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. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Appeal" means a request for a review of the Director of Inspections' or City Engineer's interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
(b) "Area of shallow flooding" means a designated AO Zone on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with base flood depths from one to three feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate and where velocity flow may be evident.
(c) "Area of special flood hazard" means the land in the flood plain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
(d) "Base flood" means the flood having a one percent chance of being equalled or exceeded in any given year.
(e) "Development" means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures and mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavating or drilling operations located in the area of special flood hazard.
(f) "Existing mobile home park or mobile home subdivision" means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more mobile home lots for rent or sale for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lot on which the mobile home is to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads and the construction of streets), was completed before the effective date of this chapter (Ordinance 275, passed August 30, 1978).
(g) "Expansion to an existing mobile home park or mobile home subdivision" means the preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the mobile homes are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads and the construction of streets).
(h) "Flood" or "flooding" means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(1) The overflow of inland or tidal waters; and/or
(2) The unusual and rapid accumulation or run-off of surface waters from any source.
(i) "Flood Insurance Rate Map" (FIRM) means an official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
(j) "Flood Insurance Study" means the official report in which the Federal Insurance Administration has provided flood profiles, as well as the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevations of the base flood.
(k) "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.
(l) "Habitable floor" means any floor used for living purposes, which includes working, sleeping, eating, cooking or recreation, or a combination thereof. A floor used only for storage purposes is not a "habitable floor."
(m) "Mobile home" means a structure that is 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. "Mobile home" does not include recreational vehicles or travel trailers.
(n) "New construction" means structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of this chapter (Ordinance 275, passed August 30, 1978).
(o) "New mobile home park or mobile home subdivision" means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more mobile home lots for rent or sale for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lot on which the mobile home is to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads and the construction of streets) is completed on or after the effective date of this chapter (Ordinance 275, passed August 30, 1978).
(p) "Start of construction" means the first placement of permanent construction of a structure (other than a mobile home) on a site, such as the pouring of slabs or footings or any work beyond the state of excavation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing, grading and filling; the installation of streets and/or walkways; the excavation for a basement, footings, piers or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; or the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds, not occupied as dwelling units or not a part of the main structure. For a structure (other than a mobile home) without a basement or poured footings, "start of construction" includes the first permanent framing or assembly of the structure or any part thereof on its piling or foundation. For mobile homes not within a mobile home park or mobile home subdivision, "start of construction" means the affixing of the mobile home to its permanent site. For mobile homes within a mobile home park or mobile home subdivision, "start of construction" is the date on which the construction of facilities for servicing the site on which the mobile home is to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the construction of streets, either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads and the installation of utilities) is completed.
(q) "Structure" means a walled and roofed building, mobile home or gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.
(r) "Substantial improvement" means any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent of the market value of the structure either before the improvement or repair is started, or, if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. "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 such alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure. "Substantial improvement" does not include 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 ensure safe living conditions, or any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places.
(s) "Variance" is a grant of relief to a person from the requirements of this chapter which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this chapter.
(Ord. 275. Passed 8-30-78.)