For the purpose of this part, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACCESSORY USE OR STRUCTURE. A use or structure on the same lot with, and of a nature customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal use or structure.
BASE FLOOD. A flood that has a one% chance of being equated or exceeded in any given year (also called the “100-year flood”).
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE). The elevation shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for Zones AE, AH, Al-30 that indicates the water surface elevation resulting from a flood that has a 1% or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
BASEMENT. Any area of the building having its floor below ground level on all sides.
BUILDING. A combination of materials to form a permanent structure having walls and a roof. Included shall be all mobile homes and trailers to be used for human habitation.
CUMULATIVE SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. Flood related damages sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a ten-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on average, equals or exceeds 25% of the market value of the structure before the damages occurred.
DEVELOPMENT. Any human-made change to improved or unimproved real estate including, but not limited to the construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, expansion, or alteration of buildings or other structures; the placement of manufactured homes; streets, and other paving; utilities; filling, grading and excavation; mining; dredging; drilling operations; storage of equipment or materials; and the subdivision of land.
EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK or SUBDIVISION. A manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
EXPANSION TO AN EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION. The preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufacturing homes are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads).
FLOOD. A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM). The official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS). The official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map, the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
FLOODPLAIN AREA. A relatively flat or low land area which is subject to partial or complete inundation from an adjoining or nearby stream, river or watercourse; and/or any area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation of surface waters from any source.
FLOODPROOFING. Any combination of structural and non-structural additions, changes or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures and their contents.
FLOODWAY. The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than one foot.
HISTORIC STRUCTURES. Any structure that is:
a. Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;
b. Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
c. Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or
d. Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation that have been certified either:
i. By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or
ii. Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
LOWEST FLOOR. The lowest floor of the lowest fully enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished, flood resistant partially enclosed area, used solely for parking of vehicles, building access, and incidental storage, in an area other than a basement area is not considered the lowest floor of a building, provided that such space is not designed and built so that the structure is in violation of the applicable non-elevation design requirements of this Chapter.
MANUFACTURED HOME. A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis, and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities. The term includes park trailers, travel trailers, recreational and other similar vehicles, which are placed on a site for more than 180 consecutive days.
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION. A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
NEW CONSTRUCTION. Structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after December 22, 2016 and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures. Any construction started after September 16, 1981 and before December 22, 2016 is subject to the ordinance in effect at the time the permit was issued, provided the start of construction was within 180 days of permit issuance.
NEW MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION. A manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date of floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
PERSON. An individual, partnership, pubic or private association or corporation, firm, trust, estate, municipality, governmental unit, public utility or any other legal entity whatsoever, which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE. A vehicle which is
a. Built on a single chassis;
b. Not more than 400 square feet, measured at the largest horizontal projections;
c. Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck;
d. Not designed for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
REGULATORY FLOOD ELEVATION. The base flood elevation (BFE) or estimated flood height as determined using simplified methods plus a freeboard safety factor of one and one-half feet. The freeboard safety factor also applies to utilities and ductwork.
SPECIAL PERMIT. A special approval which is required for hospitals, nursing homes, jails, and new manufactured home parks and substantial improvements to such existing parks, when such development is located in all, or a designated portion of a floodplain.
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA (SFHA). An area in the floodplain subject to a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the FIRM as Zone A, AO, A1-A30.AE, A99, or, AH.
START OF CONSTRUCTION. Includes substantial improvement and other proposed new development and means the date the permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was within 180 days from the date of the permit. The actual start means either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of a manufacture home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as catering grading, and filling; nor does it include the installation of streets and/or walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure. For a substantial improvement, the actual start of construction means the first, alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a building whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.
STRUCTURE. A walled and roofed building including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
SUBDIVISION. The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other division of land, including changes in existing lot lines for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court for distribution to heirs, or devisees, transfer of ownership, or building or lot development. Provided, however, that the subdivision by lease of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than ten acres, not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential dwelling, shall be exempted.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. Damage from any cause sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50% or more of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT. Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of winch equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the “start of construction” of the improvement. This term includes structures that have incurred “substantial damage” or “cumulative substantial damage” regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however include either:
a. Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or focal health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions, or;
b. Any alteration of an “historic structure,” provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as an “historic structure.”
UNIFORM CONSTRUCTION CODE (UCC). The statewide building code adopted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1999 applicable to new construction in all municipalities whether administered by the municipality, a third party or the Department of Labor and Industry. Applicable to residential and commercial buildings, The Code adopted The International Residential Code (IRC) and the International Building Code (IBC), by reference, as the construction standard applicable with the state floodplain construction. For coordination purposes, references to the above are made specifically to various sections of the IRC and the IBC.
VIOLATION. The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community's flood plain management regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in § 60.3(b)(5), (c)(4), (c)(10), (d)(3), (e)(2), (e)(4), or (e)(5) is presumed to be in violation until such tine as that documentation is provided.
(Ord. 1981-15-43, passed 12-14-1981; Ord. 1989-1, passed 3-13-1989; Ord. 2016-11-01, passed 11-14-2016)