Okaloosa County BOCC — October 21, 2014 — Action Item Printout

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: October 21, 2014 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Elliot Kampert SUBJECT: Drainage from Single Family Residential Lots DEPARTMENT: Growth Management BCC DISTRICT: All STATEMENT OF ISSUE: District 2 Commissioner, David Parisot, has requested that staff place on the agenda a brief discussion of - and request for direction regarding - drainage issues from single family lots. BACKGROUND: The County Code requires that new single family homes be elevated for a number of reasons, including compliance with National Flood Insurance Program and to ensure that the structure is above the crown of the adjacent road for general drainage purposes. Unfortunately, the Code does not provide clear guidance on how surface water flows resulting from elevating homes is to be directed so as not to become a nuisance to surrounding property owners; in fact, the construction of single family homes on individual lots is specifically exempt from the stormwater provisions of the Land Development Code. The only regulatory guidance in any code the County enforces is found in Section R401.3 of the Florida Building Code, Residential which provides only very general guidance as follows: R401.3 Drainage. Surface drainage shall be diverted to a storm sewer conveyance or other approved point of collection that does not create a hazard. Lots shall be graded to drain surface water away from foundation walls. The grade shall fall a minimum of 6 inches (152 mm)within the first 10 feet (3048 mm). The Building Code does not specify that a drainage plan be submitted as part of the application, nor does it define the meaning of "approved point of collection" regarding where surface water must drain if there's no as used in the above section. Even the use of the word "hazard" is somewhat subject to interpretation. Water flowing from one property to another may or may not create a hazardous condition; it does, however, often generate complaints and disputes between neighbors. Because of the extremely general nature of the language and without an actual drainage plan, it is difficult for building inspectors to verify in the field how a subject property's drainage will function and whether it meets this requirement. There are different ways in which this situation could be addressed. One method would be to require that a drainage plan signed and sealed by a professional engineer be submitted as part of every building permit application, along with a requirement that an as-built survey performed by a licensed surveyor accompanied by a letter from the design engineer stating that the drainage system has been built in conformance with the plans be submitted prior to the issuance of the structure's certificate of occupancy. Another method would be to develop a drainage affidavit to be signed by the owner of the property under construction which attests that the property will be developed in a manner such that surface drainage shall be diverted to a storm sewer conveyance or other approved point of collection that does not create a hazard as well as in accordance with the other drainage and stormwater provisions of the LDC (which will be individually cited) from which residential development is currently exempt. This could be coupled with an as-built requirement that would become part of the permit file for future reference if needed. Finally, for all new subdivisions, the plat could be annotated to provide the elevation required for each specific lot based on the subdivision's drainage plan. The proposed elevation of a structure would then be checked for consistency with the approved plat at the time of application for building permits. This would be accompanied by either the affidavit or drainage plan as discussed above. Other strategies may also be available; however, as a code change of this nature will require a significant amount of staff time, it is appropriate to seek guidance on whether the Board wishes to pursue this area of investigation. RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners discuss this matter and provide guidance to staff accordingly. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: John Hofstad, Interim County Administrator