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 structure located on the same parcel of property as the
principal structure, the use of which is incidental to the use of
the principal structure. Accessory structures should constitute a
minimal initial investment, may not be used for human habitation,
and should be designed to have minimal flood damage potential. Examples
of accessory structures are detached garages, carports, storage sheds,
pole barns, and hay sheds.
A use which is incidental and subordinate to the principal
use of the parcel of land on which it is located.
Any walled and roofed expansion to the perimeter of a structure
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.
Special flood hazard areas inundated by the one-percent annual
flood (one-hundred-year flood). Base flood elevations (BFEs) are determined.
A request for a review of the Floodplain Administrator's
interpretation of any provision of this chapter or from the Floodplain
Administrator's ruling on a request for a variance.
A designated AO or AH Zone on Henderson County's Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) with base flood depths from one foot to three 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. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet
flow.
Portions of the special flood hazard area (SFHA) in which
the principal source of flooding is runoff from rainfall, snowmelt,
or a combination of both. In A Zones, floodwaters may move slowly
or rapidly, but waves are usually not a significant threat to structures.
Areas of one-hundred-year flood, base flood elevations and flood hazard
factors are not determined.
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year (also called the "one-hundred-year flood").
The elevation shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)
that indicates the water surface elevation resulting from a flood
that has a one-percent or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year.
That portion of a structure having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
A wall that is not part of the structural support of the
structure and is intended through its design and construction to collapse
under specific lateral loading forces without causing damage to the
elevated portion of the structure or the supporting foundation system.
An area that has been determined by the Floodplain Administrator
(or other delegated, designated, or qualified community official)
from available technical studies, historical information, and other
available and reliable sources, which may be subject to periodic inundation
by floodwaters that can adversely affect the public health, safety
and general welfare. Included are areas downstream from dams.
A program developed by the Federal Insurance Administration
to provide incentives to those communities in the regular program
to go beyond the minimum floodplain management requirements to develop
extra measures for protection from flooding.
Any property that, if flooded, would result in severe consequences
to public health and safety or a facility which, if unusable or unreachable
because of flooding, would seriously and adversely affect the health
and safety of the public. Critical facilities include, but are not
limited to: housing likely to contain occupants not sufficiently mobile
to avoid injury or death unaided during a flood, schools, nursing
homes, hospitals, police, fire and emergency response installations,
vehicle and equipment storage facilities, emergency operations centers
likely to be called upon before, during and after a flood, public
and private utility facilities important to maintaining or restoring
normal services before, during and after a flood, and those facilities
or installations which produce, use or store volatile, flammable,
explosive, toxic and/or water-reactive materials, hazardous materials
or hazardous waste.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including, but not limited to, structures, mining, dredging, filling,
grading, paving, excavating, drilling operations or storage of materials
or equipment.
An area in which the flood hazard is undetermined.
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 (post and piers), shear walls or breakaway
walls.
A statement certified by a registered professional engineer
or surveyor on the FEMA-approved form in effect at the time of certification
that verifies a structure's elevation and other related information
to verify compliance with this chapter.
That portion of a structure below the base flood elevation
(BFE) used solely for parking of vehicles, limited storage, or access
to the structure.
The physical advance or infringement of uses, plant growth,
fill, excavation, structures, permanent structures or development
into a floodplain, which may impede or alter the flow capacity of
a floodplain.
Any structure for which the start of construction commenced
prior to the original passage of this chapter. "Existing construction"
may also be referred to as "existing structures."
A manufactured home park/subdivision for which the construction
of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are to be affixed (including at a minimum the installation of utilities,
the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the
pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of
the floodplain management regulations adopted by a community before
the effective date of the first floodplain management ordinance adopted
by Henderson County based upon specific technical base flood elevation
data which established the area of special flood hazards.
The preparation of additional sites by the construction of
facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are to affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction
of streets and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete
pads).
The flood that has a 0.2% chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any year. Areas subject to the five-hundred-year flood have a moderate
to low risk of flooding.
Sometimes used interchangeably and mean:
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, or as amended by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency by letter or otherwise.
An official map of a community, on which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) or Federal Insurance Administration (FIA)
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk-premium
zones. These maps are now made available in digital format (DFIRM),
but the paper copies of the maps on file are the maps of record.
The official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) or Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) containing
flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), and/or the Flood
Boundary Floodway Map (FBFM), and the water surface elevation of the
base flood.
The individual appointed by a NFIP participating community
to administer and enforce the floodplain management ordinances.
The operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive
measures for reducing flood damage and preserving and enhancing natural
resources in the floodplain, including but not limited to emergency
preparedness plans, flood control works, floodplain management ordinances,
and open space plans.
This chapter and other zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations,
building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such
as grading and erosion control), and other applications of police
power, which control development in flood-prone areas. This term describes
federal, state and/or local regulations, in any combination thereof,
which provide standards for the purpose of flood damage prevention
and reduction.
Any land area susceptible to being inundated by floodwaters
from any source.
Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions,
changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood
damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitation
facilities, structures, and their contents.
A certification by a registered professional engineer or
architect, on a FEMA-approved form in effect at the time of certification,
stating that a nonresidential structure, together with attendant utilities
and sanitary facilities, is watertight to a specified design elevation
with walls that are substantially impermeable to the passage of water,
and all structural components are capable of resisting hydrostatic
and hydrodynamic flood forces, including the effects of buoyancy and
anticipated debris impact forces.
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. Also referred to as the "regulatory floodway."
That area of the floodplain on either side of the regulatory
floodway where encroachment may be permitted without additional hydraulic
and/or hydrologic analysis.
The top surface of an enclosed area in a structure (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.
As related in Article IV Administration, of this chapter, means that the variance granted must not cause fraud on or victimization of the public. In examining this requirement, the Henderson County Fiscal Court will consider the fact that every newly constructed structure adds to government responsibilities and remains a part of the community for 50 years to 100 years. Structures that are permitted to be constructed below the base flood elevation are subject during all those years to increased risk of damage from floods, while future owners of the property and the community as a whole are subject to all the costs, inconvenience, danger, and suffering that those increased flood damages may incur. In addition, future owners may purchase the property, unaware that it is subject to potential flood damage and can be insured only at very high flood insurance rates.
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 port 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.
The local governing unit, i.e., County or municipality that
is empowered to adopt and implement ordinances to provide for the
public health, safety and general welfare of its citizenry. The governing
body may delegate administration and enforcement of this chapter to
a department of local government or to a joint city-County board.
The possible adverse incremental consequences that result
from the release of water or stored contents due to failure of a dam
or misoperation of a dam or appurtenances. The hazard potential classification
of a dam does not reflect in any way the current condition of a dam
and its appurtenant structures (e.g., safety, structural integrity,
flood routing capacity).
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior
to construction, next to the proposed walls of a structure.
Any structure that is:
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places
(listing maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily
determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements
for individual listing on the National Register;
Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the
Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered
historic district or district preliminarily determined by the Secretary
to qualify as a registered historic district;
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
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified by an approved state program as determined by the Secretary
of the Interior.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person and no
city, county or other political subdivision of the state, including
levee districts, drainage districts, flood control districts or systems,
or similar bodies, shall commence the construction, reconstruction,
relocation or improvement of any dam, embankment, levee, dike, bridge,
fill or other obstruction (except those constructed by the Department
of Highways) across or along any stream, or in the floodway of any
stream, unless the plans and specifications for such work have been
submitted by the person or political subdivision responsible for the
construction, reconstruction or improvement and such plans and specifications
have been approved in writing by the Cabinet and a permit issued.
However, the Cabinet by regulation may exempt those dams, embankments
or other obstructions which are not of such size or type as to require
approval by the Cabinet in the interest of safety or retention of
water supply.
No person, city, county, or other political subdivision of the state shall commence the filling of any area with earth, debris, or any other material, or raise the level of any area in any manner, or place a structure, barrier or obstruction of any sort on any area located adjacent to a river or stream or in the floodway of the stream so that such filling, raising, or obstruction will in any way affect the flow of water in the channel or in the floodway of the stream unless plans and specifications for such work have been submitted to and approved by the Cabinet and a permit issued as required in Subsection A above.
Nothing in this definition is intended to give the Cabinet any
jurisdiction or control over the construction, reconstruction, improvement,
enlargement, maintenance or operation of any drainage district, ditch
or system established for agricultural purposes, or to require approval
of the same except where such obstruction of the stream or floodway
is determined by the Cabinet to be a detriment or hindrance to the
beneficial use of water resources in the area, and the person or political
subdivision in control thereof so notified. The Department for Natural
Resources, through KRS Chapter 350, shall have exclusive jurisdiction
over KRS Chapter 151 concerning the regulation of dams, levees, embankments,
dikes, bridges, fills, or other obstructions across or along any stream
or in the floodway of any stream, which structures are permitted under
KRS Chapter 350 for surface coal mining operations.
An official FEMA determination, by letter, to amend or revise
effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps, Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps,
and Flood Insurance Studies. LOMCs include the following categories:
LETTER OF MAP AMENDMENT (LOMA)A revision based on technical data showing that a property was incorrectly included in a designated SFHA. A LOMA amends the current effective FIRM and establishes that a specific property is not located in a SFHA.
LETTER OF MAP REVISION (LOMR)A revision based on technical data that, usually due to man-made changes, shows changes to flood zones, flood elevations, floodplain and floodway delineations, and planimetric features.
LETTER OF MAP REVISIONFILL (LOMR_F) — A determination that a structure or parcel has been elevated by properly placed engineered fill above the BFE and is, therefore, excluded from the SFHA.
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.
A flood protection system that 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. For a levee system to be recognized, the following criteria
must be met:
All closure devices or mechanical systems for internal drainage,
whether manual or automatic, must be operated in accordance with an
officially adopted operation manual (a copy of which must be provided
to FEMA by the operator when levee or drainage system recognition
is being sought or revised).
All operations must be under the jurisdiction of a federal or
state agency, an agency created by federal or state law, or an agency
of a community participating in the NFIP.
An area used for storage and intended to be limited to incidental
items which can withstand exposure to the elements and have low flood
damage potential. Such an area must be of flood-resistant material,
void of utilities except for essential lighting, and cannot be temperature-controlled.
The elevation of the sidewalk, patio, deck support, or basement
entryway immediately next to the structure and after the completion
of construction. It does not include earth that is emplaced for aesthetic
or landscape reasons around a foundation wall. It does include natural
ground or properly compacted fill that comprises a component of a
structure's foundation system.
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).
An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking
of vehicles, structure 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 nonelevation design requirements of this chapter.
A structure, transportable in one 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 180 consecutive days or longer and
intended to be improved property. The term "manufactured home" does
not include a "recreational vehicle" (see definition of "recreational
vehicle").
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
The Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) or the Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) for a community issued by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA).
The four-digit number on a flood map, followed by a letter
suffix, assigned by FEMA. The first four digits represent the map
panel. The letter suffix represents the number of times the map panel
has been revised. (The letter "A" is not used by FEMA; the letter
"B" is the first revision.)
The structure value, excluding the land (as agreed between
a willing buyer and seller), as established by what the local real
estate market will bear. Market value can be established by independent
certified appraisal; replacement cost depreciated by age of structure
(actual cash value); or adjusted assessed values.
The average height of the sea for all stages of the tide.
It is used as a reference for establishing various elevations within
the floodplain. For purposes of this chapter, the term is synonymous
with "National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD)."
Electrical, heating, air-conditioning equipment and other
machinery or equipment servicing the structure which is not designed
for immersion in water.
Sustained actions taken to reduce or eliminate long-term
risk to people and property from hazards and their effects. The purpose
of mitigation is twofold: to protect people and structures, and to
minimize the costs of disaster response and recovery.
The federal program that makes flood insurance available
to owners of property in participating communities nationwide through
the cooperative efforts of the federal government and the private
insurance industry.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of this chapter, and includes any subsequent
improvements to such structures.
A manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction
of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities,
the construction of streets and either final site grading or the pouring
of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date of Henderson
County's floodplain management ordinance.
Structures that are not designed for human habitation, including,
but not limited to: small business concerns, churches, schools, farm
structures (including grain bins and silos), pool houses, clubhouses,
recreational structures, mercantile structures, agricultural and industrial
structures, warehouses, and hotels or motels with normal room rentals
for less than six months' duration.
As corrected in 1988, a vertical control used as a reference
for establishing varying elevations within the floodplain. Refer to
FIRM or DFIRM legend panel for correct datum. Whenever elevations
are referred to, they shall be stated in reference to the datum of
the FIRMs or DFIRMs.
Includes but is not limited to any dam, wall, embankment,
levee, dike, pile, abutment, protection, excavation, channelization,
bridge, conduit, culvert, structure, wire, fence, rock, gravel, refuse,
fill, structure, vegetation or other material in, along, across or
projecting into any watercourse which may alter, impede, retard or
change the direction and/or velocity of the flow of water, due to
its location, its propensity to snare or collect debris carried by
the flow of water, or its likelihood of being carried downstream.
See "base flood." The flood that has a one-percent or greater
chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Any flood zone
that begins with the letter A is subject to the one-hundred-year flood.
A community that voluntarily elects to participate in the
NFIP by adopting and enforcing floodplain management regulations that
are consistent with the standards of the NFIP.
Construction or substantial improvement that started on or
after the effective date of the initial FIRM of the community or after
December 31, 1974, whichever is later.
Construction or substantial improvement which started on
or before December 31, 1974, or before the effective date of the initial
FIRM of the community, whichever is later.
A means of formally notifying participating NFIP communities
of violations and deficiencies in the administration and enforcement
of the local floodplain management regulations. During periods of
probation, each insurance policy is subject to a surcharge of $50.
A defect in a community's floodplain management regulations
or administrative procedures that impairs effective implementation
of those floodplain management standards or of the standards of 44
CFR 60.3, 60.4, 60.5, and/or 60.6.
Anything which is injurious to the safety or health of an
entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons,
or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary
manner, of any navigable lake, or river, bay, stream, canal, or basin.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest
horizontal projection;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; and
Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as
a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal
use.
The phase of a community's participation in the NFIP where
more comprehensive floodplain management requirements are imposed
and higher amounts of insurance are available based upon risk zones
and elevations determined in a FIS.
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. See "base flood."
The process by which a community brings a structure or other
development into compliance with state or local floodplain management
regulations, or, if this is not possible, to reduce the impact of
noncompliance. Reduced impact may include protecting the structure
or other affected development from flood damages, implementing the
enforcement provisions of this chapter or otherwise deterring future
similar violations, or reducing state or federal financing exposure
with regard to the structure or other development.
The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing
structure.
Flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two or
more separate occasions during a ten-year period where the value of
damages equals or exceeds an average of 50% of the current value of
the structure, beginning on the date when the damage first occurred,
or four or more flood losses of $1,000 or more over the life of the
structure, or three or more flood losses over the life of the structure
that are equal to or greater than the current value of the structure.
Relating to, formed by, or resembling a river (including
tributaries), stream, brook, etc.
Naturally occurring accumulations of sand in ridges or mounds
landward of the beach.
That section of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968,
as amended, which states that no new or renewal flood insurance coverage
shall be provided for any property that the Administrator finds has
been declared by a duly constituted state or local zoning authority
or other authorized public body to be in violation of state or local
laws, regulations, or ordinances that are intended to discourage or
otherwise restrict land development or occupancy in flood-prone areas.
That portion of the floodplain subject to inundation by the
base flood and/or flood-related erosion hazards as shown on a FHBM
or FIRM as Zone A or AE.
Includes substantial improvement and other proposed new development,
and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual
start of construction, repair, reconstruction, addition placement
or other improvement was within 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 structures, 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 structure,
whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of
the structure.
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 infrastructure.
Any division of any tract or parcel of land into two or more
lots or parcels for the purposes of sale, lease, or development, either
on the installment plan or upon any and all other plans, terms and
conditions.
An action brought by FEMA to recover insurance money paid
out where all or part of the damage can be attributed to acts or omissions
by a community or other third party.
Any damage of any origin to a structure for which the cost
of repairs equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure
before the damage occurred. This term includes structures that are
categorized as repetitive loss. For the purposes of this definition,
"repair" is considered to occur when the first repair or reconstruction
of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the structure
commences. The term does not apply to:
Any project for improvement of a structure required to comply
with existing health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which
have been identified by a code enforcement official and which are
solely necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration
will not preclude the structure's continued designation as an historic
structure.
Any combination of repairs, reconstruction, alteration or
improvements to a structure, taking place during a one-year period,
in which the cumulative cost equals or exceeds 50% of the market value
of the structure. 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 apply to:
Any project for improvement of a structure required to comply
with existing health, sanitary or safety code specifications which
have been identified by the Codes Administrator and which are solely
necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration
will not preclude the structure's continued designation as an historic
structure.
Where the repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement
of the streets, utilities and pads equals or exceeds 50% of the value
of the streets, utilities and pads before the repair, reconstruction
or improvement commenced.
Includes electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, and
air-conditioning equipment.
A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which
permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this chapter
where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship.
An undeveloped area directly adjacent to a body of water,
stream or channel. Buffer strips can be comprised of existing plants
on the site and/or new plantings, and include aquatic plants in shallow
water, water-tolerant plants along the bank or shore, and upland plants
in dry soils. The primary purposes of vegetative buffer strips are
to:
Reduce runoff by increasing stormwater infiltration into soil,
decreasing nutrients and other pollutants entering the water.
Stabilize soils with plant root systems.
Reduce bank and shoreline erosion due to stream velocity and
wave action.
Filter water with aquatic vegetation.
Improve wildlife and fish habitat by providing food, shelter,
and shade.
Failure of a structure or other development to fully comply
with this chapter. A structure or other development without the elevation
certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance
required in this chapter is presumed to be in violation until such
time as that documentation is provided.
A lake, river, creek, stream, wash, channel or other topographic
feature on or over which water flows at least periodically.
All the area within a geographic boundary from which water,
sediments, dissolved materials, and other transportable materials
drain or are carried by water to a common outlet, such as a point
on a larger stream, lake, or underlying aquifer.
The height, in relation to the North American Vertical Datum
(NAVD) 1988, of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the
floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.
Areas of the 0.2% annual chance five-hundred-year flood,
areas subject to the one-hundred-year flood with average depths of
less than one foot or with contributing drainage area less than one
square mile, and areas protected by levees from the base flood. Unshaded
X Zones are areas determined to be outside the five-hundred-year floodplain,
where the annual exceedance probability of flooding is less than 0.2%.
A geographical area shown on a Flood Hazard Boundary Map
or a Flood Insurance Rate Map that reflects the severity or type of
flooding in the area.
