APPEAL: | A request for a review of the Floodplain 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 1 percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) as Zone A, AO, AH, A1-30, AE, A99, AR (V, VO, V1-30, VE). “Special flood hazard area” is synonymous in meaning with the phrase “area of special flood hazard”. |
BASE FLOOD: | The flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. |
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE): | The elevation to which floodwater is anticipated to rise during the base flood. |
BASEMENT: | Any area of the building having its floor sub-grade - i.e., below ground level - on all sides. |
BUILDING: | See STRUCTURE. |
DEVELOPMENT: | 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. |
FLOOD OR FLOODING: | (a) A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from: |
(1) The overflow of inland or tidal waters. | |
(2) The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source. | |
(3) Mudslides (i.e., mudflows) which are proximately caused by flooding as defined in paragraph (a)(2) 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. | |
(b) 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 force 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 paragraph (a)(1) of this definition. | |
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM): | The official map of a community, on which the Federal Insurance Administrator has delineated both the special hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the community. A FIRM that has been made available digitally is called a Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM). |
FLOODPLAIN OR FLOOD PRONE AREA: | Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source. See FLOOD OR FLOODING. |
FLOODPLAIN ADMINISTRATOR: | The community official designated by title to administer and enforce the floodplain management regulations. |
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: | Zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as floodplain ordinance, grading ordinance and erosion control ordinance) and other application of police power. The term describes such state or local regulations, in any combination thereof, which provide standards for the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction. |
FLOOD PROOFING: | 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. |
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE: | A use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term includes only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and ship building and ship repair facilities, and does not include long term storage or related manufacturing facilities. |
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: |
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 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. | |
LOWEST FLOOR: | 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: | 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. |
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 the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures. |
ONE HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD OR 100 YEAR FLOOD: | See BASE FLOOD. |
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE: | A vehicle which is: |
1. Built on a single chassis; | |
2. 400 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 temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use. | |
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA (SFHA): | See AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD. |
START OF CONSTRUCTION: | 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 from the date of the permit. 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 that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building. |
STRUCTURE.: | For floodplain management purposes, a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above ground, 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 50 percent 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 percent 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 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.” | |
VARIANCE: | A grant of relief by a community from the terms of a flood plain management regulation. |
VIOLATION: | The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community’s floodplain management regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in this chapter is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided. (Ord. 302, 1-19-2021) |