General development standards

The following standards shall apply to any development located wholly or partly in a SFHA:

• A. No watercourse shall be altered in a manner which will decrease the capacity of the watercourse and unless prior approval has been granted by the RIDEM. If an alteration of a watercourse is permitted, the BI shall notify prior to said alteration:

  Adjacent Communities:

  NFIP State Coordinator Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency 645 New London Avenue Cranston, Rhode Island 02920

  Risk Analysis Branch Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region I 99 High Street, 6th Floor Boston, MA 02110

• B. In a floodway:
  • 1. The construction of a structure that requires the issuance of a building permit shall be prohibited.
  • 2. Any encroachment shall be prohibited unless a RPE certifies that said encroachment shall not result in an increase in the BFE.
• C. Excavation or fill below the BFE may be permitted under the following conditions:
  • 1. All excavation or fill shall be constructed so as not to obstruct a drainage way.
  • 2. The excavation or fill shall be constructed so as to be stable, remain firm and in place during flooding and to protect abutting properties from runoff.
  • 3. No land shall be altered in a manner which will increase a BFE. The amount of flood storage provided after the excavation or fill shall be compensated at a ratio of 1.5 to one to that which presently exists under the two, ten (10), twenty-five (25) and one hundred (100) year storm event. Said storage shall be provided to that lost at each elevation (in one foot increments) and shall be located in the same reach of the river. Written certification that said compensation has been created shall be provided by a RPE prior to the issuance of any certificate of occupancy (CO).
• D. No outdoor storage of materials or equipment which is likely to cause damage to property, create a potential obstruction, create a potential fire hazard or pollute the waters in a flood event shall be permitted in a SFHA. Said items shall include but not necessarily be limited to: lumber and other buoyant materials, water-soluble materials, volatile or flammable materials, acids or poisons.
• E. Provision shall be made for anchoring facilities, equipment or yard features which are capable of movement or flotation during flooding. Said items shall include but shall not be limited to: fences, sheds, animal shelters, tanks, storage boxes, planters, vehicles, boats and other items normally positioned or stored on a site outside of a structure.
• F. The use of flood-resistant materials shall be used for construction below the BFE or the elevation required by the Rhode Island Building Code (whichever is greater).
• G. Construction methods and practices shall be used that minimize flood damage.
• H. All utilities shall be constructed such that they are elevated to or above the BFE or the elevation required by the Rhode Island Building Code (whichever is greater).
• I. Onsite waste disposal systems shall be designed to avoid impairment to or contamination from them during flooding.
• J. Water supply and sanitary sewage systems shall be designed to prohibit infiltration into the systems and discharge from the systems during flooding.
• K. Fuel oil storage tanks shall be either elevated to or above the DFE or securely anchored to prevent flotation. Vent pipes shall extend to or above the BFE or the elevation required by the Rhode Island Building Code (whichever is greater) and fill caps below the BFE or the elevation required by the Rhode Island Building Code (whichever is greater) shall be screw type with a tight fitting gasket to prevent mixing of water with oil.
• L. Current BFE data shall be required for any subdivision proposal.

(Ord. 2013-27, § 1, 8/26/2013; Ord. 2015-28, § 1, 8/24/2015)