§ 700-20. Permit Application and Procedures.

700-20.1   General Permit Procedures. An application for a development permit on any property where a special flood hazard area is located or is proposed to be altered or disturbed in any way shall include, but not be limited to, the following in addition to the requirements of Section 330 of this UDO: plans drawn to scale of the property showing the floodplain, floodway and the nature, location, dimensions, and elevations of existing or proposed structures, fill, storage of materials, and drainage facilities.

700-20.2   Encroachments.

A.

Application Procedure.

1.

An application for a development permit which proposes any encroachment into or alteration of a floodway shall, in addition to the requirements of Chapter 330 of this UDO, require submittal to the Department of complete plans and engineering calculations as required by Chapter 700 for "no rise" certification.

2.

The Department shall review and authorize such floodway encroachments prior to the issuance of a development permit and shall obtain from the applicant an engineering "no-rise" certification signed by a professional engineer stating that the proposed development will not create any change to the pre-project base flood elevations, floodway elevations, or floodway widths.

3.

If the applicant proposes to revise the floodway boundaries or base flood elevations, no permit authorizing an encroachment into or the alteration of the floodway shall be issued by the Department until an affirmative Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) or Conditional Letter of Map Amendment (CLOMA), whichever is applicable, is issued and "no rise" certification is approved by the Department.

4.

An application for a map revision shall be submitted first to the Department. Record drawings and calculations shall be required to be provided to the Department by the applicant at the time of completion of the floodway encroachment.

5.

Payment of any review fees associated with the review and approval of the encroachment shall be the responsibility of the applicant. Final plats or certificates of occupancy shall not be issued by the Department until an affirmative Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) or Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA), whichever is applicable, is issued.

B.

Flood Levels Resulting from Floodway Encroachments. Located within Areas of Special Flood Hazard are areas designated as floodway. A floodway may be an extremely hazardous area due to velocity flood waters, debris, or erosion potential. In addition, floodways must remain free of encroachment in order to allow for the discharge of the base flood without increased flood heights. Therefore, the following provisions shall apply:

1.

Encroachments are prohibited, including but not limited to fill, new construction, substantial improvements, and other developments, within the regulatory floodway except for activities specifically allowed in Subsection 700-20.2.B.2 below.

2.

Encroachments for bridges, culverts, roadways and utilities within the regulatory floodway may be permitted provided it is demonstrated through hydrologic and hydraulic analyses performed in accordance with standard engineering practice that the encroachment shall not result in any increase to the pre-project base flood elevations, floodway elevations, or floodway widths during the base flood discharge. A registered professional engineer must provide supporting technical data and certification thereof.

C.

In areas where the floodplain has been established but the base flood elevation (BFE) and/or the floodway has not been established on FIS maps, no encroachments into areas of special flood hazard, including fill or structures, shall be authorized unless certification by a registered professional engineer is provided to the Department demonstrating that the cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated development, will not increase the water surface elevation of the floodplain more than 0.01 foot at any point. The study shall be submitted as a revision/amendment to the FIS maps showing the BFE and the floodway. Approval of the revision/amendment must be received before the final plat can be approved or a certificate of occupancy can be issued.

D.

In areas beyond the limits of study on the flood boundary and floodways maps or FIRM, which contains a watercourse, and have greater than 100 acres of surface drainage area above the property, no increase in flood elevations off-site shall be authorized.

700-20.3   Other Permits or Approvals.

A.

Copies of any additional federal or state permits or approvals as may be required by the Corps of Engineers, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, FEMA, or others shall be provided by the developer upon their approval and maintained on file in the Department of Planning and Development.

B.

The Department shall notify adjacent communities and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources prior to any alteration or relocation of a watercourse, and submit evidence of such notification to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

(Ord. No. UDOA2015-00001(GCID No. 2015-0360), 4-28-15)