As used in this article:
(a) BASE FLOOD -The flood which has been selected to serve as the basis upon which the Floodplain management provisions of this article and other ordinances have been prepared; for purposes of this article, the one-hundred (100) year flood.
(b) BASE FLOOD ELEVATION- The water surface elevation of the base flood in relation to the datum specified on the community's Flood Insurance Rate Map. For the purposes of this article, the one hundred (100) year flood or one (1) percent annual chance flood.
(c) BASEMENT - Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
(d) DEVELOPMENT - Any man-made 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 or storage of equipment or materials.
(e) FLOOD -A general and temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
(f) 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 hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
(g) FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY- The official report in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided flood profiles, floodway information, and water surface elevations.
(h) FLOODPLAIN- A relatively flat or low land area adjoining a river, stream, or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete inundation, and also an area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
(i) FLOODWAY - The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved to discharge the base flood without increasing the water surface elevation of that flood more than one (1) foot at any point.
(j) FLOOD PROOFING- 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.
(k) FLOOR AREA OF BUILDING- The sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a building and its accessory buildings on the same lot, excluding cellar and basement floor areas not devoted to residential use, but including the area of roofed porches and roofed terraces. All dimensions shall be measured between exterior faces of walls.
(l) FREEBOARD -A factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for purposes of floodplain management. Freeboard tends to compensate for unknown factors that may contribute uncertainty to flood heights of any given flood and floodway condition, such as wave action, blockage at stream crossings, and increased runoff from urbanization of the watershed.
(m) HISTORIC STRUCTURE- Any structure that is:
(1) 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;
(2) 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;
(3) Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in 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 in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either:
A. By an approved state program as determined by Secretary of the Interior; or,
B. Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
(n) LOWEST FLOOR - Means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure constructed with flood resistant materials as defined by FEMA Technical Bulletin 2-93 (FIA-TB-2) usable solely for parking of vehicles, building 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 non-elevation design requirements of this article.
(o) 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. The term "manufactured home" does not include a "recreational vehicle".
(p) NEW CONSTRUCTION- Structures for which the Start of Construction as herein defined commenced on or after December 4, 1979, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
(q) ONE-HUNDRED (100) YEAR FLOOD-A flood that has one chance in one-hundred or a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
(r) PERSON -Any individual or group of individuals, corporation, partnership, association or other entity, including State and local governments and agencies.
(s) PRINCIPALLY ABOVE GROUND-Where at least 51 percent of the actual cash value of a structure, less land value, is above ground.
(t) RECREATIONAL VEHICLE-A vehicle which is:
(1) Built on a single chassis;
(2) 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
(3) Designed to be selfpropelled or permanently towable 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.
(u) SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA - The land in the floodplain subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Special flood hazard areas are designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Flood Insurance Studies and on Flood Insurance Rate Maps as Zones A, AE, AO, A1-30, and A99. The term includes areas shown on other flood hazard maps that are specifically listed or otherwise described in this article.
(v) START OF CONSTRUCTION- For other than new construction or substantial improvements under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, Pub Law 97-348, includes substantial improvements, 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 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 filing; 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.
(w) STRUCTURE- A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
(x) 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 fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. Substantive damage also means cumulative flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two (2) separate occasions during a 10-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each flood event equals or exceeds 25 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
(y) 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 (or "repetitive loss" when a repetitive loss provision is used) 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 that have been identified by the City's 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".
(3) Historic structures undergoing repair or rehabilitation that would constitute a substantial improvement as defined above, must comply with all ordinance requirements that do not preclude the structure's continued designation as a historic structure. Documentation that a specific ordinance requirement will cause removal of the structure from the National Register of Historic Places or the State Inventory of Historic Places must be obtained from the Secretary of the Interior or the State Historic Preservation Officer. Any exemption from the requirements of this article will be the minimum necessary to preserve the historic character and design of the structure.
(z) VIOLATION- The failure of any structure or development to be fully compliant with all the requirements of this article. Any structure or other development lacking the certifications, finished construction elevation certificate or other evidence of compliance required by this article is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
(Passed 9-19-16.)
(Passed 9-19-16.)