(a) “Base flood” means the flood that has been selected as the basis for the flood plain management provisions in this article. For the purposes of this article, the one hundred year flood has been selected to serve as the base flood.
(b) “Basement” means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
(c) “Base flood elevation” means the elevation of the base flood as determined by the Flood Insurance Study for the City of Parkersburg, performed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, dated October 26, 1984 and revised April 17, 1989 and as measured from the National Geodetic Vertical Datum. From that determination, boundaries for the land area subject to the waters of the one hundred year flood have been established.
Within the approximated floodplain (F-3), the base flood elevation shall be established as the elevation of a representative point on the boundary of the approximated floodplain which is nearest to the construction site in question.
Within the floodway fringe (F-2), the base flood elevation shall be as established by the detailed study data and profiles contained in the Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Insurance Study, Community No. 542014, as revised April 17, 1989.
(d) “Chief Executive Officer (CEO)” means the official of the community who is charged with the authority to implement and administer laws, ordinances and regulations for that community.
(e) “Development” means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to buildings or other structures, the placement of manufactured homes, streets and other paving, utilities, mining, dredging, filling, grading, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials, and the subdivision of land.
(f) “Exceptional hardship” means a situation caused by the unusual and unique characteristics of a specific parcel which can only be resolved by the issuance of a variance. This does not include economic or financial hardship. Likewise, inconvenience, aesthetic considerations, physical handicaps, personal preferences or the disapproval of one’s neighbors cannot qualify as exceptional hardship. The unusual and unique physical characteristics shall pertain to the land itself, not to the structure, inhabitants or property owners and shall not be shared by adjacent property owners.
(g) “Flood plain” means a relatively flat or low land area adjoining a river, stream or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete inundation; an area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
(h) “Floodproofing” means any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes or adjustments to properties and structures which reduces or eliminates flood damage to lands, structures and their contents, water and sanitary facilities and other utility systems.
(i) “Functionally dependent use” means 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, but does not include long-term storage or related manufacturing facilities.
(j) “Highest adjacent grade” means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
(k) “Highway ready” means:
(1) If the recreational vehicle is on its wheels or jacking system;
(2) Is attached to the site only by quick disconnect type utilites and security devices; and
(3) Has no permanently attached additions.
(l) “Historic structure” means any structure that is:
(1) 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;
(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 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 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 this article.
(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. For flood plain management purposes, “manufactured home” also includes park trailers, travel trailers and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than 180 consecutive days.
For insurance purposes, “manufactured home” does not include park trailers, travel trailers and other similar vehicles.
(o) “Manufactured home park” or “subdivision” means a parcel or contiguous parcels of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
(p) “New construction” means structures and subsequent improvements to such structures, for which the start of construction as herein defined, commenced on or after the effective date of this article. “New construction” does not apply to any work for which a building permit was issued before the effective date of this article.
(q) “One hundred year flood” means a flood that has one chance in 100 or a one percent (1%) chance of being equalled or exceeded in any given year. “One hundred year flood” does not imply that no greater flood is likely to occur, nor that such a flood will not happen more than once every 100 years.
(r) “Person” means any individual or group of individuals, a corporation, partnership, association or other entity, including state and local governments and agencies.
(s) “Principally above ground” means where at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the actual cash value of a structure, less land value is above ground.
(t) “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.
(u) “Start of construction” means the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slabs or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns or any work beyond the state 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 as part of the main structure.
(v) “Structure” means anything constructed, set, placed, erected on or attached to the ground, including but not limited to buildings, gas or liquid storage tanks, sheds, manufactured homes and other similar items.
(w) “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 (50%) of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
(x) “Substantial improvement” means:
(1) Any repair, reconstruction 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 is being 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. 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 an “historic structure” provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as an “historic structure”.
(Ord. 0-835. Passed 12-10-96.)