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On February 11th, 2008, the Town of Westport City Council approved the FLOOD
DAMAGE PREVENTION ORDINANCE effective March 18th, 2008. The Legislature of the
State of South Dakota has in SDCL 9-36 and 7-18-14 (State Statute delegating
authority) delegated the responsibility to local government units to adopt
regulations designed to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare
of its citizenry. The STATEMENT OF PURPOSE and the METHODS OF REDUCING FLOOD
LOSSES, excerpts from the ordinance, are published below. The ordinance in its
entirety can be obtained from the Westport Zoning Administrator, Steven Mitzel.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
It is the purpose of the FLOOD DAMAGE PREVENTION
ORDINANCE to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare, and to
minimize public and private losses due to flood conditions to specific areas by
provisions designed:
(1) To protect human life and health;
(2) To minimize expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects;
(3) To minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding
and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;
(4) To minimize prolonged business interruptions;
(5) To minimize damage to public facilities and utilities such as water and gas
mains, electric, telephone and sewer lines, streets and bridges located in areas
of special flood hazard;
(6) To help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use and
development of areas of special flood hazard so as to minimize future flood
blight areas;
(7) To ensure that potential buyers are notified that property is in an area of
special flood hazard; and,
(8) To ensure that those who occupy the areas of special flood hazard assume
responsibility for their actions.
METHODS OF REDUCING FLOOD LOSSES
In order to accomplish its purposes, this ordinance includes methods and
provisions for:
(1) Restricting or prohibiting uses which are dangerous to health, safety, and
property due to water or erosion hazards, or which result in damaging increases
in erosion or in flood heights or velocities;
(2) Requiring that uses vulnerable to floods, including facilities which serve
such uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of initial
construction;
(3) Controlling the alteration of natural floodplains, stream channels, and
natural protective barriers, which help accommodate or channel flood waters;
(4) Controlling filling, grading, dredging, and other development which may
increase flood damage; and
(5) Preventing or regulating the construction of flood barriers which will
unnaturally divert flood waters or which may increase flood hazards in other
areas.
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