For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ADDITION TO AN EXISTING BUILDING. Any walled and roofed expansion to the perimeter of a building in which the addition is connected by a common load-bearing wall other than a fire wall. Any walled and roofed addition which is connected by a fire wall or is separated by independent perimeter load bearing walls is new construction.
APPEAL. A written request for a review of the Building Official’s interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD. The land in the city subject to a 1% or greater chance of flooding any given year and identified on the Flood Insurance Rate Map by the l00-year flood boundary line.
BASE FLOOD. The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION. The elevation of the base flood as recorded on the flood insurance rate map and accompanying stream profile data.
BASEMENT. The portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
BUILDING. Any structure built for support, shelter or enclosure for occupancy or storage.
COST. As related to substantial improvements, the cost of any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, alteration, repair or other improvement of a structure shall be established by a detailed written contractor’s estimate. The estimate shall include, but not be limited to: the cost of materials (interior finishing elements, structural elements, utility and service equipment); sales tax on materials, building equipment and fixtures, including heating and air conditioning and utility meters; labor; built-in appliances; demolition and site preparation; repairs made to damaged parts of the building worked on at the same time; contractor’s overhead; contractor’s profit; and grand total. Items to be excluded include: cost of plans and specifications, survey costs, permit fees, outside improvements such as septic systems, water supply wells, landscaping, sidewalks, fences, yard lights, irrigation systems, and detached structures such as garages, sheds, and gazebos.
DEVELOPMENT. Any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to the construction of buildings or structures; the construction of additions, alterations to substantial improvements to buildings or structures; the placement of buildings or structures; mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment; the storage, deposition, or extraction of materials; and the installation, repair or removal of public or private sewage disposal systems or water supply facilities located within the area of special flood hazard.
ELEVATED BUILDING. A nonbasement building built to have the lowest floor elevated above the ground level by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter walls, pilings, columns (posts and piers), shear walls or breakaway walls.
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 home are to be affixed (including, as a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before November 1, 1979, the effective date of the floodplain management ordinance adopted by the community.
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 manufacturing 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).
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA). The federal agency that administers the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
FINISHED LIVING SPACE. As related to fully enclosed areas below the base flood elevation (BFE), a space that is, but is not limited to, heated and/or cooled, contains finished floors (toile, linoleum, hardwood, (and the like), has sheetrock walls that may or may not be painted or wallpapered, and other amenities such as furniture, appliances, bathrooms, fireplaces and other items that are easily damaged by floodwaters and expensive to clean, repair or replace.
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 water; and/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, on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY. The official report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The report contains flood profiles, as well as the flood boundary floodway map and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
FLOODWAY. The high risk channel area of a watercourse and adjacent land area that must be reserved to discharge the base flood without increasing water surface elevations more than one foot.
FLOOR. The top surface of an enclosed area in a building (including basement), for example, top of slab in concrete slab construction or top of wood flooring in wood frame construction. The term does not include the floor of a garage used solely for parking vehicles.
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDANT USE OR FACILITY. A use or facility that cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term includes only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and ship building and ship repair facilities. The term does not include seafood processing facilities, long-term storage, manufacturing, sales or service facilities.
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE. The highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior to construction, next to the proposed walls of a structure.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE. Any structure that is:
(1) Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the 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 historic 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; or
(4) Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in 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.
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, the enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable nonelevation design requirements of this chapter.
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 connected to the required utilities. For floodplain management purposes the term MANUFACTURED HOME includes park trailers, travel trailers, recreational vehicles, and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than 180 consecutive days and intended to be improved property.
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION. A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
MARKET VALUE. The market value of the structure shall be determined by the appraised value of the structure prior to the start of the initial repair or improvement, or in the case of damage, the value of the structure prior to the damage occurring.
MEAN SEA LEVEL. For the purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 or other datum to which base flood elevations shown on the community’s (City of Waterbury) flood insurance rate map are referenced.
NATIONAL GEODETIC VERTICAL DATUM (NGVD). As corrected in 1929 is a vertical control used as a reference for establishing varying elevations within the flood plan.
NEW CONSTRUCTION. Structures for which the start of construction commences on or after the effective date of this chapter (November 1, 1979), and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
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 street, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after November 1, 1979, the effective date of the floodplain management regulation adopted by the community.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE. A vehicle which is:
(1) Built on a single chassis;
(2) Four hundred (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 a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
START OF CONSTRUCTION. For other than new construction or substantial improvements under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (Pub. Law No. 97-348), includes substantial improvement, and means the date building permit was issued; provided, the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, placement or other improvement was within 180 days of the permit date. The actual START means the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on the site, such as pouring of slabs or footings, installation of piles, 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 or filling; nor does it include the installation of streets and/or walkways; 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, a mobile home 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 pre-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT.
(1) Any combination of repairs, reconstruction, alteration or improvements to a structure, taking place during the life of a structure (a one-year period) in which the cumulative cost equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure, for example:
(a) The appraised value of the structure prior to the start of the initial repair or improvement; or
(b) In the case of damage, the value of the structure prior to the damage occurring.
(2) 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 any project for improvement of a structure required to comply with existing health, sanitary or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions.
VARIANCE. A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this chapter where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship.
VIOLATION. Failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community’s floodplain management ordinance. A structure or other development without required permits, lowest floor elevation documentation, flood-proofing certificates or required floodway encroachment calculations is resumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION. The height, in relation to the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 (or other datum, where specified), of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.
(Ord. passed 11-29-2010)