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<br />Using Zoning to Reduce Flood Damages <br /> <br />By Richard Roths, AICP <br /> <br />Ever since Justice Sutherland delivered the u.s. Supreme Court opinion that upheld the <br />Village of Euclid's zoning power in Euclid v. Ambler Realty, on November 22, 1926, it has <br />been widely accepted that one of the tests of a jurisdiction's zoning powers is whether it <br />protects the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare of the community, giving <br />communities the power to take actions that will reduce damages to local property owners. <br /> <br />The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and <br />the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 <br />required communities to adopt a floodplain <br />ordinance to be eligible for the National Flood <br />Insurance Program (NFIP). Many communities <br />across the country have adopted such ordi- <br />nances. More than 20,000 communities par- <br />ticipate-in NFlP today, but NFlP has been <br />almost too successful in this effort. Mo?t com- <br />munitiesadopt a floodplain ordinance based <br />on a model ordinance provided to them by <br /> <br />their state coordinating agency for NFlP. Only <br />recently have communities begun to look at <br />the risk beyond what is indicated on the <br />Federal Emergency Management Agency <br />(FEMA) flood maps to determine whether addi- <br />tional steps should be taken. While a number <br />of requirements are included in the model <br />ordinances, the most common ones that affect <br />development are: <br />· .;rhe lowest floor, including basements, of <br />st~uctures located in the floodplain must be <br /> <br />elevated at or above the base flood eleva- <br />tion and nonresidential structures can be <br />structurally dry-floodproofed to the base <br />flood elevation. <br />. Any fill or obstruction in the floodway can <br />cause no more than a one-foot rise in the <br />base flood elevation. <br />These requirements are designed to <br />ensure that houses are elevated above the <br />base flood level and that development in <br />the floodway doesn't raise flood levels <br /> <br />@ Following the levee failure in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, this home was washed off its foundation. Riverine flooding can <br />produce the same effect. - <br /> <br /> <br />150 <br /> <br />ZONING PRACTICE 3.08 <br />AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I page 2 <br />