Bill Text: FL S1766 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Flood Damage Prevention

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2024-03-08 - Died in Rules [S1766 Detail]

Download: Florida-2024-S1766-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2024                                    SB 1766
       
       
        
       By Senator Rodriguez
       
       
       
       
       
       40-01713-24                                           20241766__
    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         specified maximum voluntary freeboard requirements for
    6         new construction and substantial improvements to
    7         existing construction; prohibiting voluntary freeboard
    8         from being used in the calculation of the maximum
    9         allowable height for certain construction; authorizing
   10         local governments to adopt by ordinance a minimum
   11         freeboard requirement or a maximum voluntary freeboard
   12         that exceeds certain requirements; requiring the
   13         Florida Building Commission to develop and adopt by
   14         rule minimum freeboard requirements by a specified
   15         date and to incorporate such requirements into the
   16         next edition of the Florida Building Code; requiring
   17         the commission to review the freeboard requirements in
   18         the Florida Building Code every 5 years beginning on a
   19         specified date and to make certain recommendations to
   20         the Legislature; providing an effective date.
   21          
   22  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   23  
   24         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Flood Damage
   25  Prevention Act of 2024.”
   26         Section 2. Section 553.845, Florida Statutes, is created to
   27  read:
   28         553.845 Flood damage prevention.—
   29         (1) The Legislature finds that:
   30         (a) The state is vulnerable to the adverse effects of
   31  flooding resulting from the frequency and intensity of rainfall
   32  and an increase in storm surge and sea level rise. These adverse
   33  effects pose a significant risk to existing and future
   34  structures in the state.
   35         (b) Public and private investments in our communities are
   36  important for economic growth, and protecting all structures
   37  from flooding is essential to maintaining resilient communities.
   38         (c) The mitigation of property damage constitutes a valid
   39  and recognized objective of the Florida Building Code.
   40         (d) It is important to develop a consistent, statewide
   41  approach to minimizing flooding in the state to mitigate
   42  property damage and encourage continued investment in our
   43  communities.
   44         (e) Minimum freeboard requirements are critical to
   45  addressing the devastating effects of flooding, and delaying the
   46  adoption and implementation of such requirements constitutes a
   47  threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the state.
   48         (2) For purposes of this section, the term:
   49         (a) “Coastal high-hazard area” means a special flood hazard
   50  area along the coast, as delineated by a Flood Insurance Rate
   51  Map issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has
   52  additional hazards due to wind and wave action.
   53         (b) “Freeboard” means the additional height, usually
   54  expressed as a factor of safety in feet, above the base flood
   55  elevation in determining the level at which a structure’s lowest
   56  floor or the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member
   57  must be elevated in accordance with floodplain management
   58  regulations and the Florida Building Code. If a base flood
   59  elevation is not determined for a structure that is not located
   60  in a special flood hazard area as designated by a Flood
   61  Insurance Rate Map issued by the Federal Emergency Management
   62  Agency, the term “freeboard” means the highest adjacent grade at
   63  the foundation of a structure.
   64         (c) “Maximum allowable height” means the maximum height
   65  allowed for a structure in the applicable zoning district.
   66         (d) “Substantial improvement” has the meaning as in s.
   67  161.54(12).
   68         (e) “Voluntary freeboard” means the additional height above
   69  the freeboard required by floodplain management regulations and
   70  the Florida Building Code. If freeboard is not required by
   71  floodplain management regulations and the Florida Building Code,
   72  the term “voluntary freeboard” means the additional height above
   73  the highest adjacent grade at the foundation of a structure.
   74         (3)(a) The maximum voluntary freeboard for all new
   75  construction and substantial improvements to existing
   76  construction, whether residential, commercial, industrial, or
   77  nonresidential, is 10 feet.
   78         (b) Within a coastal high-hazard area, the maximum
   79  voluntary freeboard for all new construction and substantial
   80  improvements to existing construction, whether residential,
   81  commercial, industrial, or nonresidential, is 10 feet.
   82         (4) For all new construction of a residential structure and
   83  substantial improvements to an existing residential structure,
   84  including a manufactured home, or an existing commercial,
   85  industrial, or nonresidential structure, voluntary freeboard may
   86  not be used in the calculation of the maximum allowable height
   87  for the structure.
   88         (5) A local government may adopt by ordinance a minimum
   89  freeboard requirement or a maximum voluntary freeboard that
   90  exceeds the requirements in the Florida Building Code or those
   91  established in this section.
   92         (6) The commission shall develop and adopt by rule minimum
   93  freeboard requirements by November 1, 2024, which shall take
   94  immediate effect, and shall incorporate such requirements into
   95  the next edition of the Florida Building Code.
   96         (7) Beginning in January 2029, and every 5 years
   97  thereafter, the commission shall review the freeboard
   98  requirements in the Florida Building Code and make
   99  recommendations to the Legislature regarding any necessary
  100  revisions to such requirements.
  101         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.