsible.
(1993 Code, § 8-32) (Ord. 93-02, passed 2-1-1993)
