Development permit requirements
Within all areas designated as flood-prone, as well as within 200 feet of all watercourses shown on the flood insurance rate map (FIRM) and the flood hazard boundary map (FHBM), the following requirements shall apply:
a. No proposed construction or other development, including placement of manufactured homes, shall proceed prior to the issuance of a development permit from the zoning officer. Such proposals shall be reviewed to ensure that:
(1) All such proposals are consistent with the need to minimize flood damage within the flood-prone area;
(2) All public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems are located and constructed to minimize or eliminate flood damage;
(3) Adequate drainage is provided to reduce exposure to flood hazards.
b. All proposed new developments, including proposals for manufactured home parks and subdivisions, greater than 50 lots or five acres, whichever is the lesser, shall include base flood elevation data with the development application.
c. No watercourse may be altered or relocated without approval from all appropriate local, state and federal agencies.
d. To ensure that the flood-carrying capacity within an altered or relocated watercourse is maintained, the following provisions shall be taken:
(1) Until a regulatory floodway is designated, no new construction, substantial improvements or other development, including fill, shall be permitted unless it is demonstrated that the cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated development, will not increase the water surface elevation of the base flood more than one foot at any point within the community;
(2) When flood data from any source, including the developer, is available to enable the community to designate a regulatory floodway:
(a) The regulatory floodway shall be selected and adopted on the principle that the area chosen for the regulatory floodway must be designed to carry waters of the base flood, without increasing the water surface of that flood more than one foot at any point;
(b) Encroachments shall be prohibited, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements and other development within the adopted regulatory floodway that would result in any increase in flood levels within the community during the occurrence of the base flood discharge;
(c) The placement of any manufactured homes shall be prohibited except in an existing manufactured home park or manufactured home subdivision within the adopted regulatory floodway.
e. All buildings shall be set back from a floodway for a distance of at least the average of the setbacks existing on similar improvements on plots within 200 feet. If there are no such improvements on the plots within 200 feet of the proposed building site, then the setback from the floodway shall be at least 30 feet. Accessory structures may, by special use permit, extend to the floodway. Authorized public and semipublic bodies may be permitted to erect structures within a floodway only when the most extenuating circumstances warrant the issuance of a special use permit.
f. No material shall be stored in floodprone areas which is likely to cause an obstruction, create a fire hazard or pollute the water during flood periods. Such material includes, but is not limited to, substantial quantities of lumber and other floatable materials, volatile materials, acids, poisons, liquids other than water and soluble materials.
g. Below the lowest habitable floor level of any structure within a floodprone area, reasonable provision shall be made for anchoring down those items customarily found out of doors, which are capable of floating in water for a prolonged period of time and ordinarily not anchored. Such customary yard features shall include, but not be limited to, moveable structures and sheds, animal shelters, cages, feeders or dog houses, fuel containers, tanks, cylinders and cans, picnic benches, railroad ties, flower boxes and planters, barrels, refuse containers, storage boxes, pallets, tires and tubes, freezers and refrigerators, lobster and eel traps, boat hulls, docking and float materials, signs and stored vehicles.
h. All manufactured homes to be placed or substantially improved within zones A1-30, AH and AE shall be elevated on a permanent foundation such that the lowest floor of the manufactured home is at or above the base flood elevation, and the structure is securely anchored to an adequately anchored foundation system in accordance with the provisions of the Rhode Island Building Code.