For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply unless the context clearly requires a different meaning.
A ZONE. Portions of the SFHA in which the principal source of flooding is runoff from rainfall, snowmelt or a combination of both. In A ZONES, floodwaters may move slowly or rapidly, but waves are usually not a significant threat to buildings. These areas are labeled as Zone A, Zone AE, Zones A1-A30, Zone AH, Zone A99, Zone AO and Zone AR on a FIRM. The definitions are presented below.
(1) ZONE A. Areas subject to inundation by the 1% annual chance flood event. Because detailed hydraulic analyses have not been performed, no base flood elevation or depths are shown.
(2) ZONE AE and ZONES A1-A30. Areas subject to inundation by the 1% annual chance flood event determined by detailed methods. Base flood elevations are shown within these zones. ZONE AE is on new and revised maps in place of ZONES A1-A30.
(3) ZONE AH. Areas subject to inundation by 1% annual chance shallow flooding, usually areas of ponding, where average depths are between one and three feet. Average flood depths derived from detailed hydraulic analyses are shown within this zone.
(4) ZONE A99. Areas subject to inundation by the 1% annual chance flood event which will ultimately be protected upon completion of an under-construction federal flood protection system. These are areas of special flood hazard where enough progress has been made on the construction of a protection system, such as dikes, dams and levees, to consider it complete for insurance-rating purposes. ZONE A99 may only be used when the flood protection system has reached specified statutory progress toward completion. No base flood elevations or depths are shown.
(5) ZONE AO. Areas subject to inundation by 1% annual chance shallow flooding, usually sheet flow on sloping terrain, where average depths are between one and three feet. Average flood depths derived from detailed hydraulic analyses are shown within this zone.
(6) ZONE AR. Areas which result from the decertification of a previously-accredited flood protection system which is determined to be in the process of being restored to provide base flood protection.
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE. An appurtenant structure with a floor area 400 square feet or less the location of which is on the same parcel of property as the principal structure and the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure. ACCESSORY STRUCTURES should constitute a minimal initial investment, may not be used for human habitation and be designed to have minimal flood damage potential. Examples of ACCESSORY STRUCTURES are detached garages, carports, storage sheds, pole barns and hay sheds.
ADDITION. As relates to existing structures, any walled and roofed expansion to the perimeter of a structure where the addition is connected by a common load-bearing wall other than a firewall. Any walled and roofed ADDITION which is connected by a firewall or is separated by independent perimeter load-bearing walls is new construction.
APPEAL. A request for a review of the Floodplain Administrator’s interpretation of any provision of this chapter.
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING. A zone designated AH or AO on the community’s flood insurance rate map (FIRM) 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. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.
BASE FLOOD. The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE). The elevation of the 1% annual chance flood.
BASEMENT. The portion of a structure having its floor subgrade, or below ground level, on all sides.
BOUNDARY RIVER. The part of the Ohio River which forms the boundary between Kentucky and Indiana.
BOUNDARY RIVER FLOODWAY. The floodway of a boundary river.
BUILDING. See STRUCTURE.
COMMUNITY. A political entity which has the authority to adopt and enforce floodplain ordinances for the areas under its jurisdiction.
COMMUNITY RATING SYSTEM (CRS). A program developed by the Federal Insurance Administration to provide incentives for those communities in the regular program which have gone beyond the minimum floodplain-management requirements to develop extra measures to provide protection from flooding.
CRITICAL FACILITY. A facility for which even a slight chance of flooding might be too great. CRITICAL FACILITIES include, but are not limited to, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, police, fire and emergency response installations and installations which produce, use or store hazardous materials or hazardous wastes.
D ZONE. Unstudied areas where flood hazards are undetermined but flooding is possible. In a D ZONE, flood insurance is available in participating communities but is not required by regulation.
DEVELOPMENT.
(1) Any human-made change to improved or unimproved real estate including, but not limited to:
(a) The storage of materials;
(b) The construction, reconstruction or placement of a structure or any addition to a structure;
(c) The construction of flood-control structures such as dams, channel improvements, levees, dikes and the like;
(d) The construction or reconstruction of bridges or culverts;
(e) 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;
(f) Installing utilities, erecting walls and fences, constructing roads or similar projects;
(g) Mining, dredging, filling, grading, excavation or drilling operations; or
(h) Any other activity which might change the direction, height or velocity of flood or surface waters.
(2) DEVELOPMENT does not include activities which do not involve filling, grading or the excavation or construction of permanent structures, such as painting or reroofing for the maintenance of existing structures and facilities, resurfacing roads, gardening and plowing or similar agricultural practices.
ELEVATED STRUCTURE. A non-basement structure built to have the lowest floor elevated above the ground level by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter walls, filled stem wall foundations (also called chain walls), pilings or columns (namely posts and piers).
ELEVATION CERTIFICATE. A certified statement which verifies a structure’s elevation information.
EMERGENCY PROGRAM. The first phase under which a community participates in the NFIP. It is intended to provide a first-layer amount of insurance at subsidized rates on all insurable structures in that community before the effective date of the initial FIRM.
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 is completed before the effective date of the community’s first floodplain ordinance. Said facilities include, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads.
EXPANSION TO AN EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION. The preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which 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.
FEMA. The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FLOOD. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow, the unusual and rapid accumulation or the runoff of surface waters from any source.
FLOOD BOUNDARY AND FLOODWAY MAP (FBFM). An official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) has delineated the areas of flood hazard and regulatory floodways.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM). An official map of a community on which FEMA has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS). The official hydraulic and hydrologic report provided by FEMA. The report contains flood profiles as well as the FIRM, the FBFM, where applicable, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
FLOOD-PRONE AREA. Any land area acknowledged by a community as being susceptible to inundation by water from any source. See FLOOD.
FLOOD PROTECTION GRADE (FPG). The elevation of the regulatory flood plus two feet at any given location in the SFHA. See FREEBOARD.
FLOODPLAIN. The channel proper and the areas adjoining any wetlands, lakes or watercourses which have been or hereafter may be covered by the regulatory flood. The FLOODPLAIN includes both the floodway and the fringe districts.
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT. The operation of an overall program of corrective and preventative measures for reducing flood damage and preserving and enhancing, where possible, natural resources in the floodplain which includes, but is not limited to, emergency preparedness plans, flood-control works, floodplain management regulations and open-space plans.
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS. This chapter and other zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special-purpose ordinances and other applications of police power which control development in flood-prone areas. This term describes federal, state or local regulations in any combination thereof which provide standards for preventing and reducing flood loss and damage. FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS are also referred to as floodplain regulations, floodplain ordinance, flood damage prevention ordinance and floodplain- management requirements.
FLOODPROOFING or DRY FLOOD- PROOFING. A method of protecting a structure which ensures that the structure, together with attendant utilities and sanitary facilities, is watertight to the floodproofed design elevation with walls which are substantially impermeable to the passage of water. All structural components of these walls are capable of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic flood forces, including the effects of buoyancy, and anticipated debris-impact forces.
FLOODPROOFING CERTIFICATE. A form used to certify compliance for nonresidential structures as an alternative to elevating the structures to or above the FPG. This certification must be by a registered professional engineer or architect.
FLOODWAY. The channel of a river or stream and those portions of the floodplain adjoining the channel which are reasonably required to efficiently carry and discharge the peak-flood flow of the regulatory flood of any river or stream.
FREEBOARD. A factor of safety, usually expressed in feet above the BFE, which is applied for the purposes of floodplain management. It is used to compensate for the many unknown factors which could contribute to flood heights greater than those calculated for the base flood.
FRINGE. Those portions of the floodplain lying outside the floodway.
HARDSHIP. As relates to the variances of this chapter, the exceptional hardship which would result from a failure to grant the requested variance. The town’s Board of Zoning Appeals requires that the variance be exceptional, unusual and peculiar to the property involved. Mere economic or financial hardship alone is not exceptional. Likewise, inconvenience, aesthetic considerations, physical handicaps, personal preferences or the disapproval of one’s neighbors cannot, as a rule, qualify as an exceptional HARDSHIP. All of these problems can be resolved through other means without granting a variance even if the alternative is more expensive or requires the property owner to build elsewhere or to put the parcel to a different use than originally intended.
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE. The highest natural elevation of the ground surface next to the proposed walls of a structure prior to the start of construction.
HISTORIC STRUCTURES. Any structures individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places or the state’s Register of Historic Sites and Structures.
INCREASED COST OF COMPLIANCE (ICC). The cost to repair a substantially-damaged structure which exceeds the minimal repair cost and which is required to bring a substantially-damaged structure into compliance with the local flood damage prevention ordinance. Acceptable mitigation measures are elevation, relocation, demolition or any combination thereof. All renewal and new-business flood insurance policies with effective dates on or after June 1,1997, will include ICC coverage.
LETTER OF FINAL DETERMINATION (LFD). A letter issued by FEMA during the mapping update process which establishes final elevations and provides the new flood map and flood study to the community. The LFD initiates the six-month adoption period. The community must adopt or amend its floodplain-management regulations during this six-month period unless the community has previously incorporated an automatic adoption clause.
LETTER OF MAP CHANGE (LOMC). A general term used to refer to the several types of revisions and amendments to FEMA maps which can be accomplished by letter. They include Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA), Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) and Letter of Map Revision based on Fill (LOMR-F). The definitions are presented below.
(1) LETTER OF MAP AMENDMENT (LOMA). An amendment by letter to the currently- effective FEMA map which establishes that a property is not located in a SFHA through the submittal of property-specific elevation data. A LOMA is only issued by FEMA.
(2) LETTER OF MAP REVISION (LOMR). An official revision to the currently- effective FEMA map. It is issued by FEMA and changes flood zones, delineations and elevations.
(3) LETTER OF MAP REVISION BASED ON FILL (LOMR-F). An official revision by letter to an effective NFIP map. A LOMR-F provides FEMA’s determination concerning whether a structure or parcel has been elevated on fill above the BFE and excluded from the SFHA.
LOWEST ADJACENT GRADE. The lowest elevation, after the completion of construction, of the ground, sidewalk, patio, deck support or basement entryway immediately next to the structure.
LOWEST FLOOR. The lowest elevation described among the following:
(1) The top of the lowest level of the structure;
(2) The top of the basement floor;
(3) If the garage is the lowest level of the structure, the top of the garage floor;
(4) The top of the first floor of a structure elevated on pilings or pillars; or
(5) The top of the floor level of any enclosure, other than a basement, below an elevated structure where the walls of the enclosure provide any resistance to the flow of floodwaters unless:
(a) The walls are designed to automatically equalize the hydrostatic flood forces on the walls by allowing for the entry and exit of floodwaters by providing a minimum of two openings which are in addition to doorways and windows in a minimum of two exterior walls. If a structure has more than one enclosed area, then each area shall have openings on exterior walls;
(b) The total net area of all openings shall be at least one square inch for every one square foot of enclosed area. The bottom of all such openings shall be no higher than one foot above the exterior grade or the interior grade immediately beneath each opening, whichever is higher; and
(c) Such enclosed space shall be usable solely for the parking of vehicles and for accessing the building.
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 attached to the required utilities. The term MANUFACTURED HOME does not include a recreational vehicle.
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION. A parcel or contiguous parcels of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
MARKET VALUE. The building value excluding the land as agreed to between a willing buyer and seller and as established by what the local real estate market will bear. MARKET VALUE can be established by independent certified appraisal, the replacement cost depreciated by the age of the building, the actual cash value or the adjusted assessed value.
MITIGATION. Sustained actions taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from hazards and their effects. The purpose of MITIGATION is twofold: to protect people and structures and to minimize the cost of disaster response and recovery.
NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM (NFIP). The federal program which makes flood insurance available to owners of property in participating communities nationwide through the cooperative efforts of the federal government and the private insurance industry.
NATIONAL GEODETIC VERTICAL DATUM (NGVD) OF 1929. As corrected in 1929, 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 after the effective date of the community’s first floodplain ordinance.
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, which includes, 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 the community’s first floodplain ordinance.
NON-BOUNDARY RIVER FLOODWAY. The floodway of any river or stream other than a boundary river.
NORTH AMERICAN VERTICAL DATUM OF 1988 (NAVD 88). As adopted in 1993, a vertical control datum used as a reference for establishing varying elevations within the floodplain.
OBSTRUCTION. Includes, but is not limited to, any dam, wall, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, protection, excavation, canalization, bridge, conduit, culvert, building, wire, fence, rock, gravel, refuse, fill, structure, vegetation or other material in, along, across or projecting into any watercourse which may alter, impede, retard or change the direction or velocity of the flow of water, or due to its location, its propensity to snare or collect debris carried by the flow of water or its likelihood of being carried downstream.
ONE-PERCENT ANNUAL CHANCE FLOOD. The flood that has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Any flood zone which begins with the letter A is subject to the 1% ANNUAL CHANCE FLOOD. See REGULATORY FLOOD.
PHYSICAL MAP REVISION (PMR). An official republication of a community’s FEMA map to effect changes to base, 1% annual chance, flood elevations, floodplain boundary delineations, regulatory floodways and planimetric features. These changes typically occur as a result of structural works or improvements, annexations resulting in additional flood hazard areas or corrections to base flood elevations or SFHAs.
PUBLIC SAFETY AND NUISANCE. Anything which is injurious to the safety or health of an entire community or neighborhood or any considerable number of persons or which unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use of any navigable lake or river, bay, stream, canal or basin in the customary manner.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE. A vehicle which:
(1) Is built on a single chassis;
(2) Is 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections;
(3) Is designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck; and
(4) Is designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as quarters for recreational camping, travel or seasonal use.
REGULAR PROGRAM. The phase of the community’s participation in the NFIP where more comprehensive floodplain management requirements are imposed and higher amounts of insurance are available based upon risk zones and elevations determined in a FIS.
REGULATORY FLOOD. The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year as calculated by a method and procedure which is acceptable to and approved by the state’s Department of Natural Resources and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The regulatory flood elevation at any location is as defined in § 152.13 of this chapter. The REGULATORY FLOOD is also known by the term BASE FLOOD, 1% ANNUAL CHANCE FLOOD and 100-YEAR FLOOD.
REPETITIVE LOSS. Flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a ten-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on average, equaled or exceeded 25% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
SECTION 1316. The section of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, being 42 U.S.C. §§ 4001 et seq., as amended, which states that no new flood insurance coverage shall be provided for any property that the Administrator finds has been declared by a duly-constituted state or local zoning authority or other authorized public body to be in violation of state or local laws, regulations or ordinances intended to discourage or otherwise restrict land development or occupancy in flood-prone areas.
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA (SFHA). Those lands within the jurisdiction of the town subject to inundation by the regulatory flood. The SFHAs of the town are generally identified as such on the Flood Insurance Rate Map of the county and its incorporated areas dated February 4, 2015, as well as on any future updates, amendments or revisions prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency with the most recent date. These areas are shown on a FIRM as Zone A, AE, A1-A30, AH, AR, A99 or AO.
START OF CONSTRUCTION.
(1) The date the building permit was issued, provided that the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction or improvement was within 180 days of the permit date; includes substantial improvement.
(2) Actual START OF CONSTRUCTION means either the first placement of the permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of a 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.
(3) Permanent construction does not include land preparation such as clearing, grading and filling, nor does it include the installation of streets or walkways, the excavation for a basement, footings, piers or foundations, the erection of temporary forms or the installation on the property of accessory buildings not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure, such as garages or sheds.
(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 structure which is principally above ground and is enclosed by walls and a roof. This term includes a gas or liquid storage tank, a manufactured home or a prefabricated building. The term also includes recreational vehicles to be installed on a site for more than 180 days.
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. Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvement of a structure the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred repetitive loss or substantial damage regardless of the actual repair work performed. SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT does not include improvements of structures to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary or safety code requirements or any alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as an historic structure.
SUSPENSION. The removal of a participating community from the NFIP because the community has not enacted or enforced the proper floodplain- management regulations required for participation in the NFIP.
VARIANCE. A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship which permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this chapter.
VIOLATION. The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with this chapter. A structure or other development without the elevation, other certification or other evidence of compliance required in this chapter is presumed to be in VIOLATION until such time as that documentation is provided.
WATERCOURSE. A lake, river, creek, stream, wash, channel or other topographic feature on or over which waters flow at least periodically. WATERCOURSE includes specifically-designated areas in which substantial flood damage may occur.
X ZONE. The area where the flood hazard is less than it is in the SFHA. Shaded X ZONES shown on recent FIRMs, or B Zones on older FIRMs, designate areas subject to inundation by the flood with a 0.2% chance of being equaled or exceeded, the 500-year flood. Unshaded X ZONES, or C Zones on older FIRMs, designate areas where the annual exceedance probability of flooding is less than 0.2%.
ZONE. A geographical area shown on a FIRM which reflects the severity or type of flooding in the area.
ZONE B, C AND X. Areas identified in the community as areas of moderate or minimal hazard from the principal source of flood in the area. However, buildings in these zones could be flooded by severe, concentrated rainfall coupled with inadequate local drainage systems. In these zones, flood insurance is available in participating communities but is not required by regulation. ZONE X is used on new and revised maps in place of ZONE B and ZONE C.
(Ord. 2015-1, passed 1-6-2015)