ORD-3315
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND APPENDIX G, SOUTHERN WATERSHEDS MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE, SECTION 4 (DEFINITIONS AND FLOODPLAINS), SECTION 7 (PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND FLOODPLAINS), SECTION 8 (DESIGN CRITERIA AND FLOODPLAINS) AND SECTION 9 (THE SOUTHERN WATERSHEDS MANAGEMENT PLAN AND FLOODPLAINS)
Sections Amended: Southern Watersheds Management Ordinance §§4, 7, 8, and 9
WHEREAS, the public necessity, convenience, general welfare and good zoning practice so require;
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA:
That Sections4, 7, 8 and 9 of the Southern Watersheds Management Ordinanceare hereby amended and reordained to read as follows:
APPENDIX G SOUTHERN WATERSHEDS MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE
Sec. 4. Definitions.
The following words and terms used in this ordinance shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
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(i)Development: The construction, alteration or installation of any structure or other improvement upon a parcel of land, or any land disturbance, whether or not undertaken in connection with development, but not including activities associated with agriculture or silviculture or the construction of improvements used primarily for agricultural purposes.For floodplain management purposes, development means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, the placement of manufactured homes, streets, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations, storage of equipment or materials, or the subdivision of land.
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(m)Flood:A temporary rise in the level of any water body, watercourse or wetland which results in the inundation of areas not ordinarily covered by water. A general or temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from
(1) The overflow of inland or tidal waters; or
(2)The unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters from any source, orMudflows, which are proximately caused by flooding as defined in paragraph (1)(b) of this definition and are akin to a river of liquid and flowing mud on the surfaces of normally dry land areas, as when earth is carried by a current of water and deposited along the path of the current.
The collapse of subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly caused by an unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied by a severe storm, or by an unanticipated force of nature such as flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which that results in flooding as defined in paragraph 1(a) of this definition.
(n)Floodplain:That land area adjoining a river, stream, watercourse, ocean, bay, or lake, which is subject to inundation. Floodplains shall be determined as the land situated below the elevation of: Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source.
(1)That recorded by the maximum elevation of the flood water of record;
(2)The intermediate flood level as determined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; or
(3)The flood level as determined by the department of public works, whichever is greater. Any changes in the delineation of the intermediate flood level are subject to approval by the federal insurance administrator.
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(ff)Site: Any tract or parcel of land, or combination of tracts, lots or parcels of land which are in common ownership or are contiguous and in diverse ownership where development is to be performed as part of a subdivision or construction project.
(gg)Special Flood Hazard Area: The land in the floodplain subject to the one (1) perfect or greater chance of being flooded in any given year as set forth in the Floodplain Ordinance (Appendix K).
(gghh)Structure: That which is built or constructed, an edifice or building of any kind or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner, but not including fences or signs. For floodplain management purposes, a structure means a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
(hhii)Subdivision: The division of any parcel of land into two (2) or more lots or parcels. The term shall include all changes in lot lines, the creation of new lots involving any division of an existing lot or lots and, if a new street is involved in such division, any division of a parcel of land. When appropriate to the context, the term shall also include the process of subdividing and the territory subdivided.
(iijj)Tidal wetlands: Vegetated and nonvegetated wetlands, as defined in section 1401 of the City Zoning Ordinance [Appendix A].
(jjkk)Tillage equipment: Farm equipment commonly used to invert the soil surface layer, including, but not limited to, disc harrows and moldboard plows.
(kkll)Tributary stream: A watercourse contiguous to wetlands or shorelines, as defined in this ordinance.
(llmm)Vegetation: All plant growth, including, but not limited to, trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, herbs, mosses and grasses.
(mmnn) Waters or community of waters: Any and all water on or beneath the surface of the ground, including the water in any watercourse, water body or drainage system and diffused surface water and water percolating, standing or flowing beneath the surface of the ground, as well as coastal waters.
(nnoo)Watercourse: Any natural or artificial lake, stream, river, creek, channel, ditch, canal, conduit, culvert, drain, waterway, gully, ravine, swale or wash in which water flows, either continuously, periodically, or intermittently, and which has a definite channel, bed or banks.
(oopp)Water-dependent facility: A development of land which must be located on a shoreline by reason of its intrinsic nature, including, but not limited to, ports, intake and outfall structures of power plants, water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, storm sewer outfalls, marinas and other boat docking structures, beaches and other public water-oriented recreational areas, fisheries or other marine resource facilities and shoreline protection measures as authorized under the provisions of the Wetlands Zoning Ordinance. [Appendix A, § 1400 et seq.]. In the case of facilities having both water-dependent components and components which are not water-dependent, only those portions which are water-dependent shall fail within this definition.
(ppqq)Wetlands: Tidal and nontidal wetlands as defined herein.
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Sec. 7. Performance standards.
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(f)The following additional performance standards shall be requirements of all development:
(1)The quality of surface waters and groundwater shall be protected and, where practicable, enhanced;
(2)Erosion during and after development shall be minimized;
(3)Groundwater levels shall be protected;
(4)The beneficial functioning of wetlands as areas for the natural storage of surface waters and the chemical reduction and assimilation of pollutants shall be protected;
(5)The location, construction or design or structures in areas prone to flooding shall be undertaken in such manner as to prevent increased flooding and damage resulting from such developmentmeet the requirements of the Floodplain Ordinance (Appendix K);
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Sec. 8. Design criteria.
In order to ensure that the objectives of this ordinance and the performance standards set forth hereinabove will be attained, development subject to the provisions of section 7(e) shall be in accordance with the following requirements, which shall be in addition to the requirements of subsections (a), (b), (c) and (d) of section 7:
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(l)No structural best management practice (BMP) facility shall beconstructed within the one hundred-year floodplaina special flood hazard area;
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Sec. 9. Southern Watersheds Management Plan.
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(c)The plan shall include a detailed description of the existing environmental and hydrologic conditions of the site and receiving waters, including the following information as appropriate to the circumstances:
(1)The direction, flow rate and volume of stormwater runoff under existing conditions;
(2)The location of areas on the site where stormwater collects or percolates into the ground;
(3)A description of all watercourses, water bodies and wetlands on or adjacent to the site or into which stormwater flows. Information regarding their water quality and the current water quality classification, if any, given them by the Virginia Water Control Board shall be included;
(4)Groundwater levels, as indicated by the Virginia Beach Soil Survey;
(5)Location of floodplains, including floodways and flood fringesspecial flood hazard areas;
(6)Identification of vegetation existing on the site;
(7)The topography of the site; and
(8)Soil types or taxonomic units existing on the site.
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Adopted by the Council of the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia, on the 26thday of November, 2013.
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