Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Planning and zoning <br /> <br />Comprehensive plans and land use plans specify how a conununity should be <br />developed (and where development should not occur). Through these plans, uses <br />of the land can be tailored to match the land's hazards. For example, flood hazard <br />areas, can be reserved for parks, golf courses, backyards, wildlife refuges; natural <br />areas, or siinilar uses that are compatible with the natural flooding process. <br />Plans like these usually have limited authority. They reflect what the <br />conununity would like to see happen. But they can be powerful because they <br />shape the character of other local measures, such as capital improvement <br />programs, zoning ordinances, and subdivision rules. <br />A conununity's capital improvement program identifies where major public <br />expenditures will be made over the next 5 to 20 years. Capital expenditures may <br />include acquiring land for public uses, sw:h as parlcJand, wetlands, or natural <br />areas, and extension or improvement of roads and utilities. These publicly funded <br />projects should not aggravate flooding. In fact, they can reduce <br />flooding by, for example, enlarging a culvert opening while a <br />road is being repaired. <br />A zoning ordinance regulateS development by dividing the <br />conununity into zones or districts and setting development criteria <br />for each district. The floodplain can be designated as one or more <br />separate zoning districts in which development is prohibited or <br />allowed only if it is not susceptible to flood damage. Some <br />districts that are appropriate for floodplains are those designated <br />for public use, conservation, agriculture, and cluster or planned <br />unit developments that keep buildings out of the floodplain, <br />., wetlands, and other risley or sensitive areas. <br />-;~ To Find Out More ~ .. Technical advice about planning <br />IW' and zoning can also be found at your local, regional, or state <br />f;l~ planning agencies. The American Planning Association and its <br />state chapters can provide technical assistance to its members. <br /> <br />For more <br /> <br />information 011 the <br />agencies and <br /> <br />organizations, <br /> <br />check the <br />M.O.M. Resource <br />Directory or see <br />Appendix A. See <br />Appendix B for <br />more information <br />on the references <br />listed. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br /> <br />Open space preservation <br /> <br />Keeping the floodplain free from development is the surest way to prevent flood <br />damage. Open space preservation should not be limited to floodplains, because <br />some sites in the watershed (but outside the floodplain) may be crucial to <br />controlling runoff that adds to the flood problem. Areas that need to be preserved <br />in a natural state should be listed in land use and capital improvement plans. <br />Existing undeveloped areas can be preserved as open space through zoning <br />ordinances. Lands that ought to be set aside as open space but are already being <br />put to other uses can be converted to public ownership (acquisition) or to public <br />use (easement). Once the land is owned by the county, municipality, or state, <br />buildings and other development subject to flood damage can be removed or <br />prohibited. With an easement, a private owner is free to develop and use the <br />property, but agrees to not build on the flood-prone part or the part set aside in <br />the easement. In exchange, property taxes are reduced or a payment is made. <br />Open space lands and easements do not always have to be purchased <br />outright. Developers can be required to dedicate land to the public for a park <br />andlor to provide easements for flood flow, drainage, or maintenance. These are <br />usually linear parcels along property lines or channels~Maintenance easements <br /> <br />14 <br /> <br />. <br />