Unless specifically defined in this section, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted according to the meaning they have in common usage.
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE: A structure on the same lot or parcel as a principal structure, the use of which is incidental and subordinate to the principal structure. An insurable building should not be classified as an accessory or appurtenant structure.
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING: A designated AO or AH zone on a community's flood insurance rate map (FIRM) with base flood depths from one to three feet (3'), and/or 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 one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Zone designations on FIRMs include the letters A, AE, V. Also known as the special flood hazard area (SFHA).
BASE FLOOD: The flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded each year.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE): The water surface elevation during the base flood in relation to a specified datum. The base flood elevation (BFE) is depicted on the FIRM to the nearest foot and in the FIS to the nearest 0.1 foot.
BASEMENT: The portion of a structure including crawl space with its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
BUILDING: See definition of Structure.
CRITICAL FACILITY: A facility that is critical for the health and welfare of the population and is especially important following hazard events. Critical facilities include essential facilities, transportation systems, lifeline utility systems, high potential loss facilities and hazardous material facilities.
DATUM: The vertical datum is a base measurement point (or set of points) from which all elevations are determined. Historically, that common set of points has been the national geodetic vertical datum of 1929 (NGVD29). The vertical datum currently adopted by the federal government as a basis for measuring heights is the North American vertical datum of 1988 (NAVD88).
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, drilling operations, and permanent storage of equipment or materials.
DIGITAL FIRM (DFIRM): Digital flood insurance rate map. It depicts flood risk and zones and flood risk information. The DFIRM presents the flood risk information in a format suitable for electronic mapping applications.
EXISTING CONSTRUCTION: A structure for which the "start of construction" commenced before May 3, 2010.
EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION: A manufactured home park or subdivision where 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 final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before May 3, 2010.
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 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.
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA): The agency with the overall responsibility for administering the national flood insurance program.
FLOOD FRINGE: The portion of the floodplain outside of the floodway covered by floodwaters during the regulatory flood.
FLOOD HAZARD BOUNDARY MAP (FHBM): An official map of a community, issued by the federal insurance administration or U.S. department of housing and urban development, where the boundaries of areas of special flood hazard have been designated as zone A. The FHBM usually is the initial flood hazard map.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM): An official map of a community, issued by the federal insurance administration, delineating the areas of special flood hazard and/or risk premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS): The official report by the federal insurance administration evaluating flood hazards and containing flood profiles, floodway boundaries and water surface elevations of the base flood.
FLOOD OR FLOODING: A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
A. The overflow of inland or tidal waters; or
B. The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
FLOOD PROTECTION ELEVATION (FPE): An elevation that corresponds to the elevation of the one percent (1%) chance annual flood (base flood), plus any increase in flood elevation due to floodway encroachment, plus one foot (1') of freeboard.
FLOODPLAIN: The land that has been or may be covered by floodwaters, or is surrounded by floodwater and inaccessible, during the occurrence of the regulatory flood. The riverine floodplain includes the floodway and the flood fringe 1 .
FLOODWAY (REGULATORY FLOODWAY): The channel of a river or other watercourse and those portions of the floodplain adjoining the channel required to discharge and store the floodwater or flood flows associated with the regulatory flood.
FREEBOARD: A factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for the 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, obstructed bridge openings, debris and ice jams and the hydrologic effects of urbanization in a watershed.
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT FACILITY: A facility that 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, or ship repair facilities. The term does not include long term storage, manufacture, sales, or service facilities.
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE (HAG): The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction, adjacent to the proposed walls of a structure. Refer to the elevation certificate, FEMA form 81-31, for HAG related to building elevation information.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE: A structure that is:
A. Listed individually in the national register of historic places (a listing maintained by the U.S. 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 to a district preliminarily determined by the secretary to qualify as a registered historic district.
C. Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places and determined as eligible by 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 and determined as eligible by 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.
LETTER OF MAP CHANGE (LOMC): An official FEMA determination, by letter, to amend or revise effective flood insurance rate maps, flood boundary and floodway maps, and flood insurance studies. LOMCs are issued in the following categories:
A. Letter Of Map Amendment (LOMA): A revision based on technical data showing that a property was incorrectly included in a designated special flood hazard area. An LOMA amends the current effective flood insurance rate map and establishes that a specific property is not located in a special flood hazard area.
B. Letter Of Map Revision (LOMR): A revision based on technical data showing that, usually due to manmade changes, shows changes to flood zones, flood elevations, floodplain and floodway delineations, and planimetric features. One common type of LOMR, an LOMR-F, is a determination that a structure or parcel has been elevated by fill above the base flood elevation and is excluded from the special flood hazard area.
C. Conditional Letter Of Map Revision (CLOMR): A formal review and comment by FEMA as to whether a proposed project complies with the minimum national flood insurance program floodplain management criteria. A CLOMR does not amend or revise effective flood insurance rate maps, flood boundary and floodway maps, or flood insurance studies.
LEVEE: A manmade structure, usually an earthen embankment, designed and constructed according to sound engineering practices, to contain, control, or divert the flow of water so as to provide protection from temporary flooding.
LEVEE SYSTEM: A flood protection system that consists of a levee, or levees, and associated structures, such as closure and drainage devices, which are constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering practices.
LOWEST ADJACENT GRADE (LAG): The lowest point of the ground level next to the structure. Refer to the elevation certificate, FEMA form 81-31, for LAG related to building elevation information.
LOWEST FLOOR: The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement) used for living purposes, which includes working, storage, cooking and eating, or recreation, or any combination thereof. This includes any floor that could be converted to such a use including a basement or crawl space. An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, used solely for parking of vehicles, building access, or storage, in an area other than a basement, is not considered a structure's lowest floor. The lowest floor is a determinant for the flood insurance premium for a building, home or business.
MANUFACTURED HOME: A structure, 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. The term "manufactured home" does not include a "recreational vehicle".
MEAN SEA LEVEL: For purposes of the national flood insurance program, the national geodetic vertical datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community's FIRM are referenced.
NEW CONSTRUCTION: A structure for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after May 3, 2010, and includes subsequent improvements to the structure.
NEW MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION: A place where 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 final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after May 3, 2010.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE: A vehicle that is:
A. Built on a single chassis,
B. Four hundred (400) square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection,
C. Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towed 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.
REGULATORY 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 a designated height.
REPETITIVE LOSS: Flood related damages sustained by a structure on two (2) separate occasions during a ten (10) year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds twenty five percent (25%) of the market value of the structure before the damages occurred.
START OF CONSTRUCTION: Includes substantial improvement and means the date the development permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, or 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, 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 a building.
STRUCTURE: A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally aboveground, as well as a manufactured home.
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 fifty percent (50%) of its market value before the damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT: Reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other 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 improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage", regardless of the actual repair work performed. The market value of the structure should be: a) the appraised value of the structure prior to the start of the initial repair or improvement, or b) in the case of damage, the value of the structure prior to the damage occurring. This term includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage", regardless of the actual amount of repair work performed. The term does not include either:
A. A 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
B. Alteration of a historic structure, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a historic structure.
VARIANCE: A grant of relief by the governing body from a requirement of this chapter.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION: The height, in relation to the North American vertical datum (NAVD) of 1988 (or other specified datum) of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas. (Ord. 435, 5-3-2010, eff. 5-3-2010)
Notes
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