“Accessory structure” means a structure that is either solely for the parking of no more than two cars, or a small, low-cost shed for limited storage, less than 150 square feet and $1,500 in value.
“Base flood” means a flood that has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the “100 year flood”).
1
Base flood elevation” (BFE) means the elevation shown on the FIRM for Zones AE, AH, A1-30, VE and V1-V30 that indicates the water surface elevation resulting from a flood that has a 1% or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
“Building” - see “Structure.”
“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 or storage of equipment or materials 1
“Flood” or “flooding” means:
(1) A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from: the overflow of inland or tidal waters; the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; or mudslides (i.e., mudflows) that are proximately caused by flooding.
(2) The collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly caused by an unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in this definition.
“Flood Insurance Rate Map” (FIRM) means the official map on which FEMA has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
“Flood Insurance Study” means the official report provided by FEMA that includes flood profiles, the FIRM, and the water surface elevations of the base flood.
“Floodplain” or “flood-prone area” means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water, as shown on the FIRM or as designated by the Floodplain Administrator.
“Floodplain Administrator” is the City Administrator or the City Administrator’s designee.
“Floodplain management” means the operation of a program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage and preserving and enhancing, where possible, natural resources in the floodplain, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works, floodplain management regulations, and open space plans.
“Floodplain management regulations” means this ordinance and other zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as grading and erosion control) and other application of police power which control development in flood-prone areas. This term includes applicable federal, state, or local regulations that provide standards for preventing and reducing flood loss and damage.
“Floodproofing” means 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.
“Floodway” or “regulatory 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. Also referred to as “regulatory floodway.”
“Functionally dependent use” means a use that cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term includes, but is not limited to, docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, facilities that provide waterfront public access, and ship building and ship repair facilities,1
“Historic structure” means any structure that is
1) Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places 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;
(4) Determined as contributing to the historical significance of a district listed on a state inventory of historic places for a state program approved by the Secretary of Interior;
(5) Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs, including, but not limited to those structures that have been certified either by an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs;
(6) Determined as contributing to the historical significance of a district listed on a local inventory of historic places, including, but not limited to those structures that have been certified either by an approved state program or by the Secretary of the Interior; or
(7) Determined to be an historic resource in accordance with the Planning Department’s CEQA Review Procedures for Historic Resources.
1
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 attached to the required utilities. The term “manufactured home” does not include a “recreational vehicle”.
“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.
“New construction” means structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after the effective date of floodplain management regulations adopted pursuant to this ordinance, and includes any substantial improvements to such structures.
“New manufactured home park or subdivision” means 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 the ordinance in Board File No. 200537 adding this definition to this Article XX.
“One hundred year flood” or “100-year flood” means a flood that has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
“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.
“Special flood hazard area” (SFHA) means an area in the floodplain subject to a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any given year that is shown on FIRM as Zone A, AO, A1, A30, AE, A99, AH, V1, V30, VE, or V.
“Start of construction” includes substantial improvement and other proposed new development and 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 from the date of the permit. 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, the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation, or any work beyond the stage of excavation. 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” means a walled and roofed building that is principally above ground; this includes a gas or liquid storage tank or a manufactured home.
“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 50% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. The term does not include any alteration of or exterior addition to a damaged “historic structure,” provided that the alteration or addition will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a “historic structure.”
“Substantial improvement” means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other proposed new development of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the “start of construction” of the improvement. This term includes structures that have incurred “substantial damage,” regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not include either:
(1) Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations or 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
(2) Any alteration of, or attached exterior addition to, an “historic structure,” provided that the alteration or addition will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as an “historic structure.”
(Added by Ord. 188-08, File No. 080823, App. 8/7/2008; amended by Ord. 56-10, File No. 100136, App. 3/25/2010; Ord. 226-20, File No. 200537, App. 11/13/2020, Eff. 12/14/2020)
CODIFICATION NOTE
1. So in Ord. 226-20.