State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Vermont > Title-24 > Chapter-117 > 4424
§ 4424. Shorelands; flood or hazard area; special or freestanding bylaws
Any municipality may adopt freestanding bylaws under this chapter to address particular areas in conformance with the plan, including the following, which may also be part of zoning or unified development bylaws:
(1) Bylaws to regulate development and use along shorelands.
(2) Bylaws to regulate development and use in flood or other hazard areas. The following shall apply if flood or other hazard area bylaws are enacted:
(A) Purposes.
(i) To minimize and prevent the loss of life and property, the disruption of commerce, the impairment of the tax base, and the extraordinary public expenditures and demands on public service that result from flooding, landslides, erosion hazards, earthquakes, and other natural or human-made hazards.
(ii) To ensure that the design and construction of development in flood and other hazard areas are accomplished in a manner that minimizes or eliminates the potential for flood and loss or damage to life and property.
(iii) To manage all flood hazard areas designated pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 753.
(iv) To make the state and municipalities eligible for federal flood insurance and other federal disaster recovery and hazard mitigation funds as may be available.
(B) Contents of bylaws. Flood and other hazard area bylaws may:
(i) Contain standards and criteria that prohibit the placement of damaging obstructions or structures, the use and storage of hazardous or radioactive materials, and practices that are known to further exacerbate hazardous or unstable natural conditions.
(ii) Require flood and hazard protection through elevation, floodproofing, disaster preparedness, hazard mitigation, relocation, or other techniques.
(iii) Require adequate provisions for flood drainage and other emergency measures.
(iv) Require provision of adequate and disaster-resistant water and wastewater facilities.
(v) Establish other restrictions to promote the sound management and use of designated flood and other hazard areas.
(C) Effect on zoning bylaws. Flood or other hazard area bylaws may alter the uses otherwise permitted, prohibited, or conditional in a flood or other hazard area under a bylaw, as well as the applicability of other provisions of that bylaw. Where a flood hazard bylaw, a hazard area bylaw, or both apply along with any other bylaw, compliance with the flood or other hazard area bylaw shall be prerequisite to the granting of a zoning permit. Where a flood hazard area bylaw or a hazard area bylaw but not a zoning bylaw applies, the flood hazard and other hazard area bylaw shall be administered in the same manner as are zoning bylaws, and a flood hazard area or hazard area permit shall be required for land development covered under the bylaw.
(D) Mandatory provisions. All flood and other hazard area bylaws shall provide that no permit for new construction or substantial improvement shall be granted for a flood or other hazard area until after both the following:
(i) A copy of the application is mailed or delivered by the administrative officer or by the appropriate municipal panel to the agency of natural resources.
(ii) Either 30 days have elapsed following the mailing or the agency delivers comments on the application.
(E) Special exceptions. The appropriate municipal panel, after public hearing, may approve the repair, relocation, replacement, or enlargement of a nonconforming structure within a regulated flood or other hazard area, subject to compliance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations, and provided that the following criteria are met:
(i) The appropriate municipal panel finds that the repair, relocation, or enlargement of the nonconforming structure is required for the continued economically feasible operation of a nonresidential enterprise.
(ii) The appropriate municipal panel finds that the repair, relocation, or enlargement of the nonconforming structure will not increase flood levels in the regulatory floodway, increase the risk of other hazard in the area, or threaten the health, safety, and welfare of the public or other property owners.
(iii) The permit so granted states that the repaired, relocated, or enlarged nonconforming structure is located in a regulated flood or other hazard area, does not conform to the bylaws pertaining to that area, and will be maintained at the risk of the owner. (Added 2003, No. 115 (Adj. Sess.), § 95.)
