§ 152.05 DEFINITIONS.
   For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
   ACCESSORY STRUCTURE.
      (1)   Structures that are located on the same parcel as the principal structure and the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure. ACCESSORY STRUCTURES should constitute a minimal investment, may not be used for human habitation, and be designed to have minimal flood damage potential. Examples of ACCESSORY STRUCTURES are detached garages, cabanas, carports, storage sheds, other similar uses.
         (a)   In special flood hazard areas other than coastal high hazard areas (Zones A, AE, AH, AO and A1-30), they are not larger than one-story and 600 square feet in area. Walls must have openings in compliance with § 152.25.
         (b)   In coastal high hazard areas (Zones V, VE, V1-30 and VO), they are not larger than 100 square feet.
         (c)   Anchored to resist flotation, collapse, and lateral movement.
         (d)   Flood damage resistant materials used below the design flood elevation in accordance with Technical Bulletin 2, Flood Damage Resistant Materials Requirement.
         (e)   Mechanical, electrical, and utility equipment comply with the requirements of § 152.25.
         (f)   ACCESSORY STRUCTURES shall be designed to have low flood damage potential.
      (2)   ACCESSORY STRUCTURES shall be constructed and placed on the building site so as to offer the minimum resistance to the flow of floodwaters.
   ADDITION TO AN EXISTING BUILDING. An extension or increase in the floor area or height of a building or structure. Additions to existing buildings shall comply with the requirements for new construction regardless as to whether the addition is a substantial improvement or not. Where a firewall or load-bearing wall is provided between the addition and the existing building, the addition(s) shall be considered a separate building and must comply with the standards for new construction.
   APPEAL. A request for a review of the Building Official’s interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
   AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING. A designated flood zone on a community’s flood insurance rate map with base flood depths from one to three feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate, and where velocity flow may be evident.
   AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD. The land in the floodplain within a community subject to a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
   BASE FLOOD ELEVATION. The flood elevation having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
   BASEMENT. The portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
   BREAKAWAY WALL. A wall that is not part of the structural support of the 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 the supporting foundation system.
   BUILDING. Any structure built for support, shelter or enclosure for any occupancy or storage.
   BUILDING COVERAGE. The total ground area of a site occupied by any building or structure as measured from the outside of its surrounding external walls or supporting members. BUILDING COVERAGE includes exterior structures such as stairs, porches, decks, permanent structural elements protruding from buildings such as overhanging balconies, roof or building overhangs, and covered carports.
   COASTAL A ZONE. All areas of the special flood hazard area within the city that are outsize of the V zone. Coastal A Zone standards shall not apply to commercial A-Zone properties.
   COASTAL HIGH HAZARD AREA. An area in a 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.
   COMMUNITY DETERMINED BFE. To be used when BFE is not determined on the FIRM. In AO Zones, flood depth is used as BFE. In zones without a BFE or flood depth established (usually Shaded X and X Zones), BFE is Highest Adjacent Grade (HAG).
   CRITICAL DEVELOPMENT. Development that is critical to the community's public health and safety is essential to the orderly functioning of a community, stores or produces highly volatile, toxic or water-reactive materials, or houses occupants that may be insufficiently mobile to avoid loss of life or injury. Examples of CRITICAL DEVELOPMENT include jails, hospitals, schools, fire stations, nursing homes, wastewater treatment facilities, water plants, and gas/oil/propane storage facilities.
   DESIGN FLOOD ELEVATION. Base flood elevation plus freeboard requirement, or community determined base flood elevation plus freeboard requirement.
   DEVELOPMENT. Any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavating, drilling operations or permanent storage of materials or equipment.
   ELEVATED BUILDING. A non-basement building built to have the lowest floor elevated above the ground level by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter walls, pilings, columns (posts and piers), shear walls or breakaway walls.
   ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS). A statement of the effect of proposed development and other major or governmental actions on the environment. The purpose of an EIS is to provide the community with information needed to evaluate the effects of a proposed project upon the environment. The statement usually consists of an inventory of existing environmental conditions at the project site and in the surrounding area. The inventory includes air and water quality, water supply, hydrology, geology, soil type, topography, vegetation, wildlife, aquatic organisms, ecology, demography, land use, aesthetics, history, and archeology. An EIS also includes a project description and may include a list of all licenses, permits, or other approvals required by law. The EIS assessed the probable impact of the project upon all the inventory items and includes a listing of adverse environmental impacts that cannot be avoided. The statement also includes what steps the applicant proposed to take to minimize adverse environmental impacts during construction and operation and whether there are alternatives to any part of the project.
   EXECUTIVE ORDER 11988. Issued by President Carter in 1977, this order requires that no federally assisted activities be conducted in or have the potential to affect identified special flood hazard areas, unless there is no practicable alternative.
   EXISTING CONSTRUCTION. Any structure for which the “start of construction,” commenced before March 15,1984.
   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 March 15,1984.
   EXPANSION TO AN EXISTING MANU- FACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION. The preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured 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 or FLOODING. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
      (1)   The overflow of inland or tidal waters; or
      (2)   The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
   FLOOD DAMAGE RESISTANT MATERIAL. Any building product, material, component or system capable of withstanding direct and prolonged contact with floodwaters for periods of at least 72 hours without sustaining damage requiring more than cosmetic repair.
   FLOOD HAZARD BOUNDARY MAP or FHBM. An official map of a community, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where the boundaries of the areas of special flood hazard have been defined as Zone A.
   FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP or FIRM. An official map of a community on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
   FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY. The official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The report contains flood profiles, as well as the flood boundary-floodway map and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
   FLOOD RESISTANT MATERIAL. Any building material capable of withstanding direct and prolonged contact (minimum 72 hours) with floodwaters without sustaining damage that requires more than low-cost cosmetic repair. Class 4 and 5 materials as referenced in FEMA Technical Bulletin 2, Flood Damage-Resistant Materials Requirements, dated August 2008 are acceptable flood-resistant materials. Pressure-treated lumber or naturally decay-resistant lumbers are acceptable flooring materials. Any material that is water-soluble or is not resistant to alkali or acid in water, including normal adhesives for above-grade use, sheet-type flooring coverings that restrict evaporation from below and materials that are impervious, but dimensionally unstable, and materials that absorb or retain water excessively after submergence are not flood-resistant.
   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.
   FLOOR. The top surface of an enclosed area in a building (including basement], i.e., top of slab in concrete slab construction or top of wood flooring in wood frame construction. The term does not include the floor of a garage used solely for parking vehicles.
   FREEBOARD. A factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for purposes of flood plain management intended to compensate for the many unknown factors that could contribute to flood heights greater than the height calculated for a selected size flood and floodway conditions, such as wave action, bridge openings, and the hydrological effect of urbanization of the watershed. The freeboard requirement also applies to utilities. The freeboard requirement for the City of Folly Beach is four feet above BFE or community determined base flood elevation.
   FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE. A facility which 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, ship repair or seafood processing facilities. The term does not include long-term storage, manufacture, sales or service facilities.
   HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE. The highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior to construction, next to the proposed foundation of a structure.
   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 the Secretary of the Interior; or
         (b)   Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
   INCREASED COST OF COMPLIANCE (ICC). Applies to all new and renewed flood insurance policies effective on and after June 1, 1997. The NFIP shall enable the purchase of insurance to cover the cost of compliance with land use and control measures established under Section 1316. It provides coverage for the payment of a claim to help pay for the cost to comply with state or community floodplain management laws or ordinances after a flood event in which a building has been declared substantially or repetitively damaged.
   LOWEST ADJACENT GRADE (LAG). An elevation of the lowest ground surface that touches any deck support, exterior walls of a building or proposed building walls.
   LOWEST FLOOR. The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area. Any 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 an enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of other provisions of this chapter.
   MANUFACTURED HOME.
      (1)   A building, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities.
      (2)   The term also includes “park trailers,” “travel trailers” and similar transportable structures placed on a site for 180 consecutive days or longer and intended to be improved property.
   MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION. A parcel (or contiguous parcel) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
   MEAN SEA LEVEL. The Nations Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988, or other datum, to which the base flood elevations shown on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) are shown.
   NATIONAL GEODETIC VERTICAL DATUM or NGVD. As corrected in 1929 is a vertical control used as a reference for establishing varying elevations within the floodplain.
   NEW CONSTRUCTION. Any structure for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after March 15,1984. The term also includes any subsequent improvements to the structure.
   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.
   NONCONFORMING LOT OF RECORD. A lot, the area, dimensions, or location of which was lawful prior to the adoption, revision, or amendment of the zoning ordinance but that fails by reason of such adoption, revision, or amendment to conform to the present requirements of the zoning district.
   NORTH AMERICAN VERTICAL DATUM (NAVD) of 1988. The vertical control, as corrected in 1988, used as the reference datum on Flood Insurance Rate Maps.
   PRIMARY FRONTAL DUNE. A continuous or nearly continuous mound or ridge of sand with relatively steep seaward and landward slopes immediately landward of and subject to erosion and overtopping from high tides and waves during coastal storms. The inland limit of the primary frontal dune occurs at the point where there is a distinct change from a relatively steep slope to a relatively mild slope.
   RECREATIONAL VEHICLE. A vehicle which is:
      (1)   Built on a single chassis;
      (2)   Four hundred 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 a temporary living quarters for recreational camping, travel or seasonal use.
   REPETITIVE LOSS PROPERTY. A building covered by a contract for flood insurance that has incurred flood-related damages on at least 2 occasions during a ten-year period ending on the date of the event for which a second claim is made, in which the cost of repairing the flood damage, on the average, equaled or exceeded 25% of the market value of the building at the time of each such flood event.
   SAND DUNES. Naturally occurring accumulations of sand in ridges or mounds landward of mean high tide.
   SECTION 1316 OF THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE ACT OF 1968. A provision which states that no new flood insurance shall be provided for any property found by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to have been declared by a state or local authority to be in violation of state law or local ordinances.
   SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA. See AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD.
   STABLE NATURAL VEGETATION. The first place on the oceanfront where plants such as sea oats hold sand in place.
   START OF CONSTRUCTION.
      (1)   For other than new construction or substantial improvements under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, 16 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. (P.L. 97-348), includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction or improvement was within 180 days of the permit date.
      (2)   The actual start means the first placement of permanent construction of a building (including a manufactured home) on a site, such as the pouring of slabs or footings, installation of piles, construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation.
      (3)   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 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 building.
      (4)   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 that is principally above ground, a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank or other manmade facilities or infrastructures.
   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% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
   SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT.
      (1)   Any combination of repairs, reconstruction, alteration or improvements to a building, taking place during a ten-year period, in which the cumulative cost equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the building prior to the first instance of repairs, reconstruction, alterations, or improvements.
      (2)   The market value of the building must be provided by a SC Certified appraiser prior to the start of the initial repair or improvement. For improvements being made after damage, the market value shall be the value of the building prior to the damage occurring. If a certified appraisal is not available the assessed value as assigned by Charleston County Assessor’s Office maybe used.
      (3)   Code violations repairs and corrections identified that are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions and have been recorded by the Building Official prior to the start of an improvement may be permitted separately and excluded from the substantial improvement calculation. (per FEMA P-758, 4.4.2)
      (4)   The ten-year period shall not be waived in the event repairs, reconstruction, alteration, or improvements to a building are required as an act of God, natural disaster or other actions beyond the control of the property owner.
   SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVED EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARKS OR SUBDIVISION. Where the repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of the streets, utilities, and pads equals or exceeds 50% of the value of the streets, utilities and pads before the repair, reconstruction or improvement commenced.
   TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY. A report analyzing anticipated roadway conditions with the without an applicant's development. The report may include an analysis of mitigation measures and a calculation of fair share financial contributions.
   VARIANCE. A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this chapter where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship.
   VIOLATION. The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with this code.
(`95 Code, § 5-4-5) (Am. Ord. 20-97, passed 2-3-98; Am. Ord. passed 5-11-99; Am. Ord. 26-04, passed 10-26-04; Am. Ord. 15-07, passed 6-26-07; Am. Ord. 38-11, passed 12-13-11; Am. Ord. 37-11, passed 1-10-12; Am. Ord. 22-13, passed 1-14-14; Am. Ord. 22-16, passed 9-13-16; Am. Ord. 35-16, passed 12-13-2016; Am. Ord. 21-17, passed 7-11-17; Am. Ord. 08-19, passed 2-11-19; Am. Ord. 25-20, passed 12-8-20; Am. Ord. 10-21, passed 5-11-21)