Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this Chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this Chapter its most reasonable application.
APPEAL: | A request for a review of the Building Inspector’s interpretation of any provisions of this Chapter. |
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD: | The land in the flood plain within a community subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Designation on maps always includes the letters A or V. |
BASE FLOOD: | The flood having a one percent (1%) change of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Also referred to as the 100-year flood. Designation on maps always includes the letters A or V. |
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE): | A determination by the Federal Insurance Administrator of the water surface elevations of the base flood, that is, the flood level that has a one percent or greater chance of occurrence in any given year. When the BFE has not been provided in a Special Flood Hazard Area, it may be obtained from engineering studies available from a Federal. State, or other source using FEMA-approved engineering methodologies. This elevation, when combined with the Freeboard, establishes the Flood Protection Elevation. |
BASEMENT: | Any area of the building having its floor sub grade (below ground level) on all sides. |
DEVELOPMENT: | Any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations located within the area of special flood hazard. |
FLOOD OR FLOODING: | 1. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from: |
(A) The overflow of inland or tidal water and/or | |
(B) The unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff surface waters from any source. | |
(C) Mudslides (i.e., mudflows) which are proximately caused by flooding as defined in paragraph 1(B) of this definition and are akin to a river of liquid and flowing mud on the surfaces of normally dry land areas, as when earth is carried by a current of water and deposited along the path of the current. | |
2. The collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly caused by an unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied by a severe storm, or by an unanticipated force of nature, such as flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in 1(A) of this definition. | |
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM): | The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administrator has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable in the community. |
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY: | An examination, evaluation, and determination of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations; or an examination, evaluation and determination of mudslide (i.e., mudflow) and/or flood- related erosion hazards. |
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT: | The operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works, and flood plain management regulations. |
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS: | Zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as a flood plain ordinance, grading ordinance, and erosion control ordinance), and other applications of police power. The term describes such state or local regulations, in any combination thereof, which provide standards for the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction. |
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 a designated height. |
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT FACILITY: | A facility that cannot be used for its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water, such as a docking or port facility necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, shipbuilding, or ship repair facilities. The term does not include long-term storage, manufacture, sales, or service facilities. |
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE (HAG): | The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction, adjacent to the proposed walls of a structure. Refer to the FEMA Elevation Certificate for HAG related to building elevation information. |
HISTORIC STRUCTURE: | A structure that is: |
1. Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the U.S. | |
Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register; | |
2. Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or to a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district; | |
3. Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places and determined as eligible by states with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or | |
4. Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places and determined as eligible by communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either: | |
(A) By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, or | |
(B) Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs. | |
LOWEST FLOOR: | The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles, buildings access or storage, in an area other than a basement area, is not considered a building’s lowest floor, provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable nonelevation 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 connected to the required utilities. For flood plain management purposes the term “manufactured home” also includes park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days. For insurance purposes the term “manufactured home” does not include park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles. |
NEW CONSTRUCTION: | Structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after the effective date of a flood plain management regulation adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures. |
Any construction started after April 20, 1987 and before the effective start date of this floodplain management ordinance 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. | |
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE. | A vehicle that is: |
1. Built on a single chassis, and | |
2. 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection, and | |
3. Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towed by a light duty truck, and | |
4. Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use. | |
START OF CONSTRUCTION: | Includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition placement or other improvement was within one hundred eighty (180) days of the permit date. 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 manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing, 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 foundation 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 wail, 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. |
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE: | Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent (50%) of its market value before the damage occurred. See definition of “substantial improvement”. |
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT: | Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure before the “start of construction” of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred “substantial damage”, regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either: |
1 Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of State or local 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 | |
2. Any alteration of a “historic structure”, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a “historic structure” and the alteration is approved by variance issued pursuant to this ordinance. | |
VIOLATION: | The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community^ flood plain management regulations. A structure or other development without the Finished Construction Elevation Certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in 44 CFR § 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 time as that documentation is provided. (Ord. 964, 7-20-1981; amd. Ord. 1008, 4-20-1987; Ord. 1393, 5-3-2022) |