Bill Text: FL S1018 | 2023 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Flood Damage Prevention

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2023-05-05 - Died in Rules [S1018 Detail]

Download: Florida-2023-S1018-Introduced.html
       Florida Senate - 2023                                    SB 1018
       
       
        
       By Senator Trumbull
       
       
       
       
       
       2-01331A-23                                           20231018__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to flood damage prevention; providing
    3         a short title; creating s. 553.845, F.S.; providing
    4         legislative findings; providing definitions; providing
    5         voluntary freeboard requirements for all new
    6         construction and substantial improvements to existing
    7         construction; prohibiting voluntary freeboard from
    8         being used in the calculation of the maximum allowable
    9         height for certain construction in applicable zoning
   10         districts; authorizing local governments to adopt by
   11         ordinance a minimum freeboard requirement or a maximum
   12         voluntary freeboard that exceeds the minimum
   13         requirements in the Florida Building Code or
   14         established in the act; requiring the Florida Building
   15         Commission to develop and adopt by rule minimum
   16         freeboard requirements by a specified date, which
   17         shall take immediate effect, and to incorporate such
   18         requirements into the next edition of the Florida
   19         Building Code; requiring the commission to review the
   20         freeboard requirements in the Florida Building Code
   21         every 5 years beginning on a specified date and make
   22         certain recommendations to the Legislature; providing
   23         an effective date.
   24          
   25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   26  
   27         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Flood Damage
   28  Prevention Act of 2023.”
   29         Section 2. Section 553.845, Florida Statutes, is created to
   30  read:
   31         553.845Flood damage prevention.—
   32         (1)The Legislature finds that:
   33         (a)The state is vulnerable to the adverse effects of
   34  flooding resulting from the frequency and intensity of rainfall
   35  and an increase in storm surge and sea level rise. These adverse
   36  effects pose a significant risk to existing and future
   37  structures in the state.
   38         (b)Public and private investments in our communities are
   39  important for economic growth, and protecting all structures
   40  from flooding is essential to maintaining resilient communities.
   41         (c)The mitigation of property damage constitutes a valid
   42  and recognized objective of the Florida Building Code.
   43         (d)It is important to develop a consistent, statewide
   44  approach to minimizing flooding in the state to mitigate
   45  property damage and encourage continued investment in our
   46  communities.
   47         (e)Minimum freeboard requirements are critical to
   48  addressing the devastating effects of flooding, and delaying the
   49  adoption and implementation of such requirements constitutes a
   50  threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the state.
   51         (2)For purposes of this section, the term:
   52         (a)“Coastal high-hazard area” means a special flood hazard
   53  area along the coast, as delineated by a Flood Insurance Rate
   54  Map issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, that has
   55  additional hazards due to wind and wave action.
   56         (b)“Freeboard” means the additional height, usually
   57  expressed as a factor of safety in feet, above the base flood
   58  elevation in determining the level at which a structure’s lowest
   59  floor or the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member
   60  must be elevated in accordance with floodplain management
   61  regulations and the Florida Building Code. If a base flood
   62  elevation is not determined for a structure that is not located
   63  in a special flood hazard area as designated by a Flood
   64  Insurance Rate Map issued by the Federal Emergency Management
   65  Agency, the term “freeboard” means the highest adjacent grade at
   66  the foundation of a structure.
   67         (c)“Maximum allowable height” means the maximum height
   68  allowed for a structure in the applicable zoning district.
   69         (d)“Substantial improvement” has the meaning as in s.
   70  161.54(12).
   71         (e)“Voluntary freeboard” means the additional height above
   72  the freeboard required by floodplain management regulations and
   73  the Florida Building Code. If freeboard is not required by
   74  floodplain management regulations and the Florida Building Code,
   75  the term “voluntary freeboard” means the additional height above
   76  the highest adjacent grade at the foundation of a structure.
   77         (3)(a)The maximum voluntary freeboard for all new
   78  construction and substantial improvements to existing
   79  construction, whether residential, commercial, industrial, or
   80  nonresidential, is 4 feet.
   81         (b)Within a coastal high-hazard area, the maximum
   82  voluntary freeboard for all new construction and substantial
   83  improvements to existing construction, whether residential,
   84  commercial, industrial, or nonresidential, is 9 feet.
   85         (4)For all new construction of a residential structure and
   86  substantial improvements to an existing residential structure,
   87  including a manufactured home, or an existing commercial,
   88  industrial, or nonresidential structure, voluntary freeboard may
   89  not be used in the calculation of the maximum allowable height
   90  for the structure.
   91         (5)A local government may adopt by ordinance a minimum
   92  freeboard requirement or a maximum voluntary freeboard that
   93  exceeds the requirements in the Florida Building Code or
   94  established in this section.
   95         (6)The commission shall develop and adopt by rule minimum
   96  freeboard requirements by November 1, 2023, which shall take
   97  immediate effect, and shall incorporate such requirements into
   98  the next edition of the Florida Building Code.
   99         (7)Beginning in January 2028, and every 5 years
  100  thereafter, the commission shall review the freeboard
  101  requirements in the Florida Building Code and make
  102  recommendations to the Legislature regarding any necessary
  103  revisions to such requirements.
  104         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.

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