14.18.230 Duties of City Engineer as Floodplain Administrator.
A. The City Engineer shall act as the Floodplain Administrator and shall administer, implement, and enforce the standards and regulations of this chapter by granting or denying land development permits or other permits in accordance with the terms of this chapter.
B. The duties and responsibilities of the Floodplain Administrator shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
1. Prior to issuance, review all building permits, land development permits, or any other permits required pursuant to Chapters 15.04 and 15.08 CVMC to assure that:
a. All proposed developments are consistent with the need to minimize flood damage;
b. Adequate drainage is provided so as to reduce exposure to flood hazards;
c. All public utilities and facilities are located so as to minimize or eliminate flood damage;
d. The natural landscape of all designated floodways and major watercourses is substantially preserved; an evacuation plan indicating alternate vehicular access and escape routes is filed with appropriate disaster preparedness authorities for manufactured home parks and manufactured home subdivisions located within Zone A, Zones A1 – A30 and Zone AO;
e. Any encroachments, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements, and other developments within the designated regulatory floodways that would result in any increase in flood levels during the occurrence of a 100-year flood discharge are prohibited; and
f. In the coastal zone, all subdivision and land development permit applications comply with the provisions of the certified Local Coastal Program and the standards of subsections (B)(1)(a) through (B)(1)(f) of this section.
g. For properties located within Zone A without a base flood elevation, the Floodplain Administrator shall obtain, review, and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation and floodway data available from a federal or state agency, or other source, as a basis for elevating residential and nonresidential structures to or above the base flood level, and for floodproofing nonresidential structures, pursuant to 44 CFR 60.3(b)(4).
2. Prior to issuance, review all land development permits or other permits to determine if the site of the proposed development is reasonably safe from flooding, that all applicable requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program have been met, and that all necessary permits have been obtained as required by federal or state law. Any permits required by federal or state law shall be obtained by the applicant prior to issuance of any permit by the City.
3. Submit or assure that the permit applicant submits technical or scientific data to FEMA for a LOMR within six months of information becoming available or project completion, whichever comes first, so that, upon confirmation of those physical changes affecting flooding conditions, risk premium rates and floodplain management requirements are based on current data.
4. Notify FEMA in writing whenever the City boundaries have been modified by annexation or other means and include a copy of a map of the community clearly delineating the new City limits.
5. Make interpretations as to the exact location of the boundaries of the SFHAs where there appears to be a conflict between a mapped boundary and actual field conditions. The person contesting the location of the boundary shall be given a reasonable opportunity to appeal the interpretation as provided in CVMC 14.18.290.
6. For all new and substantially improved structures within SFHAs, obtain and maintain records of lowest floor elevations and elevations to which structures have been floodproofed, pursuant to 44 CFR 60.3(b)(5).
7. Take action to remedy violations of this chapter.
8. Complete and submit biennial reports to FEMA.
9. Maintain a record of all variance actions, including justification for their issuance, and report such variances issued to FEMA.
10. Work with appropriate state and federal agencies in complying with the National Flood Insurance Program in accordance with the National Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973. (Ord. 3477 § 1, 2019; Ord. 3210, 2011; Ord. 3097, 2007).