ACCESSORY STRUCTURE: A structure on the same lot or parcel as a principal structure, the use of which is incidental and subordinate to the principal structure. An insurable building should not be classified as an accessory or appurtenant structure.
APPEAL: Request for a review of the interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING: Designated as AO or AH zone on the flood insurance rate map (FIRM). AO zones have base flood depths that range from one to three feet (3') above the natural ground; 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; AH indicates ponding, and is shown with standard base flood elevations.
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". Designated on flood insurance rate maps by the letters A or V.
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 the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
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, and 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, the construction of buildings, structures or accessory structures, or the construction of additions or substantial improvements to buildings, structures or accessory structures; the placement of mobile homes; mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations; and the deposition or extraction of materials; specifically including the construction of dikes, berms and levees. The term "development" does not include the operation, cleaning, maintenance or repair of any ditch, canal, lateral, drain, diversion structure or other irrigation or drainage works that is performed or authorized by the owner thereof pursuant to lawful rights and obligations.
ELEVATED BUILDING: For insurance purposes, a nonbasement building that has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, post, piers, pilings, or columns.
ELEVATION CERTIFICATE: The official FEMA form used to track development, provide elevation information necessary to ensure compliance with community floodplain management, and determine the proper insurance premium rate.
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 of 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 insurance administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS): The official report provided by the federal insurance administration 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 (FPE): An elevation that corresponds to the elevation of the one percent (1%) chance annual flood (base flood), plus any increase in flood elevation due to floodway encroachment, plus one foot (1') of freeboard. Therefore the flood protection elevation for Twin Falls County is equal to BFE plus allowed floodway elevation plus one foot (1') freeboard.
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 one foot (1').
INCREASED COST OF COMPLIANCE: A flood insurance claim payment up to thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00) directly to a property owner for the cost to comply with floodplain management regulations after a direct physical loss caused by a flood. Eligibility for an ICC claim can be through a single instance of "substantial damage" or as a result of a "cumulative substantial damage" (FEMA ICC manual 301).
LOWEST FLOOR: 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 nonelevation design requirements of this chapter, provided there are adequate flood ventilation openings.
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:
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 designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
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 the before damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty percent (50%) of the market value (as established by the county assessor's records) 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 (as established by the county assessor's records) 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.
VARIANCE: A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter that permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this chapter.
WATER DEPENDENT: A structure for commerce or industry that cannot exist in any other location and is dependent on the water by reason of the intrinsic nature of its operations. (Ord. 233, 11-2-2012)