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 Article its most reasonable application:
Appeal means a request for a review of the Building Director and/or Planning Director interpretation of any provision of this Article or a request for a variance.
Area of Shallow Flooding means a designated AO or AH zone on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with a one percent or greater annual chance of flooding to an average depth of one to three feet where a clearly defined channel is unpredictable and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.
Base Flood means the flood having one percent chance of being equalled or exceeded in any given year.
Basement means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
Development means 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.
Existing Construction means (for the purposes of determining rates) structures for which the "start of construction" commenced before the effective date of the FIRM or before January 1, 1975, for FIRM's effective before that date. "Existing construction" may also be referred to as "existing structures."
Existing Manufactured Home Park or Subdivision means 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 complete before August 26, 1974.
Flood or Flooding means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
A. The overflow of inland or tidal waters.
B. The usual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters from any source.
Flood Fringe is that area of the floodplain, outside of the floodway, that on the average is likely to be flooded once every 100 years (i.e., that has a one percent chance of flood occurrence in any one year).
Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) means an official map of a community, on which the Flood Insurance Study has delineated the Flood Hazard Boundaries and the zones establishing insurance rates applicable to the community.
Flood Insurance Study is 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.
Floodplain means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source (see definition of "flooding").
Floodway or Regulatory Floodway means 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.
Freeboard means a factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for purposes of floodplain management. "Freeboard" tends 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, clogged bridge openings, and the hydrological effect of urbanization of the watershed.
Highest Adjacent Grade means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
Historic Structure means 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 the 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 means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including 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 non-elevation design requirements of this chapter.
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".
Manufactured Home Park or Subdivision means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
New Construction
. For floodplain management purposes, "new construction" means structures for which the "start of construction commenced on or after August 26, 1974.
Overlay District is a district in which additional requirements act in conjunction with the underlying zoning district. The underlying zoning district designation does not change.
Principally Above Ground means that at least 51 percent of the actual cash value of the structure is above ground.
Recreational Vehicle means a vehicle which is (i) built on a single chassis; (ii) 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections; (iii) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and (iv) designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
Special Flood Hazard Area is the land in the floodplain within a community subject to one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
Start of Construction [for other than new construction or substantial improvements under the coastal Barrier Resources Act (Pub. L. 97-348)] 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 180 days of the permit date. The actual start means 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 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 the alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.
Structure means a walled and roofed building that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home, and a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.
Substantial Damage means 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 means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure before "start of construction" of the improvement. This 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."
Variances is a grant of relief to a person from the requirements of this Article which permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this Article where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship.