Unless specifically defined in this section, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meanings they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable application.
APPEAL: A request for a review of the administrator's interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD: The land in the FLOODPLAIN 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%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Also referred to as the “100-year flood”.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION: The elevation to which floodwater is anticipated to rise during the BASE FLOOD.
BASEMENT: Any area or part of a STRUCTURE situated below ground level on all sides.
BUILDING: See “STRUCTURE”.
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 or storage of equipment or materials located within the AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD.
FLOOD OR FLOODING: A general and temporary condition or partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
A. The overflow of inland or tidal waters; and/or
B. The unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff or surface waters from any source.
C. Mudslides (i.e., mudflows) which are proximately caused by flooding as defined in 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: and/or
D. 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 for 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 A, of this definition.
FLOOD ELEVATION 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. Also known as “FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY”.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM): The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY: See “FLOOD ELEVATION STUDY”.
FLOODPLAIN OR FLOOD-PRONE AREA: Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source.
FLOODPLAIN ADMINISTRATOR: The City mayor or other appointed City official designated to administer and enforce the FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS within the City of Cottonwood as provided in this ordinance.
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 “FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS”.
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS: This ordinance, and all other a) land use planning, zoning, and subdivision ordinances, b) building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances, and c) state or local laws and regulations, in any combination thereof, applicable within the City of Cottonwood providing standards, requirements or restrictions pertaining to or for the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.
FLOODPROOFING: Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to STRUCTURES which reduce or eliminate risk of 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 (1').
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE: The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a STRUCTURE.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE: 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 with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of Interior; or
D. Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either:
1. By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or
2. Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
LOWEST FLOOR: The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area of a STRUCTURE, including but not limited to the BASEMENT. An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, 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 nonelevation design requirements of this chapter.
MANUFACTURED HOME: A STRUCTURE that is transportable in one or more sections, built on a permanent chassis, and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. For floodplain 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.
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR MANUFACTURED HOME SUBDIVISION: A parcel or contiguous parcels of land divided into two (2) or more MANUFACTURED HOME lots for rent or sale.
NEW CONSTRUCTION: For the purposes of determining insurance rates, STRUCTURES for which the START OF CONSTRUCTION commenced on or after the effective date of an initial Flood Insurance Rate Map or after December 31, 1974, whichever is later, and includes any subsequent improvements to such STRUCTURES, For floodplain management purposes, “NEW CONSTRUCTION” means STRUCTURES for which the START OF CONSTRUCTION commenced on or after January 1, 1987, and includes any subsequent improvements to such STRUCTURES.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE: A vehicle which is:
A. Built on a single chassis;
B. 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
C. Designed to be self propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and
D. 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 NEW CONSTRUCTION and SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, placement of 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 or 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 wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a STRUCTURE, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the STRUCTURE.
STRUCTURE: The term “STRUCTURE” shall include a) A walled and roofed building, including but not limited to a MANUFACTURED HOME, and b) a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally aboveground.
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 of the market value of the STRUCTURE before the damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT: Any repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or 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 repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or improvement. The term includes STRUCTURES which have incurred SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE regardless of whether the actual repair work is or has been performed.
The term does not, however, include either:
A. Any project for improvement of a STRUCTURE to correct existing violations state, City or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications which have been identified by the City code enforcement official as being necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
B. Any alteration of a HISTORIC STRUCTURE, provided that the alteration will not result in the STRUCTURE no longer qualifying as a HISTORIC STRUCTURE under this chapter.
VARIANCE: A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this chapter.
VIOLATION: The term “violation” includes a) the failure of a STRUCTURE or DEVELOPMENT to be fully compliant with any FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS, including but not limited to the requirements of this chapter, or b) any other violation of any other provisions of this chapter. A STRUCTURE or DEVELOPMENT without any development permit, elevation certificate, certifications or other evidence of compliance required in this ordinance is presumed to be in VIOLATION until such time as the VIOLATION has been corrected.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION: The height, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, or other datum, of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplain of coastal or riverine areas. (Ord. 96 § 2.0, 1987; amd. Ord. 254, 7-12-2021)