Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in these regulations shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give these regulations the most reasonable application.
(a) Accessory Structure: A structure on the same lot with, and of a nature customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal structure.
(b) Appeal: A request for review of the Floodplain Administrator's interpretation of any provision of these regulations or a request for a variance.
(c) Base Flood: The flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any- given year. The base flood may also be referred to as the 1% chance annual flood or one-hundred (100) year flood.
(d) Base (100-Year) Flood Elevation (BFE): The water surface elevation of the base flood in relation to a specified datum, usually the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 or the North American Vertical Datum of 1988, and usually expressed in Feet Mean Sea Level (MSL). In Zone AO areas, the base flood elevation is the natural grade elevation plus the depth number (from 1 to 3 feet).
(e) Basement: Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
(f) Best Available Data: Any data provided by a federal or State agency or Professional Engineer registered in the State of Ohio in accordance with FEMA approved certified engineering analysis. Base flood elevations and floodway boundaries produced on FEMA flood maps and studies shall take precedence over base flood elevations and floodway boundaries by any other source that reflect a reduced floodway and or lower base flood elevation. Other sources of data showing increased base flood elevations and or larger floodway areas than are shown on FEMA flood maps and studies, shall be reasonably utilized by the Floodplain Administrator.
(g) Clearing: The act or process of removing natural vegetation such as trees, shrubs, or brush to alter the current land use or for other development purposes.
(h) Community Rating System (CRS): A program established by the Federal Insurance Administration. The CRS rewards those communities that are doing more than the minimum National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements to help their residents prevent or reduce flood losses. The system should also provide an incentive for communities to initiate new flood protection activities.
(i) Conservation Best Management Practices: Conservation practices or systems of practices and management measures, including structural and nonstructural methods, developed through experience and research and using knowledge and technology, which control soil loss and reduce water quality degradation from sediment or nutrients, minimize adverse impacts to surface water and ground water, and maintain the integrity of the floodplain during land disturbing activities, such as excavation, filling, or construction.
(j) Crawl Space: An unfinished space beneath the first floor (not subgrade) especially for access to plumbing, wiring, duct work, etc.
(k) CRS Coordinator: A local official appointed by the Board of County Commissioners or their designee, to coordinate the community's CRS application and verification.
(l) 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 or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.
(m) Enclosure Below the Lowest Floor: See "Lowest Floor."
(n) Executive Order 11988 (Floodplain Management): 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.
(o) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): The agency with the overall responsibility for administering the National Flood Insurance Program.
(p) Fill: A deposit of earth material placed by artificial means.
(q) 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, and/or
(2) The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
(r) Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM): Usually the initial map, produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, for a community depicting approximate special flood hazard areas.
(s) Flood Insurance Rate Man (FIRM): An official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has delineated the areas of special flood hazard.
(t) Flood Insurance Risk Zones: Zone designations on FHBMs and FIRMs that indicate the magnitude of the flood hazard in specific areas of a community. Following are the zone definitions:
(1) Zone A:
Special flood hazard areas inundated by the 100-year flood; base flood elevations are not determined.
(2) Zones A1-30 and Zone AE:
Special flood hazard areas inundated by the 100-year flood; base flood elevations are determined.
(3) Zone AO:
Special flood hazard areas inundated by the 100-year flood; with flood depths of 1 to 3 feet (usually sheet flow on sloping terrain); average depths are determined.
(4) Zone AH:
Special flood hazard areas inundated by the 100-year flood; flood depths of 1 to 3 feet (usually areas of ponding); base flood elevations are determined.
(5) Zone A99:
Special flood hazard areas inundated by the 100-year flood to be protected from the 100-year flood by a Federal flood protection system under construction; no base flood elevations are determined.
(6) Zone B and Zone X (shaded):
Areas of 500-year flood; areas subject to the 100-year flood with average depths of less than 1 foot or with contributing drainage area less than 1 square mile; and areas protected by levees from the base flood.
(7) Zone C and Zone X (unshaded):
Areas determined to be outside the 500-year floodplain.
(8) Zone X (shaded) Future Conditions:
The flood risk zone that corresponds to the 1-percent annual chance floodplains that are determined based on future conditions hydrology. No BFEs or base flood depths are shown within this zone.
(u) Flood Insurance Study (FIS): The official report in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has provided flood profiles, floodway boundaries (sometimes shown on Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps), and the water surface elevations of the base flood.
(v) Flood Protection Elevation: The Flood Protection Elevation, or FPE, is the base flood elevation plus 2 feet of freeboard. In areas where no base flood elevations exist from any authoritative source, the flood protection elevation can be historical flood elevations, or base flood elevations determined and/or approved by the Floodplain Administrator.
(w) Floodway: A floodway is the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that have been reserved in order to pass the base flood discharge. A floodway is typically determined through a hydraulic and hydrologic engineering analysis such that the cumulative increase in the water surface elevation of the base flood discharge is no more than a designated height. From May 2, 2007 forward, newly delineated floodways shall be based on a designated increase in flood heights of no more that 0.01 foot at any point within the community. In no case shall the designated height be more than one foot at any point within the community.
The floodway is an extremely hazardous area, and is usually characterized by any of the following: Moderate to high velocity flood waters, high potential for debris and projectile impacts, and moderate to high erosion forces.
(x) Flood Fringe: The portion of the floodplain, which lies on either side of the floodway.
(y) 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 effect of urbanization in a watershed.
(z) Future Conditions Flood Hazard Area or Future Conditions Floodplain: The land area that would be inundated by the one percent annual chance flood based on future conditions hydrology.
(aa) Future Conditions Hydrology: The flood discharges associated with the projected land use conditions based on a community zoning map or comprehensive land use plans.
(bb) Grading: To level off to a smooth horizontal or sloping surface.
(cc) Historic structure:
Any structure that is:
(1) 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 listings 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; or
(3) Individually listed on the State of Ohio's inventory of historic places maintained by the Ohio Historic Preservation office.
(4) Individually listed on the inventory of historic places maintained by Village of Hebron's historic preservation program, which program is certified by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.
(dd) Hydrologic and hydraulic engineering analysis: An analysis performed by a professional engineer, registered in the State of Ohio, in accordance with standard engineering practices as accepted by FEMA, used to determine flood elevations and/or floodway boundaries.
(ee) Letter of Map Change (LOMC): A Letter of Map Change is 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 broken down into the following categories:
(1) 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. A LOMA amends the current effective Flood Insurance Rate Map and establishes that a specific property is not located in a special flood hazard area.
(2) Letter of Map Revision (LOMR); A revision based on technical data 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, a LOMR-F, is a determination concerning whether a structure or parcel has been elevated by fill above the base flood elevation and is, therefore, excluded from the special flood hazard area.
(3) 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.
(ff) Lowest floor: The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement) of a structure. This definition excludes an "enclosure below the lowest floor" which is an unfinished or flood resistant enclosure usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage, in an area other than a basement area, provided that such enclosure is built in accordance with the applicable design requirements specified in these regulations for enclosures below the lowest floor.
(gg) Lowest Horizontal Structural Member: The bottom of the lowest horizontal beam or unit of framing supporting the flooring unit of a home built on a crawl space foundation or structure supported by piers or columns.
(hh) Major Development: Development occurring on one or more existing lots that involves the opening, widening, or extension of any easement of access or driveway, and/or will increase the traffic flow to and from the site onto a public roadway, and/or will increase the impermeable surface area of the site by more than twenty percent (20%) of the total lot area.
(ii) 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 connected to the required utilities. The term "manufactured home" does not include a "recreational vehicle". For the purposes of these regulations, a manufactured home includes manufactured homes and mobile homes as defined in Chapter 3733 of the Ohio Revised Code.
(jj) Manufactured home park: As specified in the Ohio Administrative Code 3701-27- 01, a manufactured home park means any tract of land upon which three or more manufactured homes, used for habitation are parked, either free of charge or for revenue purposes, and includes any roadway, building, structure, vehicle, or enclosure used or intended for use as pan of the facilities of the park. A tract of land that is subdivided and the individual lots are not for rent or rented, but are for sale or sold for the purpose of installation of manufactured homes on the lots, is not a manufactured home park, even though three or more manufactured homes are parked thereon, if the roadways are dedicated to the local government authority.
(kk) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP): The NFIP is a Federal program enabling property owners in participating communities to purchase insurance protection against losses from flooding. This insurance is designed to provide an insurance alternative to disaster assistance to meet the escalating costs of repairing damage to buildings and their contents caused by floods. Participation in the NFIP is based on an agreement between local communities and the Federal government that states if a community will adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations to reduce future flood risks to all development in special flood hazard areas, the Federal government will make flood insurance available within the community as a financial protection against flood loss.
(ll) New construction: Structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the initial effective date of the Village of Hebron Flood Insurance Rate Map, December 15, 1982, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
(mm) Paving: The act or result of applying cement, concrete, asphalt paving blocks, or similar materials to any ground surface in such a manner as to present a uniform surface over an area.
(nn) Person: Includes any individual or group of individuals, corporation, partnership, association, or any other entity, including state and local governments and agencies. An agency is further defined in the Ohio Revised Code Section 111.15 as any govermnental entity of the State and includes, but is not limited to, any board, department, division , commission, bureau, society, council, institution, state college or university, community college district, technical college district, or state community college. "Agency" does not include the general assembly, the controlling board, the adjutant general's department, or any court.
(oo) 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.
(pp) Registered Professional Architect: A person registered to engage in the practice of architectuffre under the provisions of sections 4703.01 to 4703.19 of the Revised Code.
(qq) Registered Professional Engineer: A person registered as a professional engineer under Chapter 4733 of the Revised Code.
(rr) Registered Professional Surveyor: A person registered as a professional surveyor under Chapter 4733 of the Revised Code.
(ss) Riparian Corridor: The area between a stream or other body of water and the adjacent upland, where frequent flooding is likely to occur, and which is integral to maintaining the natural quality of the water body.
(tt) Special Flood Hazard Area: Also known as "Areas of Special Flood Hazard", it is the land in the floodplain subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Special flood hazard areas are designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Flood Insurance Rate Maps, Flood Insurance Studies, Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps and Flood Hazard Boundary Maps as Zones A, AE, AH, AO, A1-30, and A99. Special flood hazard areas may also refer to areas that are flood prone and designated from other federal, State or local sources of data including but not limited to historical flood information reflecting high water marks, previous flood inundation areas, and flood prone soils associated with a watercourse. SFHA that has been delineated through FEMA approved engineering practices in accordance with Section 1327.04(c) Subdivisions and Major Developments, shall also be considered SFHA.
(uu) Start of Construction: 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 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 a building.
(vv) Streambank Buffer: The area located on each side of the watercourse that has a zone of no disturbance from the top of the stream bank, which shall be maintained in its natural or scenic condition, and an additional zone with no impervious surfaces, which shall provide water quality protection and flood buffering. (See Section 1327.04(j)).
(ww) Structure: A walled and roofed building, manufactured home, or gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.
(xx) Subdivision:
(1) The division of any parcel of land shown as a unit or as contiguous units on the last preceding general tax list and duplicate of real and public utility property, into two or more parcels, sites, or lots any one which is less than twenty acres for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership, provided, however, that the division or partition of land into parcels of more than twenty acres not involving any new street or easements of access, and the sale or exchange of parcels between adjoining lot owners, where that sale or exchange does not create additional building sites, shall be exempted.
(2) The improvement of one or more parcels of land for residential, commercial, or industrial structures or groups of structures involving the division or allocation of land for the opening, widening, or extension of any public or private street or streets except private streets serving industrial structures; or involving the division or allocation of land as open spaces for common use by owner, occupants, or leaseholders, or as easements for the extension and maintenance of public or private sewers, water, storm drainage, or other similar facilities.
(yy) 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 of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
(zz) 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. Thiis term includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage", regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include:
(1) Any improvement to a structure that is considered "new construction,"
(2) 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 prior to the application for a development permit by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
(3) Any alteration of a "historic structure," provided that the alteration would not preclude the structure's continued designation as a "historic structure".
(aaa) Variance: A grant of relief from the standards of these regulations consistent with the variance conditions herein.
(bbb) Violation: The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with these regulations.
(Ord. 04-07. Passed 3-14-07.)