For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning. Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted according to the meaning they have in common usage.
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE. A structure on the same or adjacent parcel as a principal structure, the use of which is incidental and subordinate to the principal structure.
ALTERATION OF A WATERCOURSE. Includes, but is not limited to, any dam, culvert, impoundment, channel relocation, change in channel alignment, channelization, or change in cross-sectional area or capacity, which may alter, impede, retard or change the direction and/or velocity of the riverine flow of water during conditions of the base flood.
APPEAL. A request for review of the Floodplain Administrator’s interpretation of provisions of this chapter.
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD (also called the SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA (SFHA). The land in the floodplain within a community subject to a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Zone designation on the FIRM begins with the letter A.
BASE FLOOD. The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Also called the ONE PERCENT ANNUAL CHANCE FLOOD (1% ACF).
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE). The water surface elevation during the base flood in relation to a specified datum. The BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE) is depicted on the FIRM to the nearest foot and in the FIS to the nearest 0.1 foot.
BASEMENT. Any area of a building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
BELOW-GRADE CRAWLSPACE. An enclosed area below the base flood elevation in which the interior grade is not more than two feet below the lowest adjacent exterior grade and the height, measured from the interior grade of the crawlspace to the top of the crawlspace foundation, does not exceed four feet at any point.
BUILDING. A building or structure, including manufactured dwelling, subject to building codes.
CRITICAL FACILITY. A facility that needs to be operable during a flood, or for which even a slight chance of flooding might pose unacceptable risk to health and safety. CRITICAL FACILITIES include, but are not limited to:
(1) Schools;
(2) Nursing homes;
(3) Hospitals and other medical facilities having surgery and emergency treatment areas;
(4) Fire and police stations;
(5) Tanks or other structures containing, housing or supporting water or fire-suppression materials or equipment required for the protection of essential or hazardous facilities or special occupancy structures;
(6) Emergency vehicle shelters and garages;
(7) Structures and equipment in emergency-preparedness centers;
(8) Standby power generating equipment for essential facilities; and
(9) Structures and equipment in government communication centers and other facilities required for emergency response.
CUMULATIVE SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVE-MENT. Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure that equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure at the time of the improvement or repair when counted cumulatively for ten years. See SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT.
DATUM. The vertical datum is a base measurement point (or set of points) from which all elevations are determined. Historically, that common set of points has been the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD29). The vertical datum currently adopted by the federal government as a basis for measuring heights is the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88).
DEVELOPMENT. 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 located within the area of special flood hazard. DEVELOPMENT does not include signs, markers, aids, and the like, placed by a public agency to serve the public.
DIGITAL FIRM (DFIRM). Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map. It depicts flood risk zones and flood risk information. The DFIRM presents the flood risk information in a format suitable for electronic mapping applications.
ENCROACHMENT. The advancement or infringement of uses, fill, excavation, buildings, permanent structures or other development into regulatory floodway which may impede or alter the flow capacity of a floodplain.
ELEVATED BUILDING. A non-basement building which has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, post, piers, pilings, or columns.
EXISTING BUILDING OR STRUCTURE. A structure for which the “start of construction” commenced before September 30, 1980.
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA). The agency with the overall responsibility for administering the National Flood Insurance Program.
FLOOD or FLOODING. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(1) The overflow of inland or tidal waters; or
(2) The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM). An official map of a community, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, delineating the areas of special flood hazard and/or risk premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS). The official report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency evaluating flood hazards in a community and containing flood profiles, regulatory floodway
boundaries and water surface elevations of the base flood.
FLOODWAY (REGULATORY FLOODWAY). The channel of a river or other watercourse and those portions of the floodplain adjoining the channel required and reserved to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing water surface elevation more than one foot.
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE (HAG). The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction, adjacent to the proposed walls of a structure. Refer to the elevation certificate, FEMA Form 81-31, for more information.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE. A structure that is:
(1) Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the U.S. Department of the 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 to a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
(3) Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places and determined as eligible by 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 and determined as eligible by 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.
LETTER OF MAP CHANGE (LOMC). An official FEMA determination, by letter, to amend or revise effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Flood Insurance Studies. LOMCs are issued in the following categories:
(1) LETTER OF MAP AMENDMENT (LOMA). A revision based on technical data showing that a property was inadvertently included in a designated special flood hazard area. A LOMA amends the current effective Flood Insurance Rate Map and establishes that a specific structure, property, or portion of a property is not located in a special flood hazard area;
(2) LETTER OF MAP REVISION (LOMR). A revision based on technical data showing, due to manmade alterations, changes to flood zones, flood elevations, or floodplain and regulatory floodway delineations. One common type of LOMR, a LOMR-F, is a letter from FEMA stating that a parcel has been elevated by fill above the base flood elevation and is excluded from the special flood hazard area; and
(3) CONDITIONAL LETTER OF MAP REVISION (CLOMR). A formal review and comment by FEMA as to whether a proposed project complies with the minimum National Flood Insurance Program floodplain management criteria. A CLOMR does not amend or revise effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps, or Flood Insurance Studies.
LIMITED STORAGE. Storage of equipment or materials which is incidental and accessory to the principal use of a structure such as lawn and garden equipment and snow tires, which cannot be conveniently stored in the elevated portion of the structure.
LOWEST FLOOR. The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure used solely for parking of vehicles, building access, or limited storage, in an area other than a basement, is not considered a structure’s LOWEST FLOOR provided that the enclosed area is built and maintained in accordance with the applicable design requirements of the specialty codes and this chapter. The LOWEST FLOOR of a manufactured dwelling is the bottom of the longitudinal chassis frame beam.
MANUFACTURED DWELLING or MANU-FACTURED HOME. A structure, transportable in one or more sections, built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The term MANUFACTURED DWELLING does not include a “Recreational Vehicle.”
NEW CONSTRUCTION. A structure for which the “start of construction” commenced after May 3, 2011, and includes subsequent substantial improvements to the structure.
REASONABLY SAFE FROM FLOODING. Means that base flood waters will not inundate the land or damage structures and that any subsurface waters related to the base flood will not damage existing or proposed buildings.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE. A vehicle that is:
(1) Built on a single chassis;
(2) Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
(3) Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towed by a light duty truck; and
(4) Designed primarily as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use and not for use as a permanent dwelling.
SPECIALTY CODES. The combined specialty codes adopted under O.R.S. 446.062, 446.185, 447.020(2), 455.020(2), 455.496, 455.610, 455.680, 460.085, 460.360, 479.730(1) or 480.545, but does not include regulations adopted by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to O.R.S. Chapter 476 or O.R.S. 479.015 to 479.200 and 479.210 to 479.220. The combined specialty codes are often referred to as BUILDING CODES.
START OF CONSTRUCTION. Includes sub-stantial improvement and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, or 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 manufac-tured 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 the altera-tion affects the external dimensions of a building.
STRUCTURE. A walled and roofed building, a manufactured dwelling, a modular or temporary building, or a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.
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 50% of its market value before the damage occurred. SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE also means flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a ten-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds 25% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT. Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement 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. SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT also means “cumulative substantial improvement”. This term includes structures which have incurred “substantial damage,” regardless of the actual repair work performed. The MARKET VALUE of the structure is:
(1) The real market value of the structure prior to the start of the initial repair or improvement; or
(2) In the case of damage, the real market value of the structure prior to the damage occurring. The term does not include either:
(a) A 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) Alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as an historic structure.
VARIANCE. A grant of relief from a requirement of this chapter.
VIOLATION. The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community’s floodplain management regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance is presumed to be in VIOLATION until such time as that documentation is provided.
WATERCOURSE. A lake, river, creek, stream, wash, arroyo, channel or other topographic feature in, on, through, or over which water flows at least periodically.
WATER DEPENDENT USE. A facility that cannot be used for its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water, such as a docking or port facility necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, shipbuilding, or ship repair facilities. The term does not include long-term storage, manufacture, sales, or service facilities.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION. The height, in relation to a specific datum, of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.
(Ord. 259, passed 3-17-2011; Ord. 286, passed 12-7-2017)