STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA            )

                                                            )                       ORDINANCE NO.  01-02-08

COUNTY  OF NEWBERRY   )

 

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 152 OF THE NEWBERRY COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES RELATING TO FLOOD DAMAGE PREVENTION, SO AS TO ADD CERTAIN DEFINITIONS AND MAKE TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE ORDINANCE TO BRING IT INTO COMPLIANCE WITH STATE AND FEDERAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS, AND OTHER RELATED MATTERS.  

 

WHEREAS, Newberry County Council, as the governing body of Newberry County, has the statutory authority to adopt Ordinances governing the regulation of flood plain hazards, and to make definitions relating to same, in the unincorporated areas of the County, and inside those municipalities in the County which have entered into an Agreement with the County to allow the County’s Flood Damage Prevention Department personnel to enforce the flood plain regulations within such municipalities; and

WHEREAS, Newberry County Council, as authorized by § 4-9-30 of the S.C. Code of Laws, 1976, as amended, and by the Constitution and statutory laws of the State of South Carolina, has the power to make further provision for the orderly regulation of special flood hazard areas and the structures which are placed therein, so as to minimize the risk of loss of life or property damage from flooding and storm water drainage within such areas of the County, and to bring its flood damage prevention program into compliance with state and federal requirements, particularly those relating to flood insurance, all so as to more fully carry out the public policies of the County and State relating to such matters; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED THAT NEWBERRY COUNTY COUNCIL DOES HEREBY MODIFY AND AMEND CHAPTER 152 OF THE NEWBERRY COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES SO AS TO:

1. Amend Section 152.04, entitled “Lands to Which this Chapter Applies,” as follows:

(A) Remove the phrase “and any revision thereto, which are hereby adopted by reference and declared to be a part of this chapter” in the first sentence of paragraph (A), and in its place insert the phrase: “any revisions thereto, including by LOMAs or LOMR-Fs, made prior to the effective date of this amendment to this Chapter, but not thereafter, unless approved by subsequent formal action of Newberry County Council, which are hereby adopted by reference and declared to be a part of this chapter.”

 

2. Amend Section 152.09 by:

            (A) Numbering or alphabetically labeling each separate definition therein in an appropriate manner, consistent with the organizational plan in the Newberry County Code of Ordinances.

            (B) Add the following definition after the definition for “Building” and before the definition for “Development”:

            “Critical Development – Development that (a) is critical to the community’s public health and safety, or (b) is essential to the orderly functioning of a community, or (c) stores or produces highly volatile, toxic or water-reactive materials, or (d) houses occupants that may be insufficiently mobile to avoid loss of life or injury in an emergency.  Examples of critical developments include detention centers, jails, hospitals, schools, fire stations, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, water plants, and gas/oil/ propane storage facilities.”

            (C) Add the following definition after the definition for “Elevated Building” and before the definition for “Existing Construction”:

“Executive Order 11988 (Floodplain Management) – Issued by President Carter in 1977, this order requires that no federally assisted activities be conducted in or have the potential to affect identified special flood hazard areas, unless there is no practicable alternative.”

            (D) Add the following definition after the definition for “Floodway” and before the definition for “Functionally dependent facilities”:

Freeboard - a factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for purposes of flood plain management. “Freeboard” tends to compensate for the many unknown factors that could contribute to flood heights greater than calculated for a selected size flood and floodway conditions, such as wave action, bridge openings, and the hydrological effect of urbanization of the watershed.

            (E) Add the following definition after the definition for “Historic Structure” and before the definition for “Limited storage”:

Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) – applies to all new and renewed flood insurance policies effective on and after June 1, 1997. The NFIP shall enable the purchase of insurance to cover the cost of compliance with land use and control measures established under Section 1361. It provides coverage for the payment of a claim to help pay for the cost to comply with State or community floodplain management laws or ordinances after a flood event in which a building had been declared substantially or repetitively damaged.

            (F) Delete from the definition of “Limited Storage” the following language, the same being the last sentence of that definition:

“If the area is located below the flood elevation in a V, VE and V1-V30 zone it must meet the requirements of Section 450.9 of this chapter.”

            (G) Add the following definition after the definition for “Limited storage” and before the definition for “Lowest floor”:

“Lowest Adjacent Grade – is an elevation of the lowest ground surface that touches any of the exterior walls of a building or proposed building wall.”

            (H) Add the following two definitions after the definition for “New manufactured home park or subdivision” and before the definition for “Start of construction”:

“Repetitive Loss – a building covered by a contract for flood insurance that has incurred flood-related damages on 2 occasions during a 10 year period ending on the date of the event for which a second claim is made, in which the cost of repairing the flood damage, on the average, equaled or exceeded 25% of the market value of the building at the time of each such flood event.”

 

“Section 1316 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 – The act provides that no new flood insurance shall be provided for any property found by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to have been declared by a state or local authority to be in violation of state or local ordinances.”

            (I) Add the following definition after the definition for “Variance”:

“Violation.    The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with these regulations.”

3. To amend Section 152.20 by designating the existing paragraph as paragraph (A) and adding two paragraphs labeled (B) and (C) so that the body of Section 152.20, as amended, will read as follows:

 

            (A) The County shall employ a Flood Prevention Administrator who shall serve as local administrator for purposes of administering and implementing the provisions of this Chapter, and who will have the duties and responsibilities set forth in this chapter in § 152.22 and elsewhere.  In the event of any absence of, or inability of the Flood Prevention Administrator to perform the duties of his or her job, the County Administrator shall administratively designate another County employee to temporarily perform the duties of local administrator.

            (B) Adoption of Letters of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Letters of Map Revision by Fill (LOMR-F) – Adopt all LOMAs and LOMR-Fs that are issued in the areas identified in Section 152.04 of this chapter.

            (C) Designation of Party Responsible for Biennial Report – The Certified Floodplain Manager for Newberry County is hereby designated as the party responsible to submit the Biennial Report to FEMA.

 

4. Amend Section 152.21 as follows:

            (A) Replace subparagraphs now numbered B(6) through (B)(11) inclusive with the following paragraph and subparagraphs labeled as follows:

            “(C) CERTIFICATIONS:

            (6) Floodproofing Certification - When a structure is floodproofed, the applicant shall provide certification from a registered, professional engineer or architect that the non-residential, floodproofed structured meets the floodproofing criteria in Section 152.36(B).

            (7) Certification during construction – A floor elevation or floodproofing certification is required after the lowest floor is completed. As soon as possible after completion of the lowest floor and before any further vertical construction commences, or floodproofing by whatever construction means, whichever is applicable, it shall be the duty of the permit holder to submit to the local administrator a certification of the elevation of the lowest floor or floodproofed elevation, whichever is applicable, as built, in relation to mean sea level. Said certification shall be prepared by or under the direct supervision of a registered land surveyor or professional engineer and certified by the same. Any work done prior to submission of the certification shall be at the permit holder’s risk. The local administrator shall review the floor elevation survey data submitted. The permit holder immediately and prior to further progressive work being permitted to proceed shall correct deficiencies detected by such review. Failure to submit the survey and/or failure to make said corrections required hereby shall cause to issue a stop-work order for the project.

            (8) As-Built Certification – Upon completion of the development a registered professional engineer, land surveyor or architect, whichever professional is appropriate, shall certify that divisions B(6) and B(7) above are built in accordance with the submitted plans and previous pre-development certifications.

            (9) If the proposed project will impact the configuration of the watercourse, floodway, or base flood elevation for which a detailed flood insurance study has been developed, the applicant shall apply for and must receive approval for a Conditional Letter of Map Revision with the Federal Emergency Management Agency prior to actual construction.

            (10) Within 60 days of completion of an alteration of a watercourse, referenced in division (9) above, the applicant shall submit as-built certification, by a registered professional engineer, to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”

 

5. Amend Section 152.22 as follows:

            (A) Amend Section 152.22(F) by deleting the phrase “or 450.2" at the end of that section.

            (B) Amend Section 152.22(I) by deleting the phrase “contained in Sections 450.4, 450.6 and 450.8 of” at the end of that section, so that the amended section will read as follows:

            A registered professional engineer or architect shall certify that the design, specifications and plans for construction are in compliance with the provisions in this chapter.

             

6. Amend Chapter 152 of the County Code to add the following subparagraph to the end of Section 152.23:

            152.23(J) Denial of Flood Insurance under the NFIP: If a structure is declared in violation of the ordinance and the violation is not remedied then the local administrator shall notify the Federal Emergency Management Agency to initiate a Section 1316 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 action against the structure upon the finding that the violator refused to bring the violation into compliance with the ordinance.  Once a violation has been remedied the local administrator shall notify FEMA of the remedy and ask that Section 1316 be rescinded.

 

           

7. Amend Chapter 152 of the County Code to add the following subparagraphs after subparagraph (10) at the end of Section 152.35, relating to General Standards:

            (11) Critical Development – shall be elevated to the 500-year flood elevation or be elevated to the highest known historical flood elevation (where records are available), whichever is greater. If no data exists establishing the 500-year flood elevation or the highest known historical flood elevation, the applicant shall provide a hydrologic and hydraulic engineering analysis that generated 500-year flood elevation data.

            (12) Gas or Liquid Storage Tanks – All gas or liquid storage tanks, either located above ground or buried, shall be anchored to prevent flotation or lateral movement resulting from hydrodynamic and hydrostatic loads.

            (13) Swimming Pool Utility Equipment Rooms – If the building cannot be built at or above the BFE, because of functionality of the equipment then a structure to house the utilities for the pool may be built below the BFE with the following provision:

            a. Meet the requirements for accessory structures in Section 152.36(B)(7).

            b. The utilities must be anchored to prevent flotation and shall be designed to prevent water from entering or accumulating within the components during conditions of the base flood.

            c. A variance may be granted to allow wet floodproofing of the structure.

 

8. Amend Section 152.39 by adding the following subparagraphs labeled as follows:

(A) (B)(1)(c) All such construction shall be required to have drainage paths around structures on slopes to guide water away from structures.

(B) (B)(2)(c) All such construction shall be required to have drainage paths around structures on slopes to guide water away from structures.

9. Amend Chapter 152 of the County Code to add the following sections and divisions after §152.39:

“152.40 Watercourse Alterations.  Applicants who intend to alter a watercourse must:

A. Notify adjacent communities and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Land Resources and Conservation Districts Division, State Coordinator for the National Flood Insurance Program, prior to any alteration or relocation of a watercourse, and submit evidence of such notification to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

B. In addition to the notifications required in Section 152.22(C), written reports of maintenance records must be maintained to show that maintenance has been provided within the altered or relocated portion of said watercourse so that the flood-carrying capacity is not diminished. This maintenance must consist of a comprehensive program of periodic inspections, and routine channel clearing and dredging, or other related functions. The assurance shall consist of a description of maintenance activities, frequency of performance, and the local official responsible for maintenance performance. Records shall be kept on file for FEMA inspection.

C. If the proposed project will impact the configuration of the watercourse, floodway, or base flood elevation for which a detailed Flood Insurance Study has been developed, the applicant shall apply for and must receive approval for a Conditional Letter of Map Revision with the Federal Emergency Management Agency prior to actual construction.

D. Within 60 days of completion of an alteration of a watercourse, referenced in Section 152.22(I), the applicant shall submit an as-built certification, by a

registered professional engineer, to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

            E. Floodway encroachment – Prevent encroachments within floodways unless the certification and flood hazard reduction provisions contained in Sections 152.35 through 152.39 are met.

F. Prevailing Authority – Where a map boundary showing an area of special flood hazard and field elevations disagree, the base flood elevations for flood protection elevations (as found on an elevation profile, floodway data table, etc.) shall prevail. The correct information should be submitted to FEMA as per the map maintenance activity requirements established by FEMA or this Ordinance.

G. Federally Funded Development – The President issued Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management in May 1977.  Executive Order 11988 directs federal agencies to assert a leadership role in reducing flood losses and losses to environmental values served by floodplains. Proposed developments must go through an eight-step review process. Evidence of compliance with the executive order must be submitted as part of the permit review process.

H. Substantial Damage Determination – Perform an assessment of damage from any origin to the structure using FEMA’s Residential Substantial Damage Estimator (RSDE) software to determine if the damage equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

I. Substantial Improvement Determination -  Perform an assessment of permit applications for improvements or repairs to be made to a building or structure equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the improvement or repair is started. Cost of work counted for determining if and when substantial improvement to a structure occurs shall be cumulative for a period of five years. If the improvement project is conducted in phases the total of all cost associated with each phase, beginning with the issuance of the first permit, shall be utilized to determine whether “substantial improvement” will occur.

            J. The current assessed building value as determined by the county’s assessor’s office or the value of an appraisal performed by a licensed appraiser at the expense of the owner; or

 

(1)   one or more certified appraisals from a registered professional licensed appraiser in accordance with the laws of South Carolina. The appraisal shall indicate actual replacement value of the building or structure in its pre-improvement condition, less depreciation for functionality and obsolescence and site improvements. The Marshall & Swift Residential Cost Handbook shall be used to determine costs for building or structures.

(2)   Real Estate purchase contract within 12 months prior to the date of the application for permit.

 

            AND IT IS SO ORDAINED by Newberry County Council this 20th day of February, 2008 in meeting duly assembled at Newberry, South Carolina.

olina.

 

            NEWBERRY COUNTY COUNCIL

            (SEAL)

By:__________________________

      Henry B. Summer, Chairman

Attest:

___________________________

Susan C. Fellers, Clerk to Council

 

1st reading:            January 16, 2008                 Reviewed and approved as to form:

Public Hearing:            February 6, 2008                 _____________________________

2nd reading:            February 6, 2008                 Gary T. Pope, County Attorney

3rd reading:            February 20, 2008                 _____________________________

                                                                        Wayne Adams, County Administrator