The following words and terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section.
(a) "Accessory Structure" shall have the meaning as set forth in Section 1123.02 of the Code.
(b) "Appeal" means a request for review of the City Manager’s Interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for 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 percent or greater annual chance of flooding to an average depth of one to three 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) "Areas of Special Flood Hazard" means the land in the floodplain subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Areas of Special Flood Hazard are designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as Zone A, AE, AH, AO, Al-30, and A99.
(e) "Base Flood" means the flood having a one percent 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.
(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.
(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 area 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.
(j) "Flood Insurance Rate Map" (FIRM) means an official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has delineated the Areas of Special Flood Hazard.
(k) "Flood Insurance Study" means the official report in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 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 must be reserved in order to discharge the Base Flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than one-half foot.
(m) "Historic Structure", for purposes of this chapter of the Code 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 maintained by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office; or
(4) Individually listed on the inventory of historic places maintained by the City of Worthington whose historic preservation program has been certified by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.
(n) "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, provided that such enclosure is built in accordance with the applicable design requirements specified in this chapter for enclosures below the lowest floor.
(o) “New Construction” means structures for which the "Start of Construction" commenced on or after the initial effective date of the City of Worthington's Flood Insurance Rate Map, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
(p) "Recreational Vehicle" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 1173.04 of this Code.
(q) "Start of Construction" means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was within six months 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 a building.
(r) "Structure" shall have the meaning as set forth in Section 1123.70 of this Code.
(s) "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 50 percent 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 such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds 25 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
(t) "Substantial improvement" means any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent of the market value of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage", regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either:
(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 prior to the application for a development permit and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions;
(2) "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 which is considered new construction.
(u) "Variance" means a grant of relief from the standards of this chapter consistent with the variance conditions herein.
(Ord. 20-99. Passed 4-12-99.)