For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACT. An act in relation to the regulations of the rivers, lakes and streams of the state.
(615 ILCS 5/5 et seq.)
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE. A non-inhabitable building, used only for parking of vehicles or storage, that is on the same property as the principal building and which is incidental to the use of the principal building.
APPLICANT. Any person, firm, corporation, agency, non-profit or governmental body not exempted by law.
BASE FLOOD. The flood having a 1% probability of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The BASE FLOOD is also known as the 100-YEAR FLOOD. The base flood elevation at any location is as defined in § 152.03.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE). The elevation in relation to mean sea level of the crest of the base flood.
BASEMENT. The portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
BUILDING.
(1) A structure that is principally above ground and is enclosed by walls and a roof including manufactured homes, prefabricated buildings, and gas or liquid storage tanks.
(2) The term also includes recreational vehicles and travel trailers installed on a site for more than 180 days per year.
CHANNEL. Any river, stream, creek, brook, branch, natural or artificial depression, ponded area, flowage, slough, conduit, culvert, gully, ravine, wash or natural or humanmade drainage way which has a definite bed and banks or shoreline in or into which surface or ground water flows, either perennially or intermittently.
CHANNEL MODIFICATION. Alteration of a channel by changing the physical dimensions or material of its bed or banks. CHANNEL MODIFICATION includes damming, rip-rapping or other armoring, widening, deepening, straightening, relocating, lining and significant removal of bottom or woody vegetation. CHANNEL MODIFICATION does not include the clearing of dead or dying vegetation, debris or trash from the channel. CHANNELIZATION is a severe form of channel modification involving a typical relocation of the existing channel (e.g., straightening and the like).
COMPENSATORY STORAGE. An artificially excavated, hydraulically equivalent volume of storage within the SFHA used to balance the loss of natural flood storage capacity when artificial fill or structures are placed within the floodplain. The uncompensated loss of the natural floodplain storage can increase off-site flood water elevations and flows.
CONDITIONAL APPROVAL OF A REGULATORY FLOODWAY MAP CHANGE. Preconstruction approval by IDNR-OWR and the Federal Emergency Management Agency of a proposed change to the floodway map. This preconstruction approval, pursuant to this part, gives assurances to the property owner that once an appropriate use is constructed according to permitted plans, the floodway map can be changed, as previously agreed, upon review and acceptance of as-built plans.
CONDITIONAL LETTER OF MAP REVISION (CLOMR). A letter which indicates that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will revise base flood elevations, flood insurance rate zones, flood boundaries or floodways, as shown on an effective flood hazard boundary map or flood insurance rate map once the as-built plans are submitted and approved.
CRITICAL FACILITY. Any public or private facility which, if flooded, would create an added dimension to the disaster or would increase the hazard to life and health. Examples are public buildings, emergency operations and communication centers, health care facilities and nursing homes, schools and toxic waste treatment, handling or storage facilities.
DEVELOPMENT.
(1) Any human-made change to real estate including, but not necessarily limited to:
(a) Demolition, construction, reconstruction, repair, placement of a building or any structural alteration to a building;
(b) Substantial improvement of an existing building;
(c) Installation of a manufactured home on a site, preparing a site for a manufactured home or installing a travel trailer on a site for more than 180 days per year;
(d) Installation of utilities, construction of roads, bridges, culverts or similar projects;
(e) Construction or erection of levees, dams, walls or fences;
(f) Drilling, mining, filling, dredging, grading, excavating, paving, driving of piles, land clearing or other alterations of the ground surface;
(g) Storage of materials including the placement of gas and liquid storage tanks; and
(h) Channel modifications or any other activity that might change the direction, height or velocity of flood or surface waters.
(2) DEVELOPMENT does not include routine maintenance of existing buildings and facilities; resurfacing roads; or gardening, plowing and similar practices that do not involve filling, grading or construction of levees.
DWR. Division of Water Resources.
ELEVATION CERTIFICATE (EC). A form published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that is used to certify the elevation to which a building has been elevated.
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 or buildings to be constructed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
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).
FEMA. Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FLOOD. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry and low elevation areas from the overflow of inland or tidal waters, or from the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source. FLOOD also includes 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 a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland or tidal waters.
FLOOD FRINGE. The portion of the floodplain outside of the regulatory floodway.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM). A map prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that depicts the floodplain or special flood hazard area (SFHA) within a community. This map includes insurance rate zones and may or may not depict floodways and show base flood elevations.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS). An examination, evaluation and determination of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations.
FLOODPLAIN. Synonymous with SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA (SFHA). Those lands within the jurisdiction of the county that is subject to inundation by the base flood. The floodplains of the Macoupin Creek, Mill Creek, Phils Creek, Piasa Creek, Otter Creek, Illinois and Mississippi Rivers are generally identified as such on the flood insurance rate map of Jersey County prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and dated April 2, 2009. FLOODPLAIN also includes those areas of known flooding as identified by the community.
FLOODPROOFING. Any combination of structural or nonstructural additions, changes or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate, property and their contents.
FLOODPROOFING CERTIFICATE. A form published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that is used to certify that a building has been designed and constructed to be structurally dry floodproofed to the flood protection elevation.
FLOOD PROTECTION ELEVATION or FPE. The elevation of the base flood plus three feet of freeboard at any given location in the floodplain.
FLOODWAY. The portion of the floodplain required to store and conveys the base flood. The FLOODWAYS for each of the floodplains of the county shall be according to the best data available from federal, state or other sources.
FREEBOARD. An increment of elevation added to the base flood elevation to provide a factor of safety for uncertainties in calculations, future watershed development, unknown localized conditions, wave actions and unpredictable effects such as those caused by ice or debris jams.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE. Any 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 historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
(3) Individually listed on the state inventory of historic places by the State Historic Preservation Agency; or
(4) Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places by the State Historic Preservation Agency.
HYDROLOGIC and HYDRAULIC CALCULATIONS. Engineering analyses which determine expected flood flows and flood elevations based on land characteristics and rainfall events.
IDNR/OWR. Illinois Department of Natural Resources/Office of Water Resources.
IDNR/OWR JURISDICTIONAL STREAM. The Division regulates construction projects that may impact the flood carrying capacity of rivers, lakes and streams. These rules affect all streams and lakes except those in northeastern part of the state regulated under Part 3708.
(1) All construction activities in the floodways of streams (the channel and the adjacent portion of the floodplain that is needed to safely convey and store flood waters) in urban areas where the stream drainage area is one square mile or more or in rural areas where the stream drainage area is ten square miles or more must be permitted by the Division prior to construction.
(2) Floodways have been delineated for many of these streams and appear on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood insurance rate maps. Those maps are available for viewing at the local building and/or zoning offices.
LETTER OF MAP AMENDMENT (LOMA). Official determination by FEMA that a specific building, defined area of land or a parcel of land where there has not been any alteration of the topography since the date of the first NFIP map showing the property within the floodplain was inadvertently included within the floodplain and that the building, defined area of land or a parcel of land is removed from the floodplain.
LETTER OF MAP REVISION (LOMR). Letter that revises the base flood or the 100-year flood frequency elevations, flood insurance rate zones, flood boundaries or floodways as shown on an effective FHBM or FIRM.
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 § 152.07.
MANUFACTURED HOME. A structure transportable in one or more sections, that is built on a permanent chassis and is designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected to required utilities.
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 or buildings to be constructed (including, 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 floodplain management regulations adopted by a community. The term NEW MANUFACTURED HOME also includes park trailers, travel trailers and any other similar vehicles placed on site for more than 180 consecutive days.
MITIGATION. Includes those measures necessary to minimize the negative effects which floodplain development activities might have on public health, safety and welfare. Examples of MITIGATION include compensatory storage, soil erosion, sedimentation control and channel restoration.
NGVD 88. National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1988. NAVD supersedes the National Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD).
NFIP. National Flood Insurance Program.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE OR TRAVEL TRAILER. A vehicle which is:
(1) Built on a single chassis;
(2) Is equal to or less than 400 feet in size; and
(3) Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck and designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal use.
REGISTERED LAND SURVEYOR. A land surveyor registered in the State of Illinois.
REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER. An engineer registered in the State of Illinois.
REPAIR, REMODELING OR MAINTENANCE. Development activities which do not result in any increases in the outside dimensions of a building or any changes to the dimensions of a structure.
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 equals or exceeds 25% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
SFHA. See definition of FLOODPLAIN.
START OF CONSTRUCTION. Includes substantial improvement and means the date the building permit was issued. This, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition placement or other improvement, was within 180 days of the permit date.
(1) 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 placement of a manufactured home on a foundation.
(2) For a substantial improvement, 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. The results of a humanmade change to the land constructed on or below the ground, including the construction, reconstruction or placement of a building or any addition to a building; installing a manufactured home on a site; preparing a site for a manufactured home; or installing a travel trailer on a site for more than 180 days. (See the definition of BUILDING above);
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cumulative percentage of damage during a ten-year period equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred regardless of actual repair work performed. Volunteer labor and materials must be included in this determination. Damage of less then 50% of the fair market value will be applied to the repetitive loss calculations.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT.
(1) Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or improvement of a structure, taking place during a ten-year period in which the cumulative percentage of improvement or repair equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the improvement or repair is started. SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT is considered to occur when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor or other structural part of the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure.
(2) The term does not, however, include either:
(a) Any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
(b) Any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or the Illinois Register of Historic Places.
VARIANCE. A grant of relief by a community from the terms of a floodplain management regulation. Because a VARIANCE can create an increased risk to life and property, VARIANCES from flood elevation or other requirements in this chapter should be rare.
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 required federal, state, and/or local permits and elevation certification is presumed to be in VIOLATION until such time as the documentation is provided.
(Ord. 21-4, passed 11-9-2021)