Title
Consider and take action on an ordinance amending Chapter 50 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of League City entitled, “Floods” regarding engineering standards for the minimization of flood losses. (Director of Engineering)
Staff requests approval on first and final reading.
Background:
The “Flood Ordinance” contains requirements for sub-dividers, developers, applicants, engineers, surveyors, realtors and other persons interested and involved in the subdivision and development of land within areas of special flood hazards (100-yr floodplain) or within the Zone X (shaded) areas (500-yr floodplain).
In 2018, this ordinance was updated to (1) include development requirements within Zone X (shaded) areas, (2) require Elevation Certificates to be submitted to and accepted by the City’s Floodplain Coordinator prior to a Certificate of Occupancy being issued, and (3) to require all new development (residential and commercial) to have the lowest floor elevation (including basements) a minimum of 24 inches above the larger of the Base Flood Elevation (BFE), the crown of the nearest street, or the highest grade adjacent to the building AND be a minimum of 3 inches above the nearest 500-year Flood Elevation.
In 2018, several of the City’s larger subdivisions, such as Hidden Lakes, Mar Bella, Westwood, Coastal Point, and Magnolia Creek, with multiple phases of development had construction plans for public infrastructure (1) either approved and moving into construction, or (2) very close to being approved. To shift requirements on these development sections that late into the design stage would have been very costly. Because of that, the 2018 ordinance update phased in the new finish floor requirements with October 1, 2018, being the date that new development would need to fully comply with the updated finish floor requirements. Staff also worked with the developers and engineers of these “transitional development phases” to ensure that as much of the new ordi...
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