§ 18-6. Establishment of zoning districts.

The mapped areas of special flood hazard within the jurisdiction of this article are hereby designated as the General Flood Plain Overlay District (GFP District). The GFP District shall be divided into two subdistricts: The portions of the GFP District located outside floodways are hereby designated as the Floodfringe District (FF District); and the portions of the GFP District located within floodways are hereby designated as the Floodway District (FW District). The flood district boundaries as delineated on the currently applicable Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) or Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) (or as described by any revisions thereto or interpretations thereof that are authorized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or by provisions of this article), shall serve as the Official Zoning Map of the flood plain overlay districts established by this subsection. All uses not permitted as principal, accessory or conditional uses within each district shall be prohibited.

18-6(a)

Floodfringe District (FF District).

(1)

Permitted Uses. Permitted uses in the FF District shall be the same principal, accessory and conditional uses as are permitted in the applicable base zone, subject to the requirements or limitations in the following subsections.

(2)

Development and/or Structures. Any development, or new construction or substantial improvement of any structure (see definitions) shall comply with all applicable flood hazard reduction provisions of Section 18-5.

(3)

Storage of Material or Equipment. The storage or processing of material is prohibited if, in time of flooding, it is buoyant, flammable, explosive, or could otherwise be injurious to human, animal, or plant life. Storage of other material or equipment may be allowed if not subject to major damage by floods and firmly anchored to prevent flotation, or if readily removable from the area within the time available after flood warning.

18-6(b)

Floodway District (FW District).

(1)

Principal and Accessory Uses Permitted. Principal and accessory permitted uses in the FW District shall have a low flood-damage potential, shall not obstruct flood flows, shall not be prohibited by other ordinances or the base zone, shall not be a use which requires a conditional use permit under Subsection 18-6(b)(2) below, shall not adversely affect the capacity of the channels or floodways of any tributary to the main stream, drainage ditch, or any other drainage facility, and shall not require structures, fill, or storage of materials or equipment unless explicitly permitted below. The following are principal and accessory permitted uses to the extent that they conform to the aforementioned criteria. The base zone in which particular uses are located may require conditional use permits.

(a)

Agricultural uses such as general farming, pasture, grazing, outdoor plant nurseries, viticulture, truck farming, forestry, sod farming, horticulture, and wildcrop harvesting.

(b)

Industrial/commercial accessory uses such as loading areas, parking areas, and airport landing strips.

(c)

Private and public recreation uses such as golf courses, tennis courts, driving ranges, archery ranges, picnic grounds, boat-launching ramps, swimming areas, parks, wildlife and nature preserves, game farms, fish hatcheries, shooting preserves, target ranges, trap and skeet ranges, hunting and fishing areas, hiking and horseback riding traces.

(d)

Residential accessory uses such as lawns, gardens, parking areas, and play areas.

(e)

Streets, railroads, bridges, utility transmission lines, and pipe lines. Such uses are explicitly permitted to require structures or fill, or the temporary storage of materials or equipment. All characteristics of such uses, including their effects on areas of special flood hazard, shall comply with all applicable flood hazard reduction provisions of Section 18-5.

(2)

Conditional Uses Permitted. Conditional permitted uses in the FW District shall not be prohibited by other ordinances or the base zone; may involve encroachments such as temporary or permanent structures, fill, or storage of equipment or materials, subject to compliance with the requirements of Subsection 18-5(b)(4); and shall comply with the permit procedures in Subsection 18-4(b)(3). The following are permitted conditional uses to the extent that they conform to the aforementioned criteria.

(a)

Uses or structures accessory to open space or other permitted conditional uses.

(b)

Single-family residential structures, including manufactured homes, if located on existing lots of record created within the City of Owensboro before August 1, 1980, or if located on existing lots of record created outside the City of Owensboro before September 3, 1980.

(c)

Circuses, carnivals, and similar transient amusement enterprises.

(d)

Drive-in theaters, new and used car lots, and roadside stands.

(e)

Extraction of sand and gravel.

(f)

Marinas, boat rentals, docks, piers, wharves, and other functionally dependent facilities as defined in this article.

(g)

Other uses similar in nature to those described above which may include temporary or permanent structures, fill, or storage of equipment or materials.

(h)

Limited expansion of an existing use that was established before the date it was mapped within a Floodway District. This provision is not intended to allow major expansions of existing uses within floodways. Major expansions would not be able to comply with the requirements of Subsection 18-5(b)(4).

(Ord. No. 16-2009, § 2, 5-5-2009)