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Ordinance 24-2017 Flood Damage Prevention ORDINANCE NO. 24-2017 AN ORDINANCE BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PALM BEACH, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE TOWN OF PALM BEACH CODE OF ORDINANCES CHAPTER 18; TO ADOPT AMENDMENTS RELATING TO FLOOD PROVISIONS OF THE FLORIDA BUILDING CODE; PROVIDING FOR APPLICABILITY; REPEALER; SEVERABILITY; AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS,the Legislature of the State of Florida has, in Chapter 166 , Florida Statutes, conferred upon local governments the authority to adopt regulations designed to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of its citizenry; and WHEREAS,the Federal Emergency Management Agency has identified special flood hazard areas within the boundaries of the Town of Palm Beach and such areas may be subject to periodic inundation which may result in loss of life and property, health and safety hazards, disruption of commerce and governmental services, extraordinary public expenditures for flood protection and relief, and impairment of the tax base, all of which adversely affect the public health, safety and general welfare; and WHEREAS, the Town of Palm Beach was accepted for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program on May 15, 1978 and the Town Council desires to continue to meet the requirements of Title 44 Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 59 and 60, necessary for such participation; and WHEREAS, Chapter 553, Florida Statutes, was adopted by the Florida Legislature to provide a mechanism for the uniform adoption, updating, amendment, interpretation and enforcement of a state building code, called the Florida Building Code; and WHEREAS, the Town Council has determined that it is in the public interest to adopt the proposed floodplain management regulations that are coordinated with the Florida Building Code; and WHEREAS,the Town Council, based upon review of local conditions and as demonstrated by evidence has determined that there is a local need to limit new installations of manufactured homes in certain high risk flood hazard areas; WHEREAS, the Town Council adopted a requirement to require any new or substantial improvements to residential construction to have the lowest floor, including a basement, elevated no lower than 6-inches above the base flood elevation, to limit partitioning of enclosed areas below elevated dwellings and to limit access to enclosed areas, and to require accumulation of costs of improvements and repairs of buildings, based on issued building permits, over a 1-year period, for buildings and structures in flood hazard areas prior to July 1, 2010 and,pursuant to section 553.73(5), F.S., is formatting that requirement to coordinate with the Florida Building Code; and NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED by the Town Council of the Town of Palm Beach that the technical amendments regarding floodplain regulations contained in Attachment A are hereby adopted. Section 1. RECITALS. The foregoing whereas clauses are incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof. Section 2. This ordinance specifically adds technical amendments to Chapter 18,Article IV of the Town Code of Ordinances for specific sections of the Florida Building Code relating to flood provisions. Section 3. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT In terms of design, plan application review, construction and inspection of buildings and structures, the cost impact as an overall average is negligible in regard to the local technical amendments because all development has been subject to the requirements of the local floodplain management ordinance adopted for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. In terms of lower potential for flood damage,there will be continued savings and benefits to consumers. Section 4. APPLICABILITY. For the purposes of jurisdictional applicability,this ordinance shall apply in the Town of Palm Beach. This ordinance shall apply to all applications for development, including building permit applications and subdivision proposals, submitted on or after the effective date of this ordinance. Section 5. INCLUSION INTO THE CODE OF ORDINANCES. It is the intent of the Town Council that the provisions of this ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Town of Palm Beach Code of Ordinances, and that the sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or re-lettered and the word "ordinance"may be changed to "section," "article," "regulation," or such other appropriate word or phrase in order to accomplish such intentions. Section 6. SEVERABILITY. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is, for any Ordinance 24-2017 Page 2 of 3 reason, declared by the courts to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the ordinance as a whole, or any part thereof, other than the part so declared. Section 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall take effect on 31 days subsequent to its passage and final reading. PASSED AND ADOPTED in a regular, adjourned session of the Town Council of the Town of Palm Beach on first reading this 12th day of July, 2017, and for second and final reading on this 9th day of August, 2017. yja_ 0.1„; Gail . Coniglio, Mayor Richard Kleid, Town Council President c_ 11/14,— 44- D -(›L_ Danielle H. Moore, Council President Pro Tem 4 =1 ;; J :Araskog, own Counc' •her te �� ..0111L,./1001 ATTEST: Bobbie Lindsay, To ,n Council M: ber afP101 14, Gwendolynn Pei ce, CMC Acting Town Clerk Margaret A. Zeidman, Town Council Member Ordinance 24-2017 Page 3 of 3 ARTICLE IV. - FLORIDA BUILDING CODE DIVISION 1.-GENERALLY 18-232. — Definitions. The following definitions are added: Florida Building Code, Building. Substantial improvement. Any combination of repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a building or structure taking place during a 1-year period, the cumulative cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the building or structure before the improvement or repair is started. For each building or structure, the 1—year period begins on the date of the first permit issued for improvement or repair of that building or structure subsequent to {see Note}. If the structure has incurred "substantial damaqe," any repairs are considered substantial improvement regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either: (1) Any project for improvement of a building required to correct existing health, sanitary, or safety code violations identified by the building official and that are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions. (2) Any alteration of a historic structure provided the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a historic structure. Florida Building Code, Existing Building. Substantial improvement. Any combination of repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a building or structure taking place during a 1-year period, the cumulative cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the building or structure before the improvement or repair is started. For each building or structure, the 1—year period begins on the date of the first permit issued for improvement or repair of that building or structure subsequent to {see Note}. If the structure has incurred "substantial damage," any repairs are considered substantial improvement regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either: (1) Any project for improvement of a building required to correct existing health, sanitary, or safety code violations identified by the buildinq official and that are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions. (2) Any alteration of a historic structure provided the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a historic structure. DIVISION 2. — FLORIDA BUILDING CODE TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS FOR FLOODING 18-244. —The following sections of the Florida Building Code-Residential are hereby amended as follows: R322.2.1 Elevation requirements. 1. Buildings and structures in flood hazard areas not designated as Coastal A Zones shall have the lowest floors elevated to or above the base flood elevation plus 6 inches or the design flood elevation, whichever is higher. 2. Buildings and structures in flood hazard areas designated as Coastal A Zones shall have the lowest floors elevated to or above the base flood elevation plus 1 foot (305 mm), or to the design flood elevation, whichever is higher. 3. In areas of shallow flooding (AO Zones), buildings and structures shall have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated at least as high above the highest adjacent grade as the depth number specified in feet on the FIRM plus 6 inches, or at least 2.5 feet 2 feet (610 mm) if a depth number is not specified. 4. Basement floors that are below grade on all sides shall be elevated to or above the base flood elevation plus 6 inches or the design flood elevation, whichever is higher. Exception: Enclosed areas below the design flood elevation, including basements whose floors are not below grade on all sides, shall meet the requirements of Section R322.2.2. R322.2.2 Enclosed areas below design flood elevation. Enclosed areas, including crawl spaces, that are below the design flood elevation shall: 1. Be used solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage. The interior portion of such enclosed areas shall not be partitioned or finished into separate rooms except for stairwells, ramps, and elevators, unless a partition is required by the fire code. The limitation on partitions does not apply to load bearing walls interior to perimeter wall (crawlspace) foundations. Access to enclosed areas shall be the minimum necessary to allow for the parking of vehicles (garage door) or limited storage of maintenance equipment used in connection with the premises (standard exterior door) or entry to the building (stairway or elevator). 2. Be provided with flood openings that meet the following criteria: 2.1. There shall be a minimum of two openings on different sides of each enclosed area; if a building has more than one enclosed area below the design flood elevation, each area shall have openings on exterior walls. 2.2. The total net area of all openings shall be at least 1 square inch (645 mm2) for each square foot (0.093 m2) of enclosed area, or the openings shall be designed and the construction documents shall include a statement by a registered design professional that the design of the openings will provide for equalization of hydrostatic flood forces on exterior walls by allowing for the automatic entry and exit of floodwaters as specified in Section 2.6.2.2 of ASCE 24. 2.3. The bottom of each opening shall be 1 foot (305 mm) or less above the adjacent ground level. 2.4. Openings shall be not less than 3 inches (76 mm) in any direction in the plane of the wall. 2.5. Any louvers, screens or other opening covers shall allow the automatic flow of floodwaters into and out of the enclosed area. 2.6. Openings installed in doors and windows, that meet requirements 2.1 through 2.5, are acceptable; however, doors and windows without installed openings do not meet the requirements of this section. R322.3.2 Elevation requirements. 1. All buildings and structures erected within coastal high-hazard areas shall be elevated so that the lowest portion of all structural members supporting the lowest floor, with the exception of piling, pile caps, columns, grade beams and bracing, is elevated to or above the base flood elevation plus 6 inches or the design flood elevation, whichever is higher. 2. Basement floors that are below grade on all sides are prohibited. 3. The use of fill for structural support is prohibited. 4. Minor grading, and the placement of minor quantities of fill, shall be permitted for landscaping and for drainage purposes under and around buildings and for support of parking slabs, pool decks, patios and walkways. Exception: Walls and partitions enclosing areas below the design flood elevation shall meet the requirements of Sections R322.3.4 and R322.3.5. R322.3.4 Walls below design flood elevation. Walls and partitions are permitted below the elevated floor, provided that such walls and partitions are not part of the structural support of the building or structure and: 1. Electrical, mechanical, and plumbing system components are not to be mounted on or penetrate through walls that are designed to break away under flood loads; and 2. Are constructed with insect screening or open lattice; or 3. Are designed to break away or collapse without causing collapse, displacement or other structural damage to the elevated portion of the building or supporting foundation system. Such walls, framing and connections shall have a design safe loading resistance of not less than 10 (470 Pa) and no more than 20 pounds per square foot (958 Pa); or 4. Where wind loading values of this code exceed 20 pounds per square foot (958 Pa), the construction documents shall include documentation prepared and sealed by a registered design professional that: 4.1. The walls and partitions below the design flood elevation have been designed to collapse from a water load less than that which would occur during the design flood. 4.2. The elevated portion of the building and supporting foundation system have been designed to withstand the effects of wind and flood loads acting simultaneously on all building components (structural and nonstructural). Water loading values used shall be those associated with the design flood. Wind loading values used shall be those required by this code. R322.3.5 Enclosed areas below the design flood elevation. Enclosed areas below the design flood elevation shall be used solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage. The interior portion of such enclosed area shall not be partitioned or finished into separate rooms except for stairwells, ramps, and elevators, unless a partition is required by the fire code. Access to enclosed areas shall be the minimum necessary to allow for the parking of vehicles (garage door) or limited storage of maintenance equipment used in connection with the premises (standard exterior door) or entry to the buildinq (stairway or elevator).