The Board of Supervisors approved Ordinance 2018-FC1- Flood Control District Lands and Facilities Regulations, the Facility Impact Ordinance, on December 18, 2018. This Ordinance creates a process for the District to authorize impacts to District facilities. District facilities are lands that are owned or managed by the District, flood control structures owned by the District, and lands, drainageways or structures for which the District has maintenance responsibility, either through an Intergovernmental Agreement or easement. The District has created several map options for determining where District Facilities are located:
Use the Facility Impact Permit Application form to apply for a permit.
Prior to the adoption of this Ordinance, impacts to District facilities generally were authorized by the Department of Transportation’s Right-of-Way Use Permit process or on a case-by-case basis through out-of-process reviews by District staff. District facilities should not be considered public rights-of-way, rather they are facilities under the responsibility of the District; therefore a new process was needed to better define property rights and responsibilities. When impacts, such as construction within a major water course, were proposed to District staff when a Right-of-Way Use Permit did not seem sufficient, there was no specified application, review or inspection process for these projects. Neither of these processes helped best protect the interests of the person or agency needing to conduct activities within District facilities or of the District.
The new Ordinance provides a better, more efficient and more responsive permitting and inspection process. Applicants will have clear direction and assignment of a responsible District staff member, and the District can clearly track impacts and follow projects through inspections and receipt of as-built plans, when required.
If an activity is required within the lands and facilities shown on the District Facilities Map, the responsible party should complete a Facility Impact Permit Application form. Submittal requirements, fees and inspections vary with the type of activity. District staff will review the application and confirm which of the Tiers applies to the project and assist the applicant with understanding and completing the permit process and the required conditions and inspections.
Because District facilities and the types of activities which may impact them can vary considerably, the Ordinance provides for four types of activities, described as Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4. A brief description of each tier is provided in the tabs below.