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.
(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 Code Administrator'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 floodplain within a community subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Areas of special flood hazard are designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as Zone A, AE, AH, AO, A1-30, and A99.
(d) "Base flood" means the flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled 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, excavation or drilling operations located within the area of special flood hazard or 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 runoff 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 1.0 foot.
(l) "Historic Structure" means any structure that is:
A. Listed 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 listing on the National Register;
B. 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 the State of Ohio's inventory of historic places maintained by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office;
D. Individually listed on the inventory of historic places maintained by the Oberlin Historic Improvement Organization whose historic preservation program has been certified by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.
(m) "Lowest floor" means 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 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 is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. It includes park trailers, travel trailers and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than 180 consecutive days.
(o) "New construction" means structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of the City's Flood Insurance Rate Map, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
(p) "Recreational Vehicle" means 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.
(q) "Start of construction" 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 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 the building, whether or not that alteration effects the external dimensions of a building.
(r) "Structure" means a walled and roofed building, manufactured home or gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.
(s) "Substantial damage" means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damage condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damaged occurred. Substantial damage also means flood related damage sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a 10-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds 25 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
(t) "Substantial improvement" means:
(1) Any repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure either:
A. Before the improvement or repair is started, or
B. If the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred.
(2) For the purposes of this definition, "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. "Substantial improvement" 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 have been identified prior to the application for a development permit by the local code enforcement official and which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions, or
B. Any alteration of a "historic structure", provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a "historic structure"; or
C. Any improvement to a structure which is considered new construction.
(u) "Variance" means a grant of relief to a person from the requirements of this chapter which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this chapter.
(v) "Violation" means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with this chapter.
(Ord. 01-80AC. Passed 9-4-01.)