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, and only for the purposes of this Chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning herein indicated:
(a) “Accessory structure” means a structure on the same lot width, and of a nature customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal structure.
(b) “Appeal” means a request for a review of the interpretation of the Building Inspector of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
(c) “Area of shallow flooding” means a designated AO or AH zone on a community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with a one (1) percent or greater annual chance of flooding to an average depth of one (1) to three (3) feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.
(d) “Area of special flood hazard” means the land in the flood plain within a community subject to a one (1) percent or greater annual chance of flooding in any given year. Areas of special flood hazard are designated by the Federal Management Agency as Zone A, AE, AH, AO, A1-30 and A99.
(e) “Base flood” means the flood having a one (1) percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The base flood may also be referred to as the one hundred-year (100-year) flood.
(f) “Basement” means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
(g) “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 or storage of equipment or materials located within the area of special flood hazard.
(h) “Federal Emergency Management Agency” (FEMA) means the agency with the overall responsibility for administering the National Flood Insurance Program.
(i) “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, or
(2) The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
(j) “Flood Insurance Rate Map” (FIRM) means an official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
(k) “Flood insurance study” means the official report in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided flood profiles, floodway boundaries and the water surface elevations of the base flood.
(l) “Floodway” means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that shall be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designated height. For the Chagrin River, the allowable rise is one-half foot, for the Euclid Creek North and South Tributaries, the allowable rise is one foot.
(m) “Historic structure” means any structure that is:
(1) Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the U.S. Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listings 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 a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district.
(3) Individually listed on the State of Ohio’s inventory of historic places with the Ohio Historic Preservation Office; 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
B. Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
(n) “Lowest floor” means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including a 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 built in accordance with the applicable design requirements specified in Chapter 1169, Flood Hazard Precautions, for enclosures below the lowest floor.
(o) “Manufactured home” means a residential dwelling built in an off-site manufacturing facility in accordance with the Federal Manufactured Home Safety and Construction Standards. The term manufactured home does not include a recreational vehicle.
(p) “Manufactured home park” means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for rent. This definition excludes any manufactured home park as defined in ORC 3733.01, over which the Ohio Public Health Council has exclusive rule making power.
(q) “Manufactured home subdivision” means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for sale. This definition excludes any manufactured home park as defined in ORC 3733.01, over which the Ohio Public Health Council has exclusive rule making power.
(r) “Market value” means the most recent appraisal for adjusted assessed value of the existing structure as prepared by the County’s Auditor’s office for tax assessment purposes. Should this amount be in question, the permit applicant can submit an independent appraisal by a qualified appraiser to substitute for the “market value.”
(s) “New Construction” means structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after the initial effective date of Willoughby Hills’ Flood Insurance Rate Map, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
(t) “Recreational vehicle” means a vehicle which is (1) built on a single chassis, (2) 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 temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal use.
(u) “Start of construction” means the date the 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 either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as 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, filling, 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 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 alteration affects the external dimensions of a building.
(v) “Structure” means a walled and roofed building, manufactured home, or gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.
(w) “Substantial damage” means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. Substantial damage also means flood related damage sustained by a structure on two (2) separate occasions during the 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 (25) percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
(x) “Substantial improvements” means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure before the “start of construction” of the improvement. This term includes structures that have incurred “substantial damage,“ regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include:
(1) Any 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,
(2) Any alteration of a “historic structure,” provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a “historic structure;” or,
(3) Any improvement to a structure that is considered new construction.
(y) “Variance” is a grant of relief from the standards of this Chapter consistent with the variance conditions herein.
(z) “Violation” means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with this ordinance.
(Ord. 2006-35. Passed 5-25-06.)