Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Floodway Variance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
BZA approves floodway variance for replacement home after engineer’s no-rise certification
Summary
The Board approved a floodway variance allowing reconstruction of a smaller home in the Mulberry Creek overflow area after the applicant submitted a certified ‘no-rise’ engineering analysis and agreed to staff conditions on elevation and openings.
The Salina Board of Zoning Appeals approved application V25-2 on a voice vote to allow construction of a roughly 1,352-square-foot single-family dwelling at the northwest corner of North Fifth Street and Stemel Road in the Mulberry Creek overflow floodway, contingent on staff conditions and a licensed engineer’s no-rise certification.
Planning staff told the board the site previously contained a dwelling (about 2,100 square feet) that was condemned and removed in February 2019. The applicant’s engineer, Kaw Valley Engineering, submitted a hydraulic analysis and a sealed no-rise certification concluding that the proposed smaller dwelling and related construction would not increase flood elevations along the Mulberry Creek overflow area. Staff noted FEMA and the Kansas Division of Water Resources typically view floodway variances unfavorably and that the burden to demonstrate no-rise rests with the applicant and their professional engineer.
Staff outlined two typical construction options for floodway buildings: (1) elevate the lowest floor at least 1 foot above the flood elevation or (2) build on a crawl space with foundation openings (lattice or grates) to allow flows to pass under the structure; mechanical equipment must also be elevated. The applicant’s submitted plan proposes a smaller footprint than the former dwelling and the engineer’s model used the previous house’s presence in the floodway study, which staff said supported the no-rise conclusion. "The engineer has to put their seal on the report and on the line, and they have done that," a planning staff presenter said.
Applicant representative Debbie Werber and property owner (her brother) said they plan to orient the new house to allow the occupants a view of the open area and affirmed plans to connect to the sanitary sewer on North Fifth Street. Werber said the foundation will include the required openings for water passage and that the finished floor elevation will meet the one-foot-above requirement.
The board approved the variance subject to the staff recommendations contained in the staff report (including minimum elevations, foundation openings, and standard conditions) and directed staff to walk the applicants through the building-permit requirements after the meeting. The approval does not waive later building-permit inspections, and the applicants must submit final permit plans that comply with the conditions before construction begins.
