Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable application. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Accessory structure" means a structure on the same lot with, and of a nature customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal structure.
(b) "Appeal" means a request for a review of the Public Service Director's interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
(c) "Area of special flood hazard" means the land in the flood plain subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Areas of special flood hazard are designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as Zones A, AE, AH, AO, A1-30 and A99.
(d) "Base flood" means the flood having a one percent chance of being equalled or exceeded in any given year. The base flood may also be referred to as the 100-year flood.
(e) "Basement" means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
(f) "Development" means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures; mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavating or drilling operations; or the storage of equipment or materials.
(g) "Federal Emergency Management Agency" (FEMA) means the agency with the overall responsibility for administering the National Flood Insurance Program.
(h) "Flood" or "flooding" means 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 run-off of surface waters from any source.
(i) "Flood Insurance Rate Map" (FIRM) means an official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated the areas of special flood hazard.
(j) "Flood Insurance Study" means the official report in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided flood profiles, floodway boundaries and the water surface elevations of the base flood.
(k) "Floodway" means 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 one foot.
(l) "Historic structure" means 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;
(3) Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or
(4) Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified by 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.
(m) "Lowest floor" means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including the 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 built in accordance with the applicable design requirements specified in this chapter for enclosures below the lowest floor.
(n) "Manufactured home" means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and 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."
(o) "Manufactured home park" means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent. "Manufactured home park" shall exclude any manufactured home park as defined in Ohio R.C. 3733.01, over which the Public Health Council has exclusive rule making power.
(p) "Manufactured home subdivision" means a parcel or contiguous parcels of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for sale. This definition shall exclude any manufactured home park, as defined in Ohio R.C. 3733.01, for which the Public Health Council has exclusive rule-making power.
(q) "New construction" means structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the initial effective date of the City's Flood Insurance Rate Map and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
(r) "Recreational vehicle" means a vehicle that 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.
(s) "Start of construction" means the date the building permit was issued, provided that 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; the installation of streets and/or walkways; excavation for a basement, footings, piers or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds, not occupied as dwelling units or 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.
(t) "Structure" means a walled and roofed building, manufactured home or gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.
(u) "Substantial damage" means 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.
(v) "Substantial improvement" means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent of the market value of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement. The term "substantial improvement" includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage," regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term "substantial improvement" does not include:
(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;
(2) Any alteration of a "historic structure," provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a "historic structure"; or
(3) Any improvement to a structure which is considered new construction.
(w) "Variance" means a grant of relief from the standards of this chapter consistent with the variance conditions of this chapter.
(Ord. 96-002. Passed 3-25-96.)