Article I. - General Provisions

The Legislature of the state of Washington has delegated the responsibility to local governmental units to adopt regulations designed to promote the public health, safety and general welfare of its citizenry. Therefore, the town council of the town of Naches, Washington does ordain as follows in this chapter.

(Ord. 367 § 1.1, 1988)

15.12.030 - Findings of fact.

The flood hazard areas of the town are subject to periodic inundation which results 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.

These flood losses are caused by the cumulative effect of obstructions in areas of special flood hazards which increase flood heights and velocities, and when inadequately anchored, damage uses in other areas. Uses that are inadequately floodproofed, elevated, or otherwise protected from flood damage also contribute to the flood loss.

(Ord. 367 § 1.2, 1988)

15.12.040 - Statement of purpose.

It is the purpose of this chapter to promote the public health, safety and general welfare, and to minimize public and private losses due to flood conditions in specific areas by provisions designed:

To protect human life and health;

To minimize expenditure of public money and costly flood control projects;

To minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;

To minimize prolonged business interruptions;

To minimize damage to public facilities and utilities such as water and gas mains, electric telephone and sewer lines, streets and bridges located in areas of special flood hazard;

To help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use and development of areas of special flood hazard so as to minimize future flood blight areas;

To ensure that potential buyers are notified that property is in an area of special flood hazard; and

To ensure that those who occupy the areas of special flood hazard assume responsibility for their actions.

(Ord. 367 § 1.3, 1988)

15.12.050 - Methods of reducing flood losses.

In order to accomplish its purposes, this chapter includes methods and provisions for:

Restricting or prohibiting uses which are dangerous to health, safety and property due to water or erosion hazards, or which result in damaging increases in erosion or in flood heights or velocities;

Requiring that uses vulnerable to floods, including facilities which serve such uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of initial construction;

Controlling the alteration of natural floodplains, stream channels, and natural protective barriers, which help accommodate or channel floodwaters;

Controlling filling, grading and other development which may increase flood damage; and

Preventing or regulating the construction of flood barriers which will unnaturally divert floodwaters or may increase flood hazards in other areas.

(Ord. 367 § 1.4, 1988)

15.12.060 - Definitions.

Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable application.

"Appeal" means a request for a review of the town council's interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.

"Area of shallow flooding" means a designated AO or AH zone on the flood insurance rate map (FIRM). The base flood depths range from one to three feet; a clearly defined channel does not exist; the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; and velocity flow may be evident. AO is characterized as sheet flow and AH indicates ponding.

"Area of special flood hazard" means the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year; designation on maps always includes the letters A or V.

"Base flood" means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Also referred to as the "one hundred-year flood." Designation on maps always includes the letters A or V.

"Basement" means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.

"Critical facility" means a facility for which even a slight chance of flooding might be too great. Critical facilities include, but are not limited to schools, nursing homes, hospitals, police, fire and emergency response installations, installations which produce, use or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste.

"Development" means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations located within the area of special flood hazard.

"Elevated building" means for insurance purposes, a nonbasement building which has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, posts, piers, pilings, or columns.

"Existing manufactured home park or subdivision" means a manufactured home park subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of the adopted floodplain management regulations.

"Expansion to an existing manufactured home park or subdivision" means the preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads).

"Flood" or "flooding" means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:

The overflow of inland or tidal waters; and/or

The unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters from any source.

"Flood insurance rate map (FIRM)" means the official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

"Flood insurance study" means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles, the flood boundary-floodway map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.

"Floodway" means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than one foot.

"Lowest floor" means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage, in an area other than a basement area, is not considered a building's lowest floor, provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable nonelevation design requirements of this chapter found at Section 15.12.200(A).

"Manufactured home" means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities. The term "manufactured home" does not include a "recreational vehicle."

"Manufactured home park or subdivision" means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.

"New construction" means structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter.

"New manufactured home park or subdivision" means a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date of adopted floodplain management regulations.

"Recreational vehicle" means a vehicle which is:

Built on a single chassis;

Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;

Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and

Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

"Start of construction" includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, placement or other improvement was within one hundred eighty (180) days of the permit date. The actual start means either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing, grading and filling, nor does it include the installation of streets and/or walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure. For a substantial improvement, the actual start of construction means the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.

"Structure" means a walled and roofed building including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.

"Substantial damage" means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

"Substantial improvement" means:

Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure either:

Before the improvement or repair is started; or

If the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. For the purposes of this definition "substantial improvement" is considered to occur when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure.

The term does not, however, include either:

Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions, or

Any alteration of a "historic structure", provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a "historic structure."

"Variance" means a grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this chapter.

"Water dependent" means a structure for commerce or industry which cannot exist in any other location and is dependent on the water by reason of the intrinsic nature of its operations.

(Ord. 514 (part), 1999; Ord. 367 § 2, 1988)

15.12.070 - Lands to which this chapter applies.

This chapter shall apply to all areas of special flood hazards within the jurisdiction of the town of Naches.

(Ord. 367 § 3.1, 1988)

15.12.080 - Basis for establishing the areas of special flood hazard.

The areas of special flood hazard identified by the Federal Insurance Administration in a scientific and engineering report entitled "The Flood Insurance Study for Yakima County and Incorporated Areas" dated November 18, 2009, with accompanying flood insurance maps, and any revisions thereto, are adopted by reference and declared to be a part of this chapter. The flood insurance study is on file at town hall.

(Ord. 367 § 3.2, 1988)

(Ord. No. 650, § 1, 11-9-2009)

15.12.090 - Penalties for noncompliance.

No structure or land shall hereafter be constructed, located, extended, converted or altered without full compliance with the terms of this chapter and other applicable regulations. Violation of the provisions of this chapter by failure to comply with any of its requirements (including violations of conditions and safeguards established in connection with conditions) shall constitute a misdemeanor. Any person who violates this chapter or fails to comply with any of its requirements shall upon conviction thereof be fined for each violation, and in addition shall pay all costs and expenses involved in the case. Nothing herein contained shall prevent the town from taking such other lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violation.

(Ord. 367 § 3.3, 1988)

15.12.100 - Abrogation and greater restrictions.

This chapter is not intended to repeal, abrogate or impair any existing easements, covenants, or deed restrictions. However, where this chapter and another ordinance, easement, covenant, or deed restriction conflict or overlap, whichever imposes the more stringent restrictions shall prevail.

(Ord. 367 § 3.4, 1988)

15.12.110 - Interpretation.

In the interpretation and application of this chapter, all provisions shall be:

Considered as minimum requirements;

Liberally construed in favor of the governing body; and

Deemed neither to limit nor repeal any other powers granted under state statutes.

(Ord. 367 § 3.5, 1988)

15.12.120 - Warning and disclaimer of liability.

The degree of flood protection required by this chapter is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on scientific and engineering considerations. Larger floods can and will occur on rare occasions. Flood heights may be increased by man-made or natural causes. This chapter does not imply that land outside the areas of special flood hazards or uses permitted within such areas will be free from flooding or flood damages. This chapter shall not create liability on the part of the town, any officer or employee thereof, or the Federal Insurance Administration, for any flood damages that result from reliance on this chapter or any administrative decision lawfully made hereunder.

(Ord. 367 § 3.6, 1988)