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<br />"A" ZONE
<br />
<br />LOWEST
<br />HABIT ABLE
<br />FLOOR
<br />ABOVE BFE
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<br />lIIII
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<br />E. Reviewing The Permit Application
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<br />Reviewing a permit application is the most important responsibility of
<br />the local floodplain administrator, Local administrators may use a check-
<br />list to help them determine if the proposed project meets the criteria of
<br />the floodplain ordinance, Several factors must be taken into considera-
<br />tion when reviewing any permit application, For some projects, depend-
<br />ing on their type or location, special consideration must be included in
<br />the review procedure, The items a local administrator must consider for
<br />all cases are given below, Special considerations are given in the
<br />following section,
<br />1. Locating the Development
<br />The first thing the locai floodplain administrator must do is verify
<br />whether the proposed development is in the special flood hazard
<br />area, Data to be verified should be submitted by the person propos,
<br />ing the development. In some cases, the administrator may choose to
<br />work with the developer and determine the distance in the field
<br />between the proposed development site and one or more identifiable
<br />points (centerline of a street, a bridge, the river channel, etc,) Then
<br />using the map scale, they should convert the distance from the iden-
<br />tifiable point on the map to the site, In this way they can decide if it
<br />is in the special flood hazard area,
<br />2. Determining if the Application is Complete
<br />The local administrator should make sure the application is complete,
<br />It should have a thorough description of the proposed development
<br />including the elevation of structures, certification of any f1oodproofing
<br />methods, and base flood elevation data .for subdivisions of 5 acres or
<br />50 lots or more, It should also show what flood elevations and flood-
<br />plain boundaries will be afterthe proposed development is complete,
<br />If the administrator cannot determine, based on given data, whether
<br />or not the development will be safe from flooding, he/she should ask
<br />the applicant for more information,
<br />3. Determining the Base Flood Elevation (BFE)
<br />In order to review a permit application, the local floodplain adminis-
<br />trator must know the flood hazard (or base flood elevation) at the
<br />development site, If the local administrator has a Flood Insurance
<br />Rate Map and Flood Insurance Study, BFE data for the development
<br />site is readily available, Reports from other federal or state agencies
<br />may also help, If these are available it is up to the applicant to look
<br />at them first. These reports would include flood hazard analyses from
<br />the Soil Conservation Service, or the Corps of Engineers, or studies
<br />by the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the Urban Drainage and
<br />Flood Control District, or the U,S, Geological Survey, If no data are
<br />available, the local administrator must use his/her judgment and be
<br />guided by the FHBM, past flood accounts described in newspaper
<br />and photos, or by high water marks on buildings, telephone poles,
<br />bridges or other structures,
<br />Once the local floodplain administrator has been given the flood
<br />hazard data and has obtained any additionai data, reviewing the des-
<br />cription of the proposed project in relation to the flood hazard will
<br />determine whether or not it will be safe from flooding, For example, if
<br />the available information shows a BFE of 4930 feet MSL and the
<br />permit application indicates the proposed structure will have its
<br />lowest floor built to an elevation of 4927 feet MSL, then it will be
<br />subject to 3 feet of water during the base flood, The local adminis'
<br />trator must not grant a permit for this structure unless the applicant
<br />agrees to elevate it to or above the base flood (100-year flood)
<br />elevation, Or, suppose a proposed project with a basement is in a
<br />speCial flood hazard area on the Flood Hazard Boundary Map, and
<br />the local administrator knows from newspaper accounts that that
<br />area of town suffers from street and basement flooding during
<br />rainstorms, In such a case, the administrator may issue a permit only
<br />if the structure is built without a basement or if the applicant per'
<br />forms an engineering study and follows its recommendations for ade-
<br />quately dealing with the flood threat.
<br />The floodplain administrator must ensure there is an analysis of the
<br />effect of the proposed development on future flood heights, This is
<br />done by using an equal degree of hydraulic encroachment on both
<br />sides of the stream or river, The reason for this is to assure that
<br />property owners up, down, or across the stream or river will have the
<br />same rights to encroach on the floodplain, If the analysis shows that
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