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ORDINANCE NO. 9503
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 17-9-1, 17-9-2 AND 17-
9-3 OF CHAPTER 9 OF TITLE XVII OF THE PUEBLO MUNICIPAL
CODE RELATING TO FLOOD DAMAGE PREVENTION TO MAKE
SAME COMPLIANT WITH CURRENT REQUIREMENTS OF THE
NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM AND STATE OF
COLORADO MINIMUM STANDARDS
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, that: (brackets indicate matter
being deleted, underscoring indicates new matter being added)
SECTION 1.
Section 17-9-1 of Chapter 9 of Title XVII of the Pueblo Municipal Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 17-9-1. - Title and purpose.
(a) Authority. The regulations set forth in this Chapter are designed to minimize flood
Section 6 of
losses and are enacted pursuant to the City's home rule authority under Article
and pursuant to Article 20 of Title 29 of the
XX of the Constitution of the State of Colorado
Colorado Revised Statutes
.
(b) Findings of fact.
(1) The flood hazard areas of the City of Pueblo are subject to periodic
inundation, which can result in loss of life and property, health and safety hazards,
disruption of commerce and governmental services, and extraordinary public
expenditures for flood protection and relief, all of which adversely affect the health,
safety and general welfare of the public.
(2) These flood losses are created by the cumulative effect of obstructions in
floodplains which cause an increase in flood heights and velocities, and by the
occupancy of flood hazard areas by uses vulnerable to floods and hazardous to other
lands because they are inadequately elevated, floodproofed or otherwise protected from
flood damage.
(c) Statement of purpose. It is the purpose of this Chapter to promote public health,
safety and general welfare and to minimize public and private losses due to flood conditions in
specific areas by provisions designed to:
(1) Protect human life and health;
(2) Minimize expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects;
(3) Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding
and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;
(4) Minimize prolonged business interruptions;
(5) Minimize damage to critical facilities, infrastructure and other public
facilities such as water, sewer and gas mains; electric and
communications stations; and streets and bridges located in floodplains;
(6) Help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use and
development of flood-prone areas in such a manner as to minimize future
flood blight areas; and
(7) Ensure that potential buyers are notified that property is located in a flood
hazard area.
(d) Methods of reducing flood losses. In order to accomplish its purposes, this Chapter
uses the following methods:
(1) Restrict or prohibit uses that are dangerous to health, safety or property in times
of flood, or cause excessive increases in flood heights or velocities;
(2) Require that uses vulnerable to floods, including facilities which serve such uses,
be protected against flood damage at the time of initial construction;
(3) Control the alteration of natural floodplains, stream channels, and natural
protective barriers, which are involved in the accommodation of flood waters;
(4) Control filling, grading, dredging and other development which may increase flood
damage;
(5) Prevent or regulate the construction of flood barriers which will unnaturally divert
flood waters or which may increase flood hazards to other lands.
SECTION 2.
Section 17-9-2 of Chapter 9 of Title XVII of the Pueblo Municipal Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 17-9-2. - Definitions.
(a) Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this Chapter shall be
interpreted to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this Chapter its
most reasonable application.
(1) 100-year Flood means a flood having a recurrence interval that has a one-
percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded during any given year (1-percent-
annual-chance flood). The terms "one-hundred-year flood" and "one percent chance
flood" are synonymous with the term 100-year flood. The term does not imply that the
flood will necessarily happen once every one hundred years.
(2) 100-year Floodplain means the area of land susceptible to being inundated
as a result of the occurrence of a one-hundred-year flood.
(3) 500-year Flood means a flood having a recurrence interval that has a 0.2-
percent chance of being equaled or exceeded during any given year (0.2-percent-
chance-annual-flood). The term does not imply that the flood will necessarily happen
once every five hundred (500) years.
(4) 500-year Floodplain means the area of land susceptible to being inundated
as a result of the occurrence of a five-hundred-year flood.
(5) Addition means any activity that expands the enclosed footprint or
increases the square footage of an existing structure.
(6) Alluvial Fan Flooding means a fan-shaped sediment deposit formed by a
stream that flows from a steep mountain valley or gorge onto a plain or the junction of a
tributary stream with the main stream. Alluvial fans contain active stream channels and
boulder bars, and recently abandoned channels. Alluvial fans are predominantly formed
by alluvial deposits and are modified by infrequent sheet flood, channel avulsions and
other stream processes.
(7) Area of Shallow Flooding means a designated Zone AO or AH on the Flood
Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with a one percent (1%) chance or greater annual chance
of flooding to an average depth of one (1) to three (3) feet where a clearly defined
channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and where velocity
flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.
(7.5) means the flood which has a one percent (1%) chance
Base Flood
of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also known as a 100-year flood).
(8) Base Flood Elevation (BFE) means the elevation shown on the Flood
Insurance Rate Map for Zones AE, AH, A1-A30, AR, AR/A, AR/AE, AR/A1-A30, AR/AH,
AR/AO, V1-V30 and VE that indicates the water surface elevation resulting from a flood
that has a one percent (1%) chance of equaling or exceeding that level in any given
year.
(9) Basement means any area of a building having its floor sub-grade (below
ground level) on all sides.
(10) Channel means the physical confine of stream or waterway consisting of
a bed and stream banks, existing in a variety of geometries.
(11) Channelization means the artificial creation, enlargement or realignment
of a stream channel.
(12) Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) means the codification of the general
and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments
and agencies of the Federal Government. It is divided into fifty (50) titles that represent
broad areas subject to Federal regulation.
(13) City means City of Pueblo, Colorado.
(14) Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) means FEMA's comment
on a proposed project, which does not revise an effective floodplain map, that would,
upon construction, affect the hydrologic or hydraulic characteristics of a flooding source
and thus result in the modification of the existing regulatory floodplain.
(15) Critical Facility means a structure or related infrastructure, but not the land
on which it is situated, as specified in Subsection 17-9-5(h), that if flooded may result in
significant hazards to public health and safety or interrupt essential services and
operations for the City at any time before, during and after a flood.
(16) Development means any man-made change in improved and unimproved
real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging,
filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or
materials.
(17) DFIRM Database means database (usually spreadsheets containing data
and analyses that accompany DFIRMs). The FEMA Mapping Specifications and
Guidelines outline requirements for the development and maintenance of DFIRM
databases.
(18) Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) means FEMA digital floodplain
map. These digital maps serve as "regulatory floodplain maps" for insurance and
floodplain management purposes.
(19) Elevated Building means a non-basement building (i) built, in the case of
a building in Zones A1-30, AE, A, A99, AO, AH, B, C, X and D, to have the top of the
elevated floor above the ground level by means of pilings, columns (posts and piers) or
shear walls parallel to the flow of the water and (ii) adequately anchored so as not to
impair the structural integrity of the building during a flood of up to the magnitude of the
base flood. In the case of Zones A1-30, AE, A, A99, AO, AH, B, C, X and D, elevated
building also includes a building elevated by means of fill or solid foundation perimeter
walls with openings sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded movement of flood waters.
(20) Existing 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 before January 14, 2014.
(21) 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).
(22) Federal Register means the official daily publication for Rules, proposed
Rules and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders
and other presidential documents.
(23) FEMA means Federal Emergency Management Agency, the agency
responsible for administering the National Flood Insurance Program.
(24) Flood or Flooding means a general and temporary condition of partial or
complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
a. The overflow of water from channels and reservoir spillways;
b. The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters
from any source; or
c. Mudslides or mudflows that occur from excess surface water that
is combined with mud or other debris that is sufficiently fluid so as
to flow over the surface of normally dry land areas (such as earth
carried by a current of water and deposited along the path of the
current).
(25) Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) means an official map of the City, on
which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the Special
Flood Hazard Areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the City.
(26) Flood Insurance Study (FIS) means the official report provided by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency. The report contains the Flood Insurance Rate
Map as well as flood profiles for studied flooding sources that can be used to determine
Base Flood Elevations for some areas.
(27) Floodplain or Flood-prone Area means any land area susceptible to being
inundated as the result of a flood, including the area of land over which floodwater would
flow from the spillway of a reservoir.
(28) Floodplain Administrator means the Director of the Department of
Stormwater Utility.
(29) Floodplain Development Permit means a permit required before
construction or development begins within any Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). If
FEMA has not defined the SFHA within the City, the City shall require permits for all
proposed construction or other development in the City including the placement of
manufactured homes, so that it may determine whether such construction or other
development is proposed within flood-prone areas. Permits are required to ensure that
proposed development projects meet the requirements of the NFIP and this Chapter.
(30) Floodplain Management means the operation of an overall program of
corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage, including but not limited
to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works and floodplain management
regulations.
(31) Floodplain Management Regulations means zoning ordinances,
subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances
(such as a floodplain ordinance, grading ordinance and erosion control ordinance) and
other applications of police power. The term describes such state or local regulations, in
any combination thereof, which provide standards for the purpose of flood damage
prevention and reduction.
(32) Flood Control Structure means a physical structure designed and built
expressly or partially for the purpose of reducing, redirecting or guiding flood flows along
a particular waterway. These specialized flood-modifying works are those constructed
in conformance with sound engineering standards.
(33) Floodproofing means any combination of structural and/or nonstructural
additions, changes or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage
to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures and their
contents.
(34) Floodway (Regulatory Floodway) means the channel of a river or other
watercourse and adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the
base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a
designated height. The Colorado statewide standard for the designated height to be
used for all newly studied reaches shall be one-half (½) foot (six inches). Letters of Map
Revision to existing floodway delineations may continue to use the floodway criteria in
place at the time of the existing floodway delineation.
(35) Freeboard means the vertical distance in feet above a predicted water
surface elevation intended to provide a margin of safety to compensate for unknown
factors that could contribute to flood heights greater than the height calculated for a
selected size flood such as debris blockage of bridge openings and the increased runoff
due to urbanization of the watershed.
(36) Functionally Dependent Use means a use which cannot perform its
intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term
includes only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the loading and
unloading of cargo or passengers and ship building and ship repair facilities, but does
not include long-term storage or related manufacturing facilities.
(37) Highest Adjacent Grade means the highest natural elevation of the ground
surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
(38) Historic Structure means any structure that is:
a. Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a
listing maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily
determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the
requirements for individual listing on the National Register;
b. Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the
Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered
historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the
Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
c. Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states
with historic preservation programs which have been approved by
the Secretary of the Interior; or
d. Individually listed on the Pueblo Inventory of Cultural Resources
pursuant to Chapter 4 of Title XIV of the Code.
(39) Levee means a man-made embankment, usually earthen, designed and
constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to contain, control or divert
the flow of water so as to provide protection from temporary flooding. For a levee
structure to be reflected on the FEMA FIRMs as providing flood protection, the levee
structure must meet the requirements set forth in 44 C.F.R. 65.10.
(40) Levee System means a flood protection system which consists of a levee,
or levees, and associated structures, such as closure and drainage devices, which are
constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering practices.
(41) Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) means FEMA's official revision of an
effective Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), or Flood Boundary and Floodway Map
(FBFM), or both. LOMRs are generally based on the implementation of physical
measures that affect the hydrologic or hydraulic characteristics of a flooding source and
thus result in the modification of the existing regulatory floodway, the effective Base
Flood Elevations (BFEs), or the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA).
(42) Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill (LOMR-F) means FEMA's
modification of the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) shown on the Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) based on the placement of fill outside the existing regulatory floodway.
(43) Lowest Floor means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area
(including basement). Any floor used for living purposes which includes working,
storage, sleeping, cooking and eating, or recreation or any combination thereof. This
includes any floor that could be converted to such a use such as a basement or crawl
space. The lowest floor is a determinate for the flood insurance premium for a building,
home or business. An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking
or 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 non-elevation design requirement of
Section 60.3 of the National Flood insurance Program regulations.
(44) Manufactured Home means a structure transportable in one (1) or more
sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without
a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The term manufactured
home does not include a recreational vehicle.
(45) Manufactured Home Park or Subdivision means a parcel (or contiguous
parcels) of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
(46) Mean Sea Level means for purposes of the National Flood Insurance
Program, the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988, or other datum, to which
Base Flood Elevations shown on the City's Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.
(47) Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDA) means a form with data regarding the
properties of a particular substance. An important component of product stewardship
and workplace safety, it is intended to provide workers and emergency personnel with
procedures for handling or working with that substance in a safe manner, and includes
information such as physical data (melting point, boiling point, flash point, etc.), toxicity,
health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, disposal, protective equipment and spill-
handling procedures.
(48) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) means FEMA's program of
flood insurance coverage and floodplain management administered in conjunction with
the Robert T. Stafford Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. The NFIP has applicable
Federal regulations promulgated in Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The
U.S. Congress established the NFIP in 1968 with the passage of the National Flood
Insurance Act of 1968.
(48.5) means the construction of a new structure
New Construction
(including the placement of a manufactured (mobile) home) or facility of the
replacement of a structure or facility which has been totally destroyed.
(49) 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 January 14, 2014.
(50) No-Rise Certification means a record of the results of an engineering
analysis conducted to determine whether a project will increase flood heights in a
floodway. A No-Rise Certification must be supported by technical data and signed by a
registered Colorado Professional Engineer. The supporting technical data should be
based on the standard step-backwater computer model used to develop the 100-year
floodway shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) or Flood Boundary and
Floodway Map (FBFM).
(51) Physical Map Revision (PMR) means FEMA's action whereby one (1) or
more map panels are physically revised and republished. A PMR is used to change flood
risk zones, floodplain and/or floodway delineations, flood elevations and/or planimetric
features.
(52) Recreational Vehicle means a vehicle which is:
a. Built on a single chassis;
b. Four hundred (400) square feet or less when measured at the
largest horizontal projections;
c. Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light
duty truck; and
d. Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as
temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or
seasonal use.
(53) Special Flood Hazard Area means the land in the floodplain within the
City subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year, i.e.,
the 100-year floodplain.
(54) Start of Construction means the date the building permit was issued,
including substantial improvements, provided the actual start of construction, repair,
reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, 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 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.
(55) Structure means a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid
storage tank, which is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
(56) 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 percent (50%) of the market value of the structure just prior to when the
damage occurred.
(57) Substantial Improvement means any reconstruction, rehabilitation,
addition or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty
percent (50%) of the market value of the structure before Start of Construction of the
improvement. The value of the structure shall be determined by the local jurisdiction
having land use authority in the area of interest. This includes structures which have
incurred Substantial Damage, regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term
does not, however, include either:
a. 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
conditions, or
b. Any alteration of a "historic structure" provided that the alteration
will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a
"historic structure."
(58) Threshold Planning Quantity (TPQ ) means a quantity designated for each
chemical on the list of extremely hazardous substances that triggers notification by
facilities to the State that such facilities are subject to emergency planning requirements.
(59) Variance means a grant of relief to a person from the requirement of this
Chapter when specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship. A variance,
therefore, permits construction or development in a manner otherwise prohibited by this
Chapter.
(60) Violation means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with this Chapter. A structure or other development without the elevation
certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in 44 C.F.R.
Section 60.3(b)(5), (c)(4), (c)(10), (d)(3), (e)(2), (e)(4) or (e)(5) is presumed to be in
violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
(61) Water Surface Elevation means the height, in relation to the North
American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 (or other datum, where specified), of floods of
various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.
SECTION 3.
Section 17-9-3 of Chapter 9 of Title XVII of the Pueblo Municipal Code is hereby amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 17-9-3. - General provisions.
(a) Lands to which this Chapter applies. This Chapter shall apply to all Special Flood
Hazard Areas and areas removed from the floodplain by the issuance of a FEMA Letter of Map
Revision Based on Fill (LOMR-F) within the jurisdiction of the City of Pueblo, Colorado.
(b) Basis for establishing the Special Flood Hazard Area. The Special Flood Hazard
Areas identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a scientific and engineering
\[
report entitled, "The Flood Insurance Study for the City of Pueblo, Colorado," dated September,
\]
,
August 15, 2019\[
29, 1986with accompanying Flood Insurance Rate Maps and/or Flood
\])\[\]
Boundary-Floodway Maps (FIRM and/or FBFM), and any revisions thereto are hereby adopted
by reference and declared to be a part of this Chapter. These Special Flood Hazard Areas
identified by the FIS and attendant mapping are the minimum area of applicability of this Chapter
and may be supplemented by studies designated and approved by City Council. The Floodplain
and/or
Administrator shall keep a copy of the Flood Insurance Study (FIS), DFIRMs, FIRMs
\[\]
and/or FBFMs on file and available for public inspection.
(c) Establishment of Floodplain Development Permit. A Floodplain Development Permit
shall be required to ensure conformance with the provisions of this Chapter.
(d) Compliance. No structure or land shall hereafter be located, altered or have its use
changed within the Special Flood Hazard Area without full compliance with the terms of this
Chapter and other applicable regulations. Nothing herein shall prevent the City Council from
taking such lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violation. These regulations
meet the minimum requirements as set forth by the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the
National Flood Insurance Program.
(e) 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.
(f) Interpretation. In the interpretation and application of this Chapter, all provisions shall
be:
(1) Considered as minimum requirements;
(2) Liberally construed in favor of the governing body; and
(3) Deemed neither to limit nor repeal any other powers granted under State
statutes.
(g) 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. On rare occasions greater floods can and will occur and flood heights
may be increased by man-made or natural causes.
This Chapter does not imply that land outside the Special Flood Hazard Area 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 City or any official or employee thereof for any flood damages
that result from reliance on this Chapter or any administrative decision lawfully made thereunder.
(h) Severability. This Chapter and the various parts thereof are hereby declared to be
severable. Should any section of this Chapter be declared by the courts to be unconstitutional or
invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of this Chapter as a whole, or any portion thereof
other than the section so declared to be unconstitutional or invalid.
SECTION 4.
The officers and staff of the City are authorized and directed to perform any and all acts
consistent with the intent of this Ordinance to effectuate the policies and procedures described
herein.
SECTION 5.
This Ordinance shall become effective on the date of final action by the Mayor and City
Council.
Action by City Council:
Introduced and initial adoption of Ordinance by City Council on July 8, 2019 .
Final adoption of Ordinance by City Council on July 22, 2019 .
President of City Council
Action by the Mayor:
☒
Approved on July 25, 2019 .
□
Disapproved on based on the following objections:
Mayor
Action by City Council After Disapproval by the Mayor:
□
Council did not act to override the Mayor's veto.
□
Ordinance re-adopted on a vote of , on
□
Council action on _______ failed to override the Mayor’s veto.
President of City Council
ATTEST
City Clerk
City Clerk’s Office Item # R-6
Background Paper for Proposed
Ordinance
COUNCIL MEETING DATE: June 10, 2019
TO:
President Dennis E. Flores and Members of City Council
CC:
Nicholas Gradisar, Mayor
VIA:
Brenda Armijo, Acting City Clerk
FROM:
Jeff Hawkins, Director of Stormwater
SUBJECT:
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 17-9-1, 17-9-2 AND 17-9-3 OF
CHAPTER 9 OF TITLE XVII OF THE PUEBLO MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO
FLOOD DAMAGE PREVENTION TO MAKE SAME COMPLIANT WITH
CURRENT REQUIREMENTS OF THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE
PROGRAM AND STATE OF COLORADO MINIMUM STANDARDS
SUMMARY:
This Ordinance amends the City of Pueblo’s current Flood Damage Prevention Code of
Ordinances to adopt definitions that are compliant with the National Flood Insurance Program
(NFIP) requirements; to adopt a new Flood Insurance Study and Flood Insurance Rate Maps; and
provide an effective date.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION
:
None.
BACKGROUND
:
The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
recently completed a re-evaluation of flood hazards in the City and County of Pueblo. FEMA did
not receive any appeals of the proposed flood hazard determinations during the statutory 90-day
appeal period and considers the Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Flood Insurance Study report
final. The City is required, as a condition of continued eligibility in the NFIP, to adopt or show
evidence of adoption of the Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Flood Insurance Study report by the
effective date of August 15, 2019.
On April 26, 2019 the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) conducted a Community
Assistance Visit (CAV) with the Mayor and other department directors to discuss the City’s
participation in the NFIP. The CWCB and/or FEMA conduct these visits to maintain periodic
contact with communities participating in the NFIP, to assess the effectiveness of a community’s
implementation of its floodplain management regulations, and to provide technical assistance.
The CWCB reviewed the City’s Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance and noted that there were
definitions and other language missing from the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance that are
required to be in compliance with NFIP and State minimum standards.
The CWCB recommended that the City adopt the new effective FIS and FIRM date and all
additions listed above at the same time.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
:
None.
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
:
Not applicable.
STAKEHOLDER PROCESS
:
None.
ALTERNATIVES
:
Alternative No. 1 – No Action
Under this alternative, if the City of Pueblo fails to enact the necessary floodplain management
regulations, the City will be suspended from participation in the NFIP and would be ineligible to
receive disaster-related assistance from FEMA.
RECOMMENDATION
:
Approval of the Ordinance.