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.
ACCESSORY STRUCTURES: Low cost buildings that do not exceed five hundred (500) square feet, such as detached two (2) car garages, boathouses, small pole barns and storage sheds, designed not to be used for human habitation. Accessory structures shall be constructed and placed on the building site so as to offer minimum resistance to the flow of floodwaters; shall be anchored to prevent flotation which may result in damage to other structures; service utilities such as electrical and heating equipment shall be elevated or floodproofed.
APPEAL: A request for a review of the interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING: A designated AO, or AH zone on the flood insurance rate map (FIRM). The base flood depths range from one to three feet (3'); a clearly defined channel does not exist; the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; and velocity flow may be evident. AO is characterized as sheet flow and AH indicates ponding.
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD: The land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Designation on maps always includes the letters A or V.
BASE FLOOD: The flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Also referred to as the "100-year flood". Designation on maps always includes the letters A or V.
BASEMENT: Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
CRAWL SPACE: An enclosed area subgrade or below the flood protection elevation and as such, must have openings that equalize hydrostatic pressures by allowing for the automatic entry and exits of floodwaters.
CRITICAL FACILITY: A facility for which even a slight chance of flooding might be too great. Critical facilities include, but are not limited to, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, police, fire and emergency response installations, installations which produce, use or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste.
DEVELOPMENT: Any manmade 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 or storage of equipment or materials located within the area of special flood hazard.
ELEVATED BUILDING: For insurance purposes, a nonbasement building which has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, post, piers, pilings, or columns.
ELEVATION CERTIFICATE: The official form FEMA (form 81-3-1) uses to track development, provide elevation information necessary to ensure compliance with community floodplain management ordinances, and determine the proper insurance premium rate with section B completed by community officials.
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 (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 adopted floodplain management regulations.
EXPANSION TO AN EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION: The preparation of additional sites by the construction 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).
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM): The official map on which the federal emergency management agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY: The official report provided by the federal emergency management agency that includes flood profiles, the flood boundary floodway map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
FLOOD OR FLOODING: A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
A. The overflow of inland or tidal waters; and/or
B. The unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters from any source.
FLOOD PROTECTION ELEVATION: An elevation that shall correspond to the elevation of the one percent (1%) chance flood (100-year flood) plus any increased flood elevation due to floodway encroachment, plus any required freeboard. The flood protection elevation (FPE) in the city is defined in "The Flood Insurance Study For The Bonner County, Idaho And Incorporated Areas" (FIS) effective November 18, 2009, as base flood elevation (BFE), base flood elevation with floodway or as otherwise indicated on the FIS or on the panel directly referenced for the specific area of development. In AO zones the FPE is determined as an elevation of two feet (2') above adjacent grade.
FLOODWAY: 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 a designated height (less than 1 foot).
LOWEST FLOOR: The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement and crawl space). 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 nonelevation design requirements of this chapter found at subsection 12-1-5B1b of this chapter. For crawl space exception see FEMA technical bulletin 11-01.
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" does not include a "recreational vehicle".
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.
NEW CONSTRUCTION: Structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date hereof.
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 (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 adopted floodplain management regulations.
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.
REGULATORY FLOOD: A flood determined to be representative of large floods known to have occurred in Idaho and which may be expected to occur on a particular stream because of like physical characteristics. The regulatory flood is based upon a statistical analysis of stream flow records available for the watershed or an analysis of rainfall and runoff characteristics in the watershed. In inland areas, the flood frequency of the regulatory flood is once in every one hundred (100) years; this means that in any given year there is a one percent (1%) chance that a regulatory flood may occur or be exceeded.
REPETITIVE LOSS: Flood related damages 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 damage occurred.
START OF CONSTRUCTION: Includes substantial improvement and means the date the building permit was issued provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, placement or other improvement was within one hundred eighty (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 a building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.
STRUCTURE: A walled and roofed building including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally aboveground.
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.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT: 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 has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. 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 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; or
B. Any alteration of a structure listed on the national register of historic places or a state inventory of historic places.
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.
WATER DEPENDENT: A structure for commerce or industry which cannot exist in any other location and is dependent on the water by reason of the intrinsic nature of its operations. (Ord. 529, 11-2-2009)
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