Definitions contained in regulations governing the National Flood Insurance Program, 44 CFR Parts 59 through 77, as amended, are incorporated by reference and made a part of this chapter as though set forth fully herein. Where terms are not defined in this chapter, they shall have their ordinary accepted meanings within the context in which they are used. For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
Architect. A person who has a license to practice architecture in the State of Hawaii.
Base Flood. The flood having a 1 percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the “100-year flood”).
Base Flood Elevation. The water surface elevation of the base flood.
Basement. Any area of a building having its floor below ground level on all sides.
Breakaway Wall. Any type of wall, whether solid or lattice, and whether constructed of concrete, masonry, wood, metal, plastic, or any other suitable building material, which is not part of the structural support of a building and which is designed to break away without damaging the structural integrity of the building or other buildings to which it might be carried by floodwaters.
Coastal High Hazard Area. A special flood hazard area subject to high velocity wave action from storms or seismic sources and designated on the flood insurance rate map as zone VE or V.
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.
Director. The director of planning and permitting of the City and County of Honolulu or the director’s authorized representative.
Encroachment. The advance or infringement of uses, plant growth, fill, excavation, walls, buildings, permanent structures, or development into a floodplain which may impede or alter the flow capacity of a floodplain.
Engineer. A person who is licensed to practice civil or structural engineering in the State of Hawaii.
FEMA. The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Flood or Flooding. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland or tidal waters, resulting from any source, such as tsunamis, or the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters or mud from any source.
Flood Fringe Area. A special flood hazard area consisting of the area of the flood fringe designated on the flood insurance rate map as zone AE, AO, and AH.
Flood Insurance Rate Map or FIRM. The map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the special flood hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
Flood Insurance Study. The report provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that includes flood profiles, the flood insurance rate map, the flood hazard boundary map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
Floodproofing. Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures and properties that reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures, and their contents.
Floodway. The channel or watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than 1 foot.
Floodway Area or AEF. A special flood hazard area consisting of the portion of zone AE designated on the flood insurance rate map as a floodway.
Floodway Permit. A permit required under this chapter for a structure within the floodway area.
Fraud and Victimization. As related to § 21A-1.12, means that the variance granted must not cause fraud on or victimization of the public. In examining this requirement, the city will consider the fact that every newly constructed building adds to government responsibilities and remains a part of the community for 50 to 100 years. Buildings that are permitted to be constructed below the base flood elevation are subject during all those years to increased risk of damage from floods, while future owners of the property and the community as a whole are subject to all the costs, inconvenience, danger, and suffering that those increased flood damages bring. In addition, future owners may purchase the property, unaware that it is subject to potential flood damage, and can be insured only at very high flood insurance rates.
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.
General Floodplain. A special flood hazard area for which detailed engineering studies were not performed by FEMA to determine the base flood elevations or to identify the floodway, and is identified as zone A on the flood insurance rate map.
Hardship. As related to § 21A-1.12, means the exceptional hardship that would result from a failure to grant the requested variance. The city requires that the variance be exceptional, unusual, and peculiar to the property involved. Mere economic or financial hardship alone is not exceptional. Inconvenience, aesthetic considerations, physical handicaps, personal preferences, or the disapproval of one’s neighbors likewise 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 put the parcel to a different use than originally intended.
Highest Adjacent Grade. The highest natural elevation of the ground surface before construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
Historic Structure. A structure that is:
(1) Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places 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 pursuant to a historic preservation program approved by the Secretary of Interior; or
(4) Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places pursuant to a historic preservation program certified either:
(A) By an approved State program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or
(B) Directly by the Secretary.
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 modified so as to render the use in violation of the elevation design requirement of this chapter.
Manufactured Home. A structure (other than a recreational vehicle), 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.
Mean Sea Level. The national geodetic vertical datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community’s flood insurance rate map are referenced.
New Construction. Structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after May 22, 2014* and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
Public Safety and Nuisance. As related to § 21A-1.12, means that the granting of a variance must not result in anything which is injurious to safety or health of an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, or river, bay, stream, canal, or basin.
Recreational Vehicle. A vehicle which is:
(1) Built on a single chassis;
(2) Four hundred 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.
Repetitive Loss Structure. A structure that was damaged by flood two or more times within any 10-year period, where the cost of fully repairing the flood damage to the structure, on average, equaled or exceeded 25 percent of its market value at the time of each flood.
Special Flood Hazard Area or SFHA. An area having special flood or flood-related erosion hazards, and shown on a FIRM as zone A, AO, AE, AEF, AH, VE, or V.
Start of Construction. Includes substantial improvement and other proposed new development 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 footing, 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 or walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations or the erections 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, 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, and a manufactured home.
Substantial Damage. Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its pre-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure (excluding land) before the damage occurred.
Substantial Improvement. Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or series of reconstruction, rehabilitation, or additions, or other proposed new development of a structure or repetitive loss structure, in any five-year period, the cumulative cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure (excluding land) before the “start of construction” of the first improvement during that five-year period. This term includes structures that have incurred substantial damage, regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term also includes the relocation of a structure even if the cost of improvements associated with the relocation does not equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure. An improvement shall constitute a substantial improvement only if:
(1) The structure was constructed on or before September 3, 1980;
(2) The structure was constructed after September 3, 1980, and was not within a special flood hazard area at the time of the issuance of the building permit;
(3) The structure was constructed after September 3, 1980, and was the subject of a map change that resulted in higher base flood elevations; or
(4) The structure was constructed after September 3, 1980, and was the subject of a map change that resulted in a FIRM zone change.
The term does not, however, include either:
(5) Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of State or county health, sanitary, or safety specifications; or
(6) Any alteration of a historic structure, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a historic structure.
Surveyor. A person who is licensed to practice surveying in the State of Hawaii.
Violation. The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with this chapter. A structure or other development without a required elevation certificate, other certification, or other evidence of compliance with this chapter shall be presumed to be in violation until such time as the required certificate or other evidence of compliance is provided.
Watercourse. A stream, wash, channel, or other topographic feature on or over which waters flow at least periodically.
Water Surface Elevation. The height, in relation to the national geodetic vertical datum (NGVD) of 1929 (or other datum, where specific), of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.
Zoning Lot. A zoning lot as defined by the land use ordinance, Chapter 21, as amended.
(1990 Code, Ch. 21A, Art. 1, § 21A-1.4) (Added by Ord. 14-9)
Editor’s note:
* “May 22, 2014” is substituted for “the effective date of this ordinance, as amended.”