§ 1102. Definitions.
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this Article shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this ordinance its most reasonable application. The definitions in Article X do not apply to this Article.
Appeal means a request from a review of the local administrator's interpretation of any provision of this ordinance or a request for a variance.
Addition (to an existing building) means 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.
Area of shallow flooding means a designated AO or VO Zone on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with base flood depths from one (1) to three (3) feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate, and where velocity flow may be evident.
Area of special flood hazard is the land in the flood plain within a community subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
Base flood means the flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
Basement means that lowest level or story which has its floor subgrade on all sides.
Breakaway wall means a wall that is not part of the structural support of the building and is intended through its design and construction to collapse under specific lateral loading forces without causing damage to the elevated portion of the building or the supporting foundation system. A breakaway wall shall have a design safe loading resistance of not less than ten (10) and no more than twenty (20) pounds per square foot. A wall with loading resistance of more than twenty (20) pounds per square foot requires an architect or professional engineer's certificate.
Building means any structure built for support, shelter, or enclosure for any occupancy or storage.
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.
Elevated building means a non-basement 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 manufactured home subdivision means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lot on which the manufactured home is to be affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads, and the construction of streets) is completed before the effective date of this ordinance.
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;
(2)
the unusual and rapid accumulation of [or] runoff of surface waters from any source.
Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) means an official map of a community, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where the boundaries of the areas of special flood hazard have been defined as Zone A.
Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) means 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 is the official report provided 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 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 (1) foot.
Floor means the top surface of an enclosed area in a building (including basement), i.e., 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 dependent facility means a facility which cannot be used for its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water, such as a docking or part facility necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, shipbuilding, ship repair, or seafood processing facilities. The term does not include long-term storage, manufacture, sales, or service facilities.
Highest adjacent grade means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior to construction, next to the proposed walls of the structure.
Levee means a man-made structure, usually an earthen embankment, designed and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to contain, control, or divert the flow of water so as to provide protection from temporary flooding.
Levee system means a flood protection system which consists of a levee, or levees, and associated structures, such as closure and drainage devices, which are constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering practices.
Lowest floor means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or floor-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 not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable non-elevation design requirements of this ordinance.
Manufactured home means a structure, transportable in one (1) or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The term also includes park trailers, travel trailers, and similar transportable structures placed on a site for one hundred and eighty (180) consecutive days or longer and intended to be improved property.
Manufactured home park or subdivision means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
Mean sea level means the average height of the sea for all stages of the tide. It is used as a reference for establishing various elevations within the flood plain. For purposes of this ordinance, the term is synonymous with National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD).
National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) as corrected in 1929 is a vertical control used as a reference for establishing varying elevations within the flood plain.
New construction means structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of this ordinance.
Remedy a violation means to bring the structure or other development into compliance with State or local flood plain management regulations, or, if this is not possible, to reduce the impacts of its noncompliance. Ways that impacts may be reduced include protecting the structure or other affected development from flood damages, implementing the enforcement provisions of the ordinance or otherwise deterring future similar violations, or reducing federal financial exposure with regard to the structure or other development.
Start of construction (for other than new construction or substantial improvements under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. 97-348), includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, or improvement was within one hundred and eighty (180) days of the permit date. The actual start means the first placement of permanent construction of a structure (including a manufactured home) on a site, such as the 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 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.
Structure means a walled and roofed building that is principally above ground, a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank, or other man-made facilities or infrastructures.
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 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 either (1) any project for improvement of a structure of [to] comply with existing state and local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions, or (2) any alterations of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places.
Variance is a grant of relief to a person from the requirements of this ordinance which permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this ordinance where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship.
Violation means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community's flood plain management regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in Sections 1104 and 1105 of this ordinance is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.