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| In this bill the following definitions are applied: - A river is defined as any permanent freshwater body with a normal flow cross sectional area of greater than 5m². - A river is held to be prone to flood if there is a 25% or greater chance of it bursting its banks in any given year. Under this bill, the paving of any unpaved areas and the building on any undeveloped land within 30m of the banks of a river that is prone to flood will be prohibited. Exceptions to this are in the following: - Transport links running perpendicular to the river channel (such as footpaths, roads etc. leading to bridges, harbours etc. as well as the bridges and harbours themselves) - Buildings and access routes to them will be permitted in cases where it can be demonstrated that said buildings require proximity to a water body in order to fulfil their functional purpose. Existing structures within this area, as well as reconstructions, renovations, modifications etc. to said existing structures will not be in any way affected by this bill. The benefits to this bill are twofold: - The environmental benefit of having land largely safe from development is enormous. - Having open, unpaved land surrounding rivers is the most effective flood prevention strategy, and also has the added benefit of being free. |