Explanation: Capitals indicate matter added to existing law.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
* Warning: This is an unofficial, introductory copy of the bill.
The official copy considered by the City Council is the first reader copy.
Introductory*
City of Baltimore
Council Bill
Introduced by: The Council President
At the request of: The Administration (Department of Planning)
A Bill Entitled
An Ordinance concerning
title
Floodplain Management Code - Revision
For the purpose of modifying the City laws governing floodplain management to meet or exceed requirements for eligibility in the National Flood Insurance Program and other requirements of Federal and State law; incorporating certain flood-resistant design and construction standards adopted by the American Society of Civil Engineers; defining and redefining certain terms; repealing redundant, obsolete, or otherwise superfluous provisions; correcting and conforming certain obsolete nomenclature; providing for a special effective date; and generally relating to the protection, maintenance, and enhancement of the public health, safety, and welfare through floodplain management.
body
By repealing and re-ordaining, with amendments
Article 7 - Natural Resources
Division I - Floodplain Management
Baltimore City Code
(Edition 2000)
By repealing and re-ordaining, with amendments
Article 32 - Zoning
Sections 4-203, 7-301, 7-304(b)
Baltimore City Code
(Edition 2000)
By repealing and re-ordaining, with amendments
Article - Building, Fire, and Related Codes
Section(s) 2-103 (BC §§ 107.2.1, 110.3.3, 1603.1.7) and 10-102 (RC § 109.1.3 and Table 301.2(1))
Baltimore City Revised Code
(2020 Edition)
Section 1. Be it ordained by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, That
the Maryland General Assembly, in Md. Code Ann., Land Use Article, Title 4, has established as policy of the State that the orderly development and the use of land and structures requires comprehensive regulation through the implementation of planning and zoning control, and that planning and zoning controls must be implemented by local government, in order to, among other purposes, secure the public safety, promote health and general welfare, and promote the conservation of natural resources. Therefore, the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore does hereby adopt the following floodplain management regulations.
Section 2. And be it further ordained, That the Laws of Baltimore City read as follows:
Baltimore City Code
Article 7. Natural Resources
Division I. Floodplain Management
§ 1-1. Definitions - In general.
In this Division I, the following terms have the meanings indicated.
§ 1-2. Definitions - “Accessory structure” to “Floodplain District”.
(a) Accessory structure.
“Accessory structure” means a detached structure:
(1) that is usable solely for parking vehicles or limited storage;
(2) that is on the same parcel of property as the principal structure;
(3) that is no larger than 300 square feet and 1 story; and
(4) the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure.
(b) Actual start of construction.
See “new construction”.
(c) ASCE 24.
“ASCE 24” means the most current edition of ASCE/SEI 24, “Flood Resistant Design and Construction” (American Society of Civil Engineers).
(d) Base flood.
“Base flood” means a flood that has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
(e) Base-flood elevation.
(1) In general.
[“Base-flood elevation” means the water surface elevation of the base flood in relation to the datum specified on the Flood Insurance Rate Map.] “Base-flood elevation” means the elevation of surface water resulting from a flood that has a 1% chance of equaling or exceeding that level in any given year.
(2) Areas of shallow flooding.
In areas of shallow flooding, “base-flood elevation” means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior to construction, that is adjacent to the proposed foundation of a structure; plus:
(i) the depth number specified in feet on the Flood Insurance Rate Map; or
(ii) if the depth number is not specified, 4 feet.
(f) Basement.
“Basement” means any area of the building, including any sunken room or sunken portion of a room, having its floor below ground level on all sides. [a structure having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.]
(g) Coastal A Zone.
“Coastal A Zone” means an area within a special flood hazard area, landward of a coastal high hazard area (V Zone) or landward of a shoreline without a mapped coastal high hazard area, in which the principal source(s) of flooding are astronomical tides and storm surges, and in which, during base flood conditions, the potential exists for breaking waves with heights greater than or equal to 1.5 feet. The inland limit of the Coastal A Zone may be delineated on FIRMs as the Limit of Moderate Wave Action (LiWMA).
(h) [(g)] Design flood.
“Design flood”, as used in ASCE 24, means [is] the greater of the following two flood events:
(1) area within a floodplain subject to a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any year [the base flood affecting areas] as identified on the Flood Insurance Rate Map as a Special Flood Hazard [Areas] Area; [and] or
(2) area designated as a flood hazard area on a community’s flood hazard map or otherwise legally designated [the flood corresponding to the Flood Resilience Area].
(i) [(h)] Design-flood elevation.
“Design-flood elevation”, [as used in this Division I and] as used in ASCE 24 for application to the City, means the elevation of the design flood, including wave height, relative to the datum specified on the [FIRM] flood hazard map.
(j) [(i)] Development.
(1) In general.
“Development” means:
(i) any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate; or
(ii) the subdivision of land.
(2) Inclusions.
“Development” includes any construction, reconstruction, modification, extension, or expansion of [buildings or other] structures, placement of fill or concrete, construction of new or replacement infrastructure, temporary development, placement of manufactured homes or buildings, dumping, mining, dredging, grading, paving, drilling operations, storage of equipment, vehicles, materials or products, land excavation, land clearing, land improvement, land fill operation, or any combination of these.
(k) [(j)] Dry floodproofing.
See “floodproofing”.
(l) [(k)] Elevation [certificate] Certificate.
(1) In general.
“Elevation [certificate] Certificate” means a certification, in the form and containing the information required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, of the elevations of a structure and its improvements.
(2) By whom and how prepared.
An [elevation certificate] Elevation Certificate may only be prepared and certified by a licensed land surveyor or professional engineer, using Mean Sea Level as established by the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (“NAVD”).
(m) [(l)] Fair market value.
(1) In general.
“Fair market value” means the price at which the improvement portion of the property will change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither of which is under compulsion to buy or sell and both of which have reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.
(2) By whom determined.
For purpose of this Division I, the fair market value of a structure is determined by:
(i) a licensed real estate appraiser; or
(ii) the most recent, fully phased-in assessed value of the structure, as determined by the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation.
(n) [(m)] FEMA.
“FEMA” means the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(o) [(n)] FIRM.
See “Flood Insurance Rate Map”.
(p) [(o)] FIS.
See “Flood Insurance Study”.
(q) [(p)] Flood.
“Flood” means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(1) the overflow of inland or tidal waters; or
(2) the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
See also “base flood” and “design flood”.
(r) [(q)] Flood elevation.
See “base-flood elevation”, “design-flood elevation”, and “flood-protection elevation”.
(s) [(r)] Flood hazard area.
See “Regulated Flood Hazard Area” and “Special Flood Hazard Area”.
(t) [(s)] Flood Insurance Rate Map[;] (FIRM).
“Flood Insurance Rate Map” or “FIRM” means an official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated special flood hazard areas to indicate the magnitude and nature of flood hazards, to designate applicable flood zones, and to delineate floodways, if applicable. FIRMs that have been prepared in digital format or converted to digital format are referred to as Digital FIRMs (DFIRM) [the official map that depicts the Regulated Flood Hazard Areas subject to this Division I].
(u) [(t)] Flood Insurance Study[;] (FIS).
“Flood Insurance Study” or “FIS” means the official report in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided flood profiles, floodway information, and water surface elevations.
(v) [(u)] Flood-protection elevation.
“Flood-protection elevation” is: [means the minimum elevation requirements of ASCE 24, plus freeboard.]
(1) the base flood elevation plus 2 feet of freeboard in the non-tidal floodplain; and
(2) the modeled elevation of the 0.2% chance of flood plus 2 feet of freeboard in the tidal floodplain as listed on the Flood Insurance Study (Table 4).
(w) [(v)] Floodplain.
“Floodplain” means any land area and watercourse, susceptible to partial or complete inundation by water from any source, including:
(1) a relatively flat or low land area adjoining a river, stream, or watercourse that is subject to partial or complete inundation;
(2) an area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; or
(3) an area subject to tidal surge or extreme tides.
(x) [(w)] Floodplain District.
“Floodplain District” means the District, and its constituent subdistricts, established under Subtitle 2 {“Floodplain District”} of this article.
§ 1-3. Definitions - “Floodproofing” to “Wet floodproofing”.
(a) Floodproofing.
(1) In general.
“Floodproofing” means any [combination of structural or non-structural adjustments, changes, or actions that reduce or eliminate flood damage to a structure, its contents, and its attendant utilities and equipment] combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to buildings or structures that reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures and their contents, such that the buildings or structures are watertight with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water and with structural components having the capability of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and effects of buoyancy.
(2) Methods of floodproofing.
For purposes of this Division I, the two methods of floodproofing are as follows:
(i) “Dry floodproofing”[, which is the floodproofing method that, as specified in ASCE 24, is used to render a structure’s envelope substantially impermeable to the entrance of floodwaters] is a combination of measures that results in a structure, including the attendant utilities and equipment, being watertight with all elements substantially impermeable and with structural components having the capacity to resist flood loads, as specified in ASCE 24; and
(ii) “Wet floodproofing” is the floodproofing method that, as specified in the following FEMA Technical Bulletins and on ASCE 24, relies on the use of flood damage-resistant materials and construction techniques in areas of a structure that are below the flood protection elevation required by this standard by intentionally allowing those areas to flood [to minimize flood damage to areas below the design-flood elevation of a structure]:
(A) FEMA Technical Bulletin 2 {“Flood Damage-Resistant Material Requirements for Buildings Located in Special Flood Hazard Areas in accordance with the National Flood Insurance Program”}; and
(B) FEMA Technical Bulletin 7 {“Wet Floodproofing Requirements for Structures Located in Special Flood Hazard Areas in accordance with the National Flood Insurance Program”}.
(b) Floodproofing certificate.
(1) In general.
“Floodproofing certificate” means [a certification, in the form and containing the information required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, that a structure has been designed and constructed to be dry floodproofed to the flood-protection elevation] the FEMA Form 086-0-34 that is to be completed, signed and sealed by a licensed professional engineer or licensed architect to certify that the design of floodproofing and proposed methods of construction are in accordance with the applicable requirements of Section 3-14 of these regulations.
(2) By whom prepared.
A floodproofing certificate may only be prepared and certified by a licensed professional engineer or professional architect.
(c) Flood Resilience Area.
“Flood Resilience Area” means the area described in § 2-2(g) {“Subdistricts: Flood Resilience Area”} of this article, and it:
(1) appears on the Flood Insurance Rate Map as Shaded Zone X; and
(2) includes all areas subject to the 0.2% annual chance flood.
(d) Floodway.
(1) In general.
“Floodway” means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that [are] must be reserved to pass [a] the base-flood discharge so that the cumulative increase in the water surface elevation of the base-flood discharge is no more than a designated height. When shown on a FIRM, the floodway is referred to as the “designated floodway.”
[(2) How shown on FIRM.]
[When shown on a FIRM, the Floodway is referred to as the “designated floodway”.]
(2) [(3)] Considered high-velocity-flow area.
An area shown on a FIRM as a “designated floodway” is considered an area with “high velocity flow”, as that term is used in ASCE 24, § 1.2 {“Definitions”}.
(e) Freeboard.
“Freeboard” [means a 2-foot increment of elevation added to the minimum elevation specifications of ASCE 24.] is a factor of safety expressed in feet above the:
(1) height of the 0.2% annual chance of flood in the tidal floodplain; or
(2) base flood elevation in the non-tidal floodplain.