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CITY OF STEPHENVILLE
FLOODPLAIN DEVELOPMENT PERMIT APPLICATION
**All construction will also require a building permit**
This is an application packet for a Floodplain Development Permit. Certain
sections are to be completed by the Applicant, and certain
sections are to be completed by the local Floodplain Administrator (FPA).
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) provides flood insurance to individuals at much lower premiums than could otherwise
be purchased through private insurers, and makes certain federal monies available to local communities. In order for citizens to be
eligible for the national flood insurance rates, or for communities to receive certain kinds of federal monies, the community must agree
to meet minimum floodplain standards. This application packet is a tool to ensure that the minimum standards are met.
In a participating NFIP community, flood insurance policies can be purchased from any local insurance agent at the national rate.
Even though the policy may be issued as if it were coming from the insurance company you deal with, it is actually a Federal NFIP
policy printed on the insurance agency’s letterhead. The rates are determined by the flood risk zone in which you live and by the
elevation of the lowest floor of your home, not by the insurance company, and should be the same regardless of which agent or agency
sells you the insurance.
You may buy flood insurance for your own peace of mind, you may be required to buy it before a lending institution will make or
refinance a loan, or you may not be buying flood insurance at all. Whatever the case, if the property which you propose to develop is
located within a “Special Flood Hazard Area” on a flood map issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), you
MUST obtain a Floodplain Development Permit prior to beginning the project. This is a requirement of the local Flood Damage
Prevention Ordinance of your community, and there are penalties for failing to do so.
Floodplain Development Permits are ONLY required for developments in areas designated as “Special Flood Hazard Areas” of
FEMA-issued flood maps. Flood maps can be reviewed at the office of your local FPA, or online at the FEMA website
(www.FEMA.gov).
If you are proposing a development of any kind (constructing a new building, adding on to an existing building, clearing land, placing
fill, grading land, mining, dredging, drilling, etc…) in a floodplain, you MUST submit Section I of this application for a Floodplain
Development Permit to your local FPA. Depending upon the type of development you are proposing, additional forms may be
required. For example, all new buildings in a Special Flood Hazard Area require an Elevation Certificate to document that the lowest
floor of the building is elevated to a certain height relative to the anticipated flood crest of the “base flood” event. The Elevation
Certificate and other forms are provided in Section III of this application packet, but should only be completed if they are required
by the FPA for the proposed development.
Typically, the Applicant completes Section I of this packet and submits the information to the local FPA. The FPA reviews the
submission and determines whether or not additional information is needed. If it is, the FPA will request the additional information
from the Applicant. Once all required materials have been submitted, the FPA will make a permitting decision and either issue or deny
the requested Floodplain Development Permit. (Denied permits may be appealed per the provisions of the local Flood Damage
Prevention Ordinance.)
The Applicant should understand that a Floodplain Development Permit is only a permit to complete the proposed development. It is a
permit to, for example, build a house, construct a baseball field, install a drainage ditch or septic system or grade a parcel of land.
Before the house can actually be occupied, or the developed land used, a Compliance Certificate must be issued by the local FPA. The
FPA will perform an inspection after the project is completed, or perhaps several inspections throughout the progress of the project, to
make sure that the development is compliant with the requirements of the local Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance. Once the
Compliance Certificate has been issued, the process has been completed.
For developments (See Other Development Activities under PROJECT INFORMATION on the following form) other than
buildings/structures, applicants may be required to furnish details regarding the location, areal extent, depth/height (of fill or dredging,
for example), and other descriptive information. An engineering study may be required to determine the impact of any development
which may change the area, depth and velocity of flooding.