Unless defined in this section, words or phrases used in this chapter shall have the meanings they have in common usage. Whenever used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
(a) “Base flood” or “100-year flood” means the flood having one percent probability of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
(b) "Base flood elevation" shall be as provided in Section 16-6-045.
(c) “Basement” means any area of a building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
(c-1) "Breakaway wall" means a wall that is not part of the structural support of a building and is intended through its design and construction to collapse under specific lateral loading forces without causing damage to the elevated portion of the building or supporting foundation system.
(d) “Building” means any structure built for the support, shelter, or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels, or movable property of any kind; a gas or liquid storage tank; a manufactured home or a prefabricated building. “Building” also includes recreational vehicles to be installed on a site for more than 180 days.
(d-1) "Coastal high hazard area" means an area of special flood hazard extending from offshore to the inland limit of a primary frontal dune along an open coast, and any other area subject to high velocity wave action from storms or seismic sources. A coastal high hazard area is identified on the F.I.R.M. by the designation of Zone VE.
(e) “Development” means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to:
(i) Constructing, reconstructing or placing a building or any addition to a building, if the work is valued at more than $1,000.00;
(ii) Installing a manufactured home on a site, preparing a site for a manufactured home, or installing a recreational vehicle on a site for more than 180 days;
(iii) Installing utilities, construction of roads, or similar projects;
(iv) Drilling, mining, filling, dredging, grading, excavating or other nonagricultural alterations of the ground surface;
(v) Storing materials;
(vi) Any other activity that might change the direction, height, or velocity of flood or surface waters, including filling of waters below the base flood elevation.
“Development” does not include routine maintenance of existing buildings and facilities; resurfacing roads; or gardening, plowing and similar practices that do not involve filling, grading, or construction of levees.
(f) “Elevation” means the actual elevation of a site, in the same reference datum as provided on the F.I.R.M.
(g) “F.E.M.A.” means the Federal Emergency Management Agency or its successor agencies.
(h) “Flood” or “flooding” means those surface waters causing a general and temporary condition of inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow, the unusual and rapid accumulation, or the runoff of such surface waters from any source.
(h-1) "Flood fringe" means that portion of a Zone A or Zone AE floodplain that is outside of the floodway.
(i) "Flood Insurance Rate Map" or "F.I.R.M." means the most recently published map on which F.E.M.A. has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to portions of the City of Chicago. The F.I.R.M. shall be kept on file by the Commissioner of Buildings. Before adopting the most recent published version of the F.I.R.M., said Commissioner shall give a minimum of fifteen days' notice of the proposed adoption in accordance with Section 14A-1-104.4 . Said notice shall state the City's intent to adopt the F.I.R.M., shall solicit public comment and provide an address to where any such comment may be sent, and shall state how a person may obtain a copy of the proposed F.I.R.M. to be adopted.
(j) “Flood Insurance Study” or “F.I.S.” means a study published by F.E.M.A. containing flood profiles and other information regarding the flood risk to the city. The date of the most recent F.I.S. shall be set forth by regulation.
(k) “Floodway” means that portion of the special flood hazard area (“S.F.H.A.”) required to store and convey the base flood. All floodways shall be as shown on the F.I.R.M.
(l) “Flood protection elevation” or “F.P.E.” means the base flood elevation plus one foot at any given location in the S.F.H.A.
(m) “I.D.N.R./O.W.R.” means the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Water Resources and its successor agencies.
(n) “Issuing department” means any department or agency of the city government responsible for reviewing an application for permits for any development, or for reviewing the adequacy of any development under the municipal code.
(n-1) "Limit of moderate wave action" or "LiMWA" means a line shown on a F.I.R.M. to indicate the inland limit of the 1.5-foot breaking wave height during the base flood.
(o) “Manufactured home” means 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 “manufactured home” does not include a “recreational vehicle”.
(o-1) "Moderate wave action area" or "MoWA" is a special flood hazard area subject to the potential for breaking wave heights of greater than or equal to 1.5 feet but less than 3 feet, where the primary source of flooding is astronomical tides, storm surges, seiches, or tsunamis. A MoWA is an area within Zone AE on a F.I.R.M. that is between the inland limit of Zone VE and a LiMWA, where identified.
(p) “National Flood Insurance Program” or “N.F.I.P.” means the federal program that allows property owners in certain communities to purchase federally backed flood insurance.
(q) “Permit” means any permit or license issued by the City of Chicago and required for any development.
(r) “Recreational vehicle” means 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 self-propelled 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.
(s) “Riverine” means relating to, formed by, or resembling a river (including tributaries), stream or brook.
(t) “Riverine S.F.H.A.” means any S.F.H.A. subject to flooding from a river, creek, intermittent stream, ditch, or any other identified channel. This term does not include areas subject to flooding from lakes (except public bodies of water), ponding areas, areas of sheet flow, or other areas not subject to overbank flooding.
(u) “Site” means a zoning lot or tract of land identified in a permit application by its owner or developer as a single tract to be used, developed or built upon as a unit, under single ownership or control.
(v) "Special flood hazard area" or "S.F.H.A." means land subject to inundation by the base flood as delineated on the F.I.R.M.
(Added Coun. J. 6-28-91, p. 2766; Amend Coun. J. 6-29-05, p. 51811, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. II, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 7-21-21, p. 33505, § 1)
Notes
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