§ 23-605. SITE PLANS AND CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS

a. Information for development in flood hazard areas. The site plan or construction documents for any development subject to the requirements of this Division shall be drawn to scale and shall include, as applicable to the proposed development:

(1)   Delineation of flood hazard areas, floodway boundaries and flood zone(s), base flood elevation(s), and ground elevations if necessary for review of the proposed development.

(2)   Where base flood elevations or floodway data are not included on the FIRM or in the Flood Insurance Study, they shall be established in accordance with section 23-605(b)2 or (b)3.

(3)   Where the parcel on which the proposed development will take place will have more than 50 lots or is larger than 5 acres and the base flood elevations are not included on the FIRM or in the Flood Insurance Study, such elevations shall be established in accordance with section 23-605(b)1.

(4)   Location of the proposed activity and proposed structures, and locations of existing buildings and structures.

(5)   Location, extent, amount, and proposed final grades of any filling, grading, or excavation.

(6)   Where the placement of fill is proposed, the amount, type, and source of fill material; compaction specifications; a description of the intended purpose of the fill areas; and evidence that the proposed fill areas are the minimum necessary to achieve the intended purpose.

(7)   Existing and proposed alignment of any proposed alteration of a watercourse.

The Floodplain Administrator is authorized to waive the submission of site plans, construction documents, and other data that are required by this Division but that are not required to be prepared by a registered design professional if 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 Division.

b. Information in flood hazard areas without base flood elevations (approximate Zone A).  Where flood hazard areas are delineated on the FIRM and base flood elevation data have not been provided, the Floodplain Administrator shall:

(1)   Require the applicant to include base flood elevation data prepared in accordance with currently accepted engineering practices.

(2)   Obtain, review, and provide to applicants base flood elevation and floodway data available from a federal or state agency or other source or require the applicant to obtain and use base flood elevation and floodway data available from a federal or state agency or other source.

(3)   Where base flood elevation and floodway data are not available from another source, where the available data are deemed by the Floodplain Administrator to not reasonably reflect flooding conditions, or where the available data are known to be scientifically or technically incorrect or otherwise inadequate:

(a)    Require the applicant to include base flood elevation data prepared in accordance with currently accepted engineering practices; or

(b)   Specify that the base flood elevation is two (2) feet above the highest adjacent grade at the location of the development, provided there is no evidence indicating flood depths have been or may be greater than two (2) feet.

(4)   Where the base flood elevation data are to be used to support a Letter of Map Change from FEMA, advise the applicant that the analyses shall be prepared by a Florida licensed engineer in a format required by FEMA, and that it shall be the responsibility of the applicant to satisfy the submittal requirements and pay the processing fees.

c. Additional analyses and certifications.  As applicable to the location and nature of the proposed development activity, and in addition to the requirements of this section, the applicant shall have the following analyses signed and sealed by a Florida licensed engineer for submission with the site plan and construction documents: 

(1)   For development activities proposed to be located in a regulatory floodway, a floodway encroachment analysis that demonstrates that the encroachment of the proposed development will not cause any increase in base flood elevations; where the applicant proposes to undertake development activities that do increase base flood elevations, the applicant shall submit such analysis to FEMA as specified in section 23-605(d) and shall submit the Conditional Letter of Map Revision, if issued by FEMA, with the site plan and construction documents.

(2)   For development activities proposed to be located in a riverine flood hazard area for which base flood elevations are included in the Flood Insurance Study or on the FIRM and floodways have not been designated, no encroachment, including fill material and structures, shall be located within a distance of the stream bank equal to two (2) times the width of the stream (measured at top of bank) or twenty (20) feet each side from the top of bank, whichever is greater, unless hydrologic and hydraulic analyses that demonstrate that the cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated flood hazard area encroachments, will not increase the base flood elevation more than one (1) foot at any point within the community.  This requirement does not apply in isolated flood hazard areas not connected to a riverine flood hazard area or in flood hazard areas identified as Zone AO or Zone AH.

(3)   For alteration of a watercourse, an engineering analysis prepared in accordance with standard engineering practices which demonstrates that the flood-carrying capacity of the altered or relocated portion of the watercourse will not be decreased, and certification that the altered watercourse shall be maintained in a manner which preserves the channel's flood-carrying capacity; the applicant shall submit the analysis to FEMA as specified in section 23-605(d).

d. Submission of additional data. When additional hydrologic, hydraulic or other engineering data, studies, and additional analyses are submitted to support an application, the applicant has the right to seek a Letter of Map Change from FEMA to change the base flood elevations, change floodway boundaries, or change boundaries of flood hazard areas shown on FIRMs, and to submit such data to FEMA for such purposes.  The analyses shall be prepared by a Florida licensed engineer in a format required by FEMA. Submittal requirements and processing fees shall be the responsibility of the applicant. 

(Ord. No. 2016-19, § 2, 10-18-16)