(a) Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in this article shall be interpreted to give this article it's most reasonable application.
(1) Adjacent Property includes any surface tract, regardless of whether such surface tract is entirely within SFHA, so long as a portion of said surface tract is located within SFHA, which shares an immediate and common boundary up or down stream to the property that is the subject of the application for Floodplain Permit. Adjacent property also includes all other property that may be affected by flooding.
(2) Advisory Flood Height means the water surface elevation (WSEL), in feet, of the one percent (1%) annual chance (100 year) flood at a given location, as determined using hydrology and hydraulics (H&H) analysis and the best available elevation data as per the West Virginia flood tool.
(3) Adversely Affect Adjacent Properties means to adversely affect a property the increase in the elevation of the 100 year base flood elevation must be more than one (1) foot at any point. Stated conversely, if the effect is that the 100 year flood base flood elevation rises one (1) foot or less the property is not Aaffected. This standard does not apply to the Floodway. If prior permit(s) has/have been approved in the same area of the Floodplain, the above definition would include the cumulative impact to the base flood elevation.
(4) Appurtenant Structure means a secondary structure on the same parcel of property as the principal structure, the use of which is incidental and shall not be habitable but shall be used only for storage in association with the principal structure on said property. This does not include a gas or liquid storage tank.
(5) Base Flood means the flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
(6) Base Flood Elevation (BFE) means the water surface elevation of the base flood in relation to the datum specified on the County's Flood Insurance Rate Map. For the purposes of this Ordinance, the one hundred (100) year flood or one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year. (See 100-year flood also.)
(7) Basement means any area of the building having its floor sub grade (below ground level) on all sides.
(8) Certificate of Compliance means a certification that the entire development, including the elevation of fill or the lowest floor of a structure is in compliance with all the provisions of this article.
(9) 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.
(10) Mobile home means a transportable, single family dwelling intended for permanent occupancy, office or place of assembly, contained in one or more sections, built on a permanent chassis, which arrives at a site complete and ready for occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations and constructed so that it may be used with or without a permanent foundation. The term does not include recreational vehicles or travel trailers.
(11) Mobile home park means a parcel of land under single ownership which has been planned and improved for the placement of two or more mobile homes for non-transient use.
(12) Obstruction means any wall, dam, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile abutment, projection, excavation, channel, rectification, culvert, building, fence, stockpile, refuse, fill, structure or matter in, along, across or projecting into any channel, watercourse or flood prone area, which may impede, retard or change the direction of the flow of water either in itself or by catching or collecting debris carried by such water or is placed where the flow of the water might carry the same downstream to the damage of life and property.
(13) Delineation of Flood Hazard Areas means that for the purposes of this Building Code, the areas considered to be flood prone within the City shall be those areas identified as being subject to the 100 year flood in the Flood Insurance Study prepared for the City by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and dated February 15, 1984.
A map showing all areas considered to be flood prone is available for inspection at the Department of Development Office. For the purpose of this article the following nomenclature is used in referring to the various kinds of flood prone areas:
A. The Floodway is delineated for purposes of this article using the criteria that a certain area within the flood plain shall be capable of carrying the waters of the 100 year flood without increasing the water surface elevation of that flood more than one foot at any point. These areas are specifically defined in Table 3 of the above referenced Flood Insurance Study and shown on the accompanying Flood Boundary and Floodway Map.
B. The Flood Fringe shall be that area of the 100 year flood plain not included in the Floodway. The basis for the outermost boundary of this District shall be the 100 year flood elevations contained in the flood profiles of the above referenced Flood Insurance Study and as shown on the accompanying Flood Boundary and Floodway Map.
C. The Approximated Flood Plain shall be that flood plain area for which no detailed flood profiles or elevations are provided, but where 100 year flood plain boundary has been approximated. Such areas are shown on the Flood Boundary and Floodway Hap. Where the specific 100 year flood elevation cannot be determined for this area using other sources of data such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Flood Plain Information Reports, U.S. Geological Survey Flood Prone Quadrangle, etc., then the applicant for the proposed use, development and/or activity shall determine this elevation in accordance with hydrologic and hydraulic engineering techniques. Hydrologic and hydraulic analyses shall be undertaken only by professional engineers or others of demonstrated qualifications, who shall certify that the technical methods used correctly reflect currently accepted technical concepts. Studies, analyses, computations, etc., shall be submitted in sufficient detail to allow a thorough review by the City Engineer.
The delineation of any of the flood plain districts may be revised by Council where natural or man made changes have occurred and/or more detailed studies conducted or undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or other qualified agency or individual documents the need for such change. However, prior to any such change approval shall be obtained from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Initial interpretations of the boundaries of the Flood Plain Districts shall be made by the City Engineer. Should a dispute arise concerning the boundaries of any of the Districts, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall make the necessary determination. The person questioning or contesting the location of the district boundary shall be given a reasonable opportunity to present his case to the Zoning Board of Appeals and to submit his own technical. evidence if he so desires.
(14) Compensatory storage means an artificially excavated, hydraulically equivalent volume of storage within the special flood hazard area used to balance the loss of natural flood storage when artificial fill or structures are placed within the special flood hazard area.
(15) Contractor B W.Va. Code §21-11-3(c) means a person who in any capacity for compensation, other than as an employee of another, undertakes, offers to undertake, purports to have the capacity to undertake, or submits a bid to construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck or demolish any building, highway, road, railroad, structure or excavation associated with a project, development or improvement, or to do any part thereof, including the erection of scaffolding or other structures or works in connection therewith, where the cost of undertaking is two thousand five hundred dollars or more. Contractor includes a construction manager who performs management and counseling services on a construction project for a professional fee.
Contractor does not include:
A. One who merely furnishes materials or supplies without fabricating or consuming them in the construction project;
B. A person who personally performs construction work on the site of real property which the person owns or leases whether for commercial or residential purposes;
C. A person who is licensed or registered as a professional and who functions under the control of any other licensing or regulatory board, whose primary business is real estate sales, appraisal, development, management and maintenance, who acting in his respective professional capacity and any employee of such professional, acting in the course of his employment, performs any work which may be considered to be performing contracting work;
D. A pest control operator licensed under the provisions of W.Va. Code §19-16A-7(a) to engage in the application of pesticides for hire, unless the operator also performs structural repairs exceeding one thousand dollars on property treated for insect pests; or
E. A corporation, limited liability corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship whose primary purpose is to prepare construction plans and specifications used by the contractors defined in this section and who employs a full time registered architect licensed to practice in this State or a registered professional engineer licensed to practice in this State. Contractor also does not include employees of such corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship.
(16) Critical Facility means any facility in which even a slight chance of flooding is too great a threat. Typical critical facilities include hospitals, fire stations, police stations, storage of critical records, and similar facilities. These should be given special consideration when formulating regulatory alternatives and floodplain management plans. A critical facility should not be located in a special flood hazard area if at all possible. If a critical facility must be located in a special flood hazard area it should be provided a higher level of protection so that it can continue to function and provide services during a flood.
(17) Development means any man made change to improved or unimproved real property, including but not limited to buildings or other structure, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations, oil/gas well sites, pads, pits, retention ponds or storage of equipment or materials.
(18) Flood means a general and temporary inundation of water in an area of normally dry land.
(19) Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the special flood hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the City of Wheeling. A FIRM that has been made available digitally is called a Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
(20) Flood Insurance Study (FIS) means the official report in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided flood profiles, floodway information, and water surface elevations.
(21) Flood plain means
A. A relatively flat or low land area adjoining a river, stream, or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete inundation;
B. An area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
(22) Floodplain Manager shall be a resident of West Virginia and/or a person who has completed within one year of his appointment the State/FEMA sponsored NFIP Class 273 entitled “Managing Floodplain Development” and remain current with State required continuing education training pursuant to W.Va. Code §15-5 20(a). In the absence of a formally appointed Floodplain Manager the duties set forth in this article for the Floodplain Manager shall be temporarily fulfilled by the President of the County Commission if within the County's jurisdiction or the Mayor or City Manager or appointee of the City Manager.
(23) Flood way means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land area that must be reserved to discharge the base flood without increasing the water surface elevation of that flood more than one foot at any point.
(24) Dry Flood Proofing (non residential only) means any combination of structural and non structural additions, changes or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage to real property or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures and its contents.
(25) Freeboard means a factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level or BFE for purposes of floodplain management. Freeboard tends to compensate for unknown factors that may contribute uncertainty to flood heights of any given flood and floodway condition, such as wave action, blockage at stream crossings, and increased runoff from urbanization of the watershed. The City of Wheeling requires two (2) feet of freeboard.
(26) Highest Adjacent Grade (HAG) means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface immediately adjacent to the development or structure foundation. This is primarily used for purposes of insurance rating in approximated flood plains.
(27) Historic Structure means any structure that is:
A. Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing in the National Register;
B. Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of 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;
C. 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,
D. 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 Interior in states without approved programs.
(28) Interested Person or Party to include (1) the applicant; (2) the owner(s) of the subject property; (3) at least one adult residing in any residence on the subject property at the time the Floodplain Permit Application is filed; (4) owners of any adjacent property; and (5) at least one adult residing in any residence on the adjacent property at the time the Floodplain Permit Application is filed.
(29) Licensed Manufactured Home Dealer means a business licensed to sell manufactured homes in the State of West Virginia as set forth in the West Virginia Code.
(30) Licensed Manufactured Home Installer means a contractor licensed to install manufactured homes in the State of West Virginia as set forth in the West Virginia Code.
(31) Licensed Professional Surveyor means any person licensed by the West Virginia State Board of Examiners of Land Surveyors to engage in the practice of land surveying as defined in the West Virginia Code.
(32) Lowest Adjacent Grade (LAG) means the lowest natural elevation of the ground surface immediately adjacent to the proposed development or structure foundation. The primary use of the LAG is to determine whether the structure is located within a special flood hazard area by comparing it to the base flood elevation.
(33) Lowest Floor means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished enclosure constructed with flood resistant materials as defined in FEMA Technical Bulletin 2-93 (FIA-TB-2) and 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 has proper flood openings and is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable non elevation design requirements of this article.
(34) 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 connected to the required utilities. The term “manufactured home” does not include a “recreational vehicle”.
(35) New Construction means structures for which the start of construction as herein defined commenced on or after the adoption of this article and including any subsequent improvements to such structures.
(36) One Hundred (100) Year Flood means a flood that has one chance in one hundred or a one percent or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. (See Base Flood Elevation also)
(37) Person means any individual or group of individuals, corporation, limited liability corporation, partnership, association or other entity, including State and Local governments and agencies.
(38) Practice of Engineering means any service or creative work, as described in West Virginia Code §30-13-1 et seq., the adequate performance of which requires engineering education, training and experience in the application of special knowledge of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences to such services or creative work as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning and design of engineering works and systems; planning the use of land and water; teaching of advanced engineering subjects, engineering surveys and studies; and the review of construction for the purpose of assuring compliance with drawings and specifications any of which embraces such services or work, either public or private, in connection with any utilities, structures, buildings, machines, equipment, processes, work systems, projects and industrial or consumer products or equipment of a mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic or thermal nature, insofar as they involve safeguarding life, health or property, and including such other professional services as may be necessary to the planning, progress and completion of any engineering services. Engineering surveys include all survey activities required to support the sound conception, planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation of engineered projects.
Any person who practices any branch of the profession of engineering or who, by verbal claim, sign, advertisement, letterhead, card or in any other way represents himself to be a Registered Professional Engineer, or by using another title implies that he is a Registered Professional Engineer or that he is registered under West Virginia Code, §30-13-1 et seq. or who holds himself out as able to perform, or who performs any engineering service or work or any other service designated by the practitioner which is recognized as engineering, is considered to practice or offer to practice engineering within the meaning and intent of West Virginia Code §30-13-1 et seq.
(39) Principally Above Ground means where at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the Actual Cash Value of a structure, less land value, is above ground. [44 Code of Federal Regulations §59.1]
(40) Professional means any “professional” including but not limited to a “contractor”, developer, “engineer, “architect, “hydrologist, “land surveyor, etc., acting in any capacity with respect to this article, must be licensed by the State of West Virginia, when certification or licensure from the State of West Virginia is so required.
(41) Reasonably Safe from Flooding means that during the base flood, or any other known flooding by the Floodplain Manager, water should not damage structures and any subsurface waters related to the base flood, and should not damage existing or proposed structures. Ways of determining Reasonably Safe from Flooding may be two (2) feet above Highest Adjacent Grade, above high-water marks from historic flooding, using topographic extrapolation from contour lines or utilizing the advisory flood height data on the WV Flood Tool.
(42) Recreational Vehicle means a vehicle which is:
A. Built on a single chassis;
B. 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
C. Designated to be self propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck.
D. Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
(43) Registered Professional Engineer means a person who has been duly registered or licensed as a registered professional engineer by the West Virginia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers as required by W.Va. Code §30-13-13 et seq.
(44) Remedy a Violation means to bring a structure or other development into compliance with the requirements of this article, or if full compliance is not possible, to reduce the adverse impact of the non compliance to the greatest extent feasible.
(45) Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) means the land in the Floodplain Area subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Special flood hazard areas are designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Flood Insurance Studies and on Flood Insurance Rate Maps as Zones A, AE, AO, A1 30, and A99. The term includes areas shown on other flood hazard maps that are specifically listed or otherwise described in this article.
(46) Start of Construction (The definition for start of construction is to be used only when calculating the starting time for expiration of a Floodplain Permit) means the date the Floodplain Permit was issued, including Floodplain Permit for substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement or other improvement was within 180 days of the Floodplain Permit date. The actual start means either the first placement of permanent construction on a site, such as the pouring of slabs or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond initial excavation, or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. Although a Floodplain Permit must be obtained prior to beginning, 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 an alteration, 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. Flood plain Permit applicant to meet with Flood plain Manager prior to permit being issued and prior to the start of any work being done in the Special Flood Hazard Area.
(47) State Coordinating Office means the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
(48) Stream as defined in West Virginia Code §7-1-3u, is any watercourse, whether natural or man made, distinguishable by banks and a bed, regardless of its size, through which water flows continually or intermittently, regardless of its volume.
(49) Structure is a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
(50) Subdivision is a development that includes a creation of individual land parcels for future sale. It does not include development where rights of way or easements are obtained and recorded.
(51) Subject Property includes the surface tract(s) upon which the proposed development is planned and for which the Floodplain Permit Application is submitted.
(52) Substantial Damage (SD) means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damage condition would equal or exceed fifty percent (50%) of the fair market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
Substantial Improvement (SI) means any repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the fair market value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement.
This term includes structures, which have incurred “substantial damage”, as defined herein regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violation(s) 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.
Historic structures undergoing repair or rehabilitation that would constitute a substantial improvement as defined above, must comply with all article requirements that do not preclude the structure's continued designation as a historic structure. Documentation that a specific article requirement will cause removal of the structure from the National Register of Historic Places or the State Inventory of Historic Places must be obtained from the Secretary of the Interior or the State Historic Preservation Officer. Any exemption from article requirements will be the minimum necessary to preserve the historic character and design of the structure.
For the purpose of this definition 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 the alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure.
Existing Structures in Flood Hazard Areas means structures existing in any identified Flood Prone Area prior to the enactment of this section, but which are not in compliance with these provisions, may continue to remain subject to the following:
A. Existing structures located in any identified floodway area shall not be expanded or enlarged, unless the effect of the proposed expansion or enlargement on flood heights is fully offset by accompanying improvements.
B. Any modification, alteration, reconstruction or improvement of any kind to an existing structure, to an extent or amount of less than fifty percent (50%) of its market value, shall be elevated and/or floodproofed to the greatest extent possible.
C. Any modification, alteration, reconstruction or improvement of any kind to an existing structure, to an extent or amount of fifty percent (50%) or more of its market value, shall be undertaken only in full compliance with the provisions of this article.
(53) Top of Bank means the lines depicted on the FIRM maps delineating each side of a stream indicate the top of the bank. In the field a professional familiar with fluvial geomorphology should document the top of the bank. When a professional is not employed the top of the bank will be considered to be the top of the first significant slope landward of the water's edge when it is followed by at least fifty (50) feet of relatively flat land.
(54) “Variance” means a grant of relief by a community from the terms of a floodplain management regulation.
(55) Violation means the failure of any structure or development to be fully compliant with all requirements of this article. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required by this article is presumed to be in violation until such time as the documentation is provided. No future improvements or developments can be made to structures found to be in violation unless the development is to bring the structure into compliance with the current article.
(56) Wet Flood proofing means (from FEMA technical bulletin)
(Ord. 15476. Passed 10-20-20.)