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.
(a) “Accessory structure” means a structure on the same lot with, and of a nature customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal structure.
(b) “Appeal” means a request for review of the Mayor’s interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
(c) “Area of special flood hazard” means the land in the flood plain within a community subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
(d) “Base flood” means the flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The base flood may also be referred to as the one- hundred (100) year flood.
(e) “Basement” means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
(f) “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.
(g) “Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)” means the agency with the overall responsibility for administering the National Flood Insurance Program.
(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 runoff of surface waters from any source.
(i) “Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM)” means the same as “Flood Insurance Rate Map.” See below.
(j) “Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)” means an official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated the areas of special flood hazard.
(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) “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 preliminary determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listings on the National Register.
(2) Certified or preliminary determined by the Secretary of Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminary determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district; or
(3) Individually listed on the State of Ohio’s inventory of historic places maintained by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.
(m) “Lowest floor” means 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.
(n) “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. It includes park trailers, travel trailers and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than 180 consecutive days.
(o) “Manufactured home park or subdivision” means a parcel (or continuous parcels) of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale. This definition shall exclude any manufactured home park as defined in Section 3733.01 of the Ohio Revised Code, over which the Public Health Council has exclusive rule making power.
(p) “New Construction” means structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after the effective date of this Chapter.
(q) “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 a 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.
(r) “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 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.
(s) “Structure” means a walled and roofed building, manufactured home, or gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.
(t) “Substantial damage” means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would be 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 separate occasions during a 10-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds twenty- five percent (25%) of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
(u) “Substantial Improvement” means any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure either (1) before the improvement or repair is started, or (2) if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. For the purpose 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 either (1) 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 assure safe living conditions, or (2) any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places.
(v) “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.
(w) “Violation” means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with this chapter.
(Ord. 1296. Passed 8-25-87; Ord. 1547. Passed 1-31-02.)