2026-0271
INTRODUCED BY: MATTHEW JEWELL, PARISH PRESIDENT
(DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING & ZONING)
ORDINANCE NO. __________
Title
An ordinance to amend the St. Charles Parish Zoning Ordinance of 1981, Section XX. Flood damage prevention. to reestablish the effective “Flood Insurance Study for the Parish of St. Charles” and accompanying Flood Insurance Rate Maps revised June 16, 1992, for the purpose of determining minimum building elevations for development within Sunset Drainage District and to add 0 feet NAVD88 as the lowest permitted elevation.
Body
WHEREAS, Ordinance 92-4-23 adopted the effective Flood Insurance Study and Flood Insurance Rate Maps for St. Charles Parish, which identified the Sunset Drainage District as a X-shaded zone; and,
WHEREAS, Ordinance 13-7-7 requires that “for the purpose of determining minimum building elevations, the Preliminary Digital Flood Insurance Rates Maps (DFIRM) referred to in The Flood Insurance Study for the Parish of St. Charles, stamped Revised Preliminary November 9, 2012, shall take precedent over the effective FIRMs where they are more restrictive”; and,
WHEREAS, this Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map is a higher regulatory standard than the National Flood Insurance Program requires; and,
WHEREAS, this higher regulatory standard makes the minimum building elevation in some existing neighborhoods of the Sunset Drainage District as high as 10 feet above the ground; and,
WHEREAS, since 2013, the St. Charles Parish Board of Zoning Adjustment has granted 207 variances from this higher regulatory standard in the Sunset Drainage District; and,
WHEREAS, there are approximately 150 vacant lots in existing subdivisions or family plots within Sunset Drainage District that are suitable for in-fill development of houses and mobile homes; and,
WHEREAS, if the higher regulatory standard remains, developers of these lots are likely to seek variances; and,
WHEREAS, the concentration of variances that have already been issued shows that the higher regulatory standard has not caused buildings to be built to 6, 7, or 8 ft. NAVD88 (which can be 8, 9, 10 ft. above the ground); and,
WHEREAS, the Planning and Zoning Department recommends that primary structures should not be built or placed below 0 ft. NAVD88 as a general, parish wide standard; and,
WHEREAS, the St. Charles Parish Council wishes to remove the higher regulatory standard of the Preliminary DFIRM from the Sunset Drainage District without creating a situation in which buildings will be permitted to be built below 0 ft. NAVD88.
THE ST. CHARLES PARISH COUNCIL HEREBY ORDAINS:
SECTION I. The St. Charles Parish Zoning Ordinance of 1981, Section XX, Flood Damage Prevention. C. General Provisions 2. is hereby amended as follows with new text underlined and deleted text in strikethrough
2. Basis for Establishing Areas of Special Flood Hazard. The areas of special flood hazard identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a scientific and engineering report entitled, "The Flood Insurance Study for the Parish of St. Charles," stamped preliminary June 27, 1991, with accompanying Flood Insurance Rate Maps is hereby adopted by reference and declared to be a part of this section. The Flood Insurance Study is on file at the St. Charles Parish Courthouse, River Road, Hahnville, Louisiana. In addition, for the purpose of determining minimum building elevations, the Preliminary Digital Flood Insurance Rates Maps (DFIRM) referred to in "The Flood Insurance Study for the Parish of St. Charles," stamped Revised Preliminary November 9, 2012, shall take precedent over the effective FIRMS in all areas where they are more restrictive. except within the area of the Sunset Drainage District, delineated in Chapter 7. Sec. 7-24.
SECTION II. The St. Charles Parish Zoning Ordinance of 1981, Section XX, Flood Damage Prevention. E. Provisions for Flood Hazard Reduction 2. is hereby amended as follows with new text underlined and deleted text in strikethrough
2. Specific Standards: In all areas designated as "X" Zones on the Federal Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for St. Charles Parish, all buildings or structures shall be elevated so that the top of the lowest floor, or the lowest portion of the structural members of the lowest floor for mobile homes are located at least twelve (12) inches above the center line of the nearest street right-of-way and also no lower than 0 ft. NAVD88. In all areas of special flood hazard where base flood elevations have been provided as set forth in section C.2. or in section D.4.h., the following standards are required:
The foregoing ordinance having been submitted to a vote, the vote thereon was as follows:
And the ordinance was declared adopted this ____ day of _____________, 2026, to become effective (5) days after publication in the Official Journal.
CHAIRMAN:
SECRETARY:
DLVD/PARISH PRESIDENT:
APPROVED : DISAPPROVED:
PARISH PRESIDENT:
RETD/SECRETARY:
AT: RECD BY: