For purposes of this chapter, the following terms mean:
ADDITION: Any improvement that expands the enclosed footprint or increases the square footage of an existing structure. This includes lateral additions added to the side, front, or rear of a structure; vertical additions added on top of a structure; and enclosures added underneath a structure.
ALLUVIAL FAN FLOODING: Flooding occurring on the surface of an alluvial fan or similar landform which originates at the apex and is characterized by high velocity flows; active processes of erosion, sediment transport, and deposition; and unpredictable flow paths.
APEX: A point on an alluvial fan or similar landform below which the flow path of the major stream that formed the fan becomes unpredictable and alluvial fan flooding can occur.
APPEAL: A request for review of any requirement, decision, determination or interpretation of an administrative official under the provisions of this chapter.
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING: A designated AO, AH, AR/AO, or AR/AH zone on the FIRM with a one percent (1%) or greater annual chance of flooding to an average depth from one to three feet (3'); a clearly defined channel does not exist, the path of flooding is unpredictable; and velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD: The land in a floodplain subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year. This area may be designated as zone A on the flood hazard boundary map, and after detailed ratemaking is completed in preparation for publication of the FIRM, is usually refined into zones A, AE, AH, AO, A1-30, AR, AR/A1-30, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/AH, AR/A, or V1-30, VE or V. For purposes of these regulations the term “special flood hazard area” is synonymous in meaning with the phrase “area of special flood hazard.”
BASE FLOOD: A flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE): The probable water surface elevation (in relation to mean sea level) of the base flood as determined by the FIRM or approved by the city engineer.
BASEMENT: Any area of a building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides. A walkout basement that does not require a step up to grade is not considered a basement.
BREAKAWAY WALL: A wall that is not part of the structural support of the building and is intended through its design and construction to collapse under specific lateral loading forces, without causing damage to the elevated portion of the building or supporting foundation system. Any walls below the lowest floor in a building in a V or VE zone should give way under wind and water loads without causing collapse displacement, or other damage to the elevated portion of the building of the supporting pilings or columns. Breakaway walls apply only to V or VE zones.
BUILDING: See STRUCTURE.
CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (CFR): The codification of the general and permanent rules published in the federal register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
CONDITIONAL LETTER OF MAP REVISION (CLOMR): FEMA's comment on a proposed project that would, upon construction, affect the hydrologic and/or hydraulic characteristics of a flooding source and thus result in the modification of the existing regulatory floodway, the effective BFEs, and/or the SFHA. The letter does not revise an effective map; it indicates whether the project, if built as proposed, would be recognized by FEMA.
COMPENSATORY STORAGE: An equal volume of flood storage created by excavation or other compensatory measures at, or adjacent to, a development site for the volume of the loss of floodwater storage due to filling in an area of special flood hazard.
CRITICAL FEATURE: An integral and readily identifiable part of a flood protection system, without which the flood protection provided by the entire system would be compromised.
DEED RESTRICTION: A clause in a deed that limits the future use of the property in some respect. Deed restrictions may impose a vast variety of limitations and conditions. For example, a deed restriction may limit the density of buildings, dictate the types of structures that can be erected, or prevent buildings from being used for specific purposes or from being used at all.
DEVELOPMENT: Any manmade change to improved or unimproved real property, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials located within the floodplain area, whether or not the same requires building or other permits under this code.
ELEVATED BUILDING: A non-basement building that is: a) built, in the case of a building in zones A1-30, AE, A, A99, AR, AO, AH, B, C, X, and D, to have the top of the elevated floor elevated above the ground level by means of pilings, columns (posts and piers), or shear walls parallel to the flow of the water; and b) adequately anchored so as not to impair the structural integrity of the building during a flood of up to the magnitude of the base flood. In the case of a building in zone A1-30, AE, A, A99, AR, AO, AH, B, C, X, and D, "elevated building" also includes a building elevated by means of fill or solid foundation perimeter walls with openings sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded movement of floodwaters.
Ogden City does not currently have a zone V, V1-30 or VE. But an elevated building also includes a building in zones V1-30, VE, or V with the bottom of the lowest horizontal structure member of the elevated floor elevated above the ground level by means of pilings, columns (posts and piers), or shear walls parallel to the flow of the water. In the case of zones V1-30, VE, or V, "elevated building" also includes a building otherwise meeting the definition of "elevated building", even though the lower area is enclosed by means of breakaway walls if the breakaway walls met the standards of Section 60.3(e)(5) of the national flood insurance program regulations.
ENCLOSURE: An enclosed walled in area below the lowest floor of an elevated building.
EROSION: The process of the gradual wearing away of land masses by wind, water, or other natural agents.
EXISTING CONSTRUCTION: Structures for which the start of construction commenced before the effective date of the FIRM or before January 19, 1983 for FIRMS effective before that date. “Existing construction” may also be referred to as “existing structures.”
EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK 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 (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 January 19, 1983, the effective date of the initial floodplain management regulations adopted by the city.
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: The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FILL: The placement of materials, such as dirt, sand, or rock to elevate a structure, property, or portion of a property above the natural elevation of the site, regardless of where the material was obtained from. The common practice of removing unsuitable material and replacing with engineered material is not considered fill if the elevations are returned to the existing conditions. Any fill placed or used prior to the area being mapped as a flood hazard area is not deemed as fill.
FLOOD OR FLOODING: A general or temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland waters or the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source. Also, mudslides (i.e., mudflows) which are proximately caused by flooding and are akin to a river of liquid and flowing mud on the surfaces of normally dry land area, as when earth is carried by a current of water and deposited along the path of the current. Includes also the collapse or subsidence of land along a body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by 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 a flash flood or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM): The official map on which FEMA has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS): The official report provided by FEMA with an examination and determination of flood hazards as well as the flood boundary floodway map and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations, or an examination evaluation and determination of the mudslide and/or flood related erosion hazards.
FLOOD OPENING: An opening in the wall of an enclosed structure that allows floodwaters to automatically enter and exit the enclosure. Refer to FEMA Technical Bulletin 1.
FLOODPLAIN: Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source. Specifically, for purposes of this title, floodplain shall be that area of this city designated within the boundaries of the official Flood Insurance Rate Map and approved amendments, which may be subject to inundation in the event of the base flood.
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT: The operation of an overall program of corrective and preventative measures for reducing flood damage, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works, mitigation plans, and floodplain management regulations.
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS: The provisions of this chapter, together with any other zoning regulations, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, engineering standards, special purpose ordinances (such as those governing floodplain, grading, and erosion control) and other applications of police power, or any combination thereof, which provide standards for the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.
FLOODPROOFING: Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures and their contents. Floodproofing can either be accomplished in the form of dry floodproofing in which the structure is watertight below the levels that need flood protection, or wet floodproofing in permanent or contingent measures applied to a structure that prevent or provide resistance to damage from flooding, while allowing floodwaters to enter the structure area.
FLOOD PROTECTION SYSTEM: Those physical structural works for which funds have been authorized, appropriated, and expended and which have been constructed specifically to modify flooding in order to reduce the extent of the areas within a community subject to a "special flood hazard" and the extent of the depths of associated flooding. Such a system typically includes hurricane tidal barriers, dams, reservoirs, levees or dikes. These specialized flood modifying works are those constructed in conformance with sound engineering standards.
FLOODWAY ENCROACHMENT: Any encroachment, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements and other development within the regulatory floodway.
FLOODWAY/ REGULATORY FLOODWAY: The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land area that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designated height.
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE: A development 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 shipbuilding and ship repair facilities, but does not include long term storage or related manufacturing facilities.
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE: The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE: Any structure that is:
A. Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the 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;
C. Individually listed on the state inventory of historic places; or
D. Individually listed on the Ogden City register of historic resources.
LETTER OF MAP REVISION (LOMR): FEMA's modification or revision to an entire or portion of the effective FIRM, or Floodway Boundary and Floodway Map, or both. LOMRs are generally based on the implementation of physical measures that affect the hydrologic or hydraulic characteristics of a flooding source and thus result in the modification of the existing regulatory floodway, the effective BFEs, or the SFHA.
LEVEE: A manmade structure, usually an earthen embankment, designed and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to contain, control, or divert the flow of water so as to provide protection from temporary flooding.
LEVEE SYSTEM: A flood protection system which consists of a levee, or levees, and associated structures, such as closure and drainage devices, which are constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering practices.
LICENSED ARCHITECT: An architect who is registered with the department of registration of the state of Utah.
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 incidental storage, in an area other than a basement area, is not considered a building's lowest floor, provided such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable nonelevation design requirement of this chapter.
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 attached to the required utilities. The term “manufactured home,” also known as a “mobile home,” does not include a “recreational vehicle;” however, a manufactured home may be used for both residential and non-residential use.
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION: A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
MEAN SEA LEVEL: For the purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988, or other datum to which BFEs shown on a community's FIRM are referenced.
NEW CONSTRUCTION: Structure for which the start of construction commenced on or after January 19, 1983, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
NEW DEVELOPMENT: Any development proposal and/or plan submitted for approval, for which the development activities as described in the definition of "development", as set forth in this section, will commence on or after January 19, 1983.
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 (includes, 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 January 19, 1983.
READY FOR HIGHWAY USE: A recreational vehicle that is on its wheel or a jacking system, is attached to the site only by quick disconnect type utilities and security devices, and has no permanently attached additions.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE: A vehicle which is: a) built on a single chassis; b) four hundred (400) square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection; c) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and d) 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 who is registered with the department of registration of the state of Utah.
RIVERLINE: Relating to, formed by, or resembling a river (including tributaries), stream, brook, creek, etc., which can be intermittent or perennial.
START OF CONSTRUCTION: Includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, additional placement, or other improvement was within one hundred eighty (180) days of the permit date. The actual start means the first placement of permanent construction on 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.
The actual start of construction for a substantial improvement 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, culvert, bridge, dam, or a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above ground as well as a manufactured home. Structure, for insurance purposes, means:
A. A building with two (2) or more outside rigid walls and a fully secured roof, that is affixed to a permanent site;
B. A manufactured home; or
C. A travel trailer without wheels, built on a chassis and affixed to a permanent foundation, that is regulated under this chapter or Ogden City's building code.
For insurance purposes, "structure" does not mean a recreational vehicle or a park trailer or other similar vehicle, except as described in Subparagraph C. of this definition or a gas or liquid storage tank.
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 (50%) of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. When a structure or building has been determined as substantially damaged, any work or repair on said structure or building will be considered a substantial improvement and will be required to meet the development requirements set forth within this chapter for substantial improvement. Substantial damage also means flood related damage sustained by a structure on two (2) separate occasions during a ten (10)-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds twenty-five percent (25%) of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT: Any combination of repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure only (not of the structure and land value combined) before the start of construction of the improvement. If the structure has sustained "substantial damage," any repairs are considered substantial improvements regardless of the actual repair work performed. Substantial improvement does not, however, include either:
A. 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 a local code enforcement official and which are the minimum 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.
VARIANCE: A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this chapter.
VIOLATION: The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the floodplain management regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required by this chapter or 44 CFR Section 60.3(b)(5), (c)(4), (c)(10), (d)(3), (e)(2), (e)(4), or (e)(5) is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION: The height, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 (or other datum, where specified), of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.
WATERCOURSE: The channel and banks of an identifiable water in a creek, brook, stream, river, ditch, or other similar feature.
(Ord. 2015-21, 5-26-2015; amd. Ord. 2023-61, 11-14-2023)