As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A use or structure on the same lot with and of a nature customarily
incidental and subordinate to the principal use or structure.
The flood which has been selected to serve as the basis upon
which the floodplain management provisions of this chapter and other
ordinances have been prepared; for purposes of this chapter, the one-hundred-year
flood.
The one-hundred-year flood elevation.
Any area of the building having its floor below ground level
on all sides.
[Added 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
Combination of materials to form a permanent structure having
walls and a roof. Included shall be all manufactured homes and trailers
to be used for human habitation.
A space which will remain totally dry during flooding; the
structure is designed and constructed to prevent the passage of water
and water vapor.
The construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, extension,
expansion, alteration or relocation of a building or structure, including
the placement of manufactured homes.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, the placement
of manufactured homes, minim, dredging, filling, streets, grading,
paving, excavation or drilling operations, subdivisions of land and
the storage of equipment or materials.
[Amended 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
A space which will remain dry during flooding, except for
the passage of some water vapor or minor seepage; the structure is
substantially impermeable to the passage of water.
A general and temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
A relatively flat or low land area which is subject to partial
or complete inundation from an adjoining or nearby river, stream or
watercourse and/or any area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation
of surface waters from any source.
[Amended 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions,
changes or adjustments to properties and structures which reduce or
eliminate flood damage to lands, water and sanitary facilities, structures
and contents of buildings.
The designated area of a floodplain required to carry and
discharge floodwaters of a given magnitude. For the purposes of this
chapter, the floodway shall be capable of accommodating a flood of
the one-hundred-year magnitude.
Any structure that is:
[Added 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places
(a 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 a 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 Interior; or
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified either:
The floodplain area specifically identified in this chapter
as being inundated by the one-hundred-year flood. Included would be
areas identified as floodway (FW) and flood-fringe (FF).
The lowest floor of the lowest fully enclosed area (including
basement). An unfinished, flood-resistant partially enclosed area,
used solely for parking of vehicles, building access, and incidental
storage, in an area other than a basement area is not considered the
lowest floor of a building, provided that such space is not designed
and built so that the structure is in violation of the applicable
nonelevation design requirements of this chapter.
[Added 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, office or place of assembly, contained in one or more sections,
built on a permanent chassis, which arrives at a site complete and
ready for occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and
assembly operations, and constructed so that it may be used with or
without a permanent foundation. The term includes park trailers, travel,
recreational and other similar vehicles which are placed on a site
for more than 180 consecutive days.
[Amended 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale for which the construction
of facilities for servicing the lot 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) have been provided for nontransient use.
[Amended 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
The replacement of existing work with equivalent materials
for the purpose of its routine maintenance and upkeep but not including
the cutting away of any wall, partition or portion thereof, the removal
or cutting of any structural beam or bearing support or the removal
or change of any required means of egress or rearrangement of parts
of a structure affecting the exitway requirements; nor shall "minor
repairs" include addition to, alteration of, replacement or relocation
of any standpipe, water supply, sewer, drainage, drain leader, gas,
soil, waste, vent or similar piping, electric wiring or mechanical
or other work affecting public health or general safety.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after May 2, 1977, and includes any subsequent improvements
thereto.
[Amended 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
A flood that has one chance in 100 or a one-percent chance
of being equaled or exceeded in any year. For the purposes of this
chapter, the "one-hundred-year flood" (base flood) as defined by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, in the Type 15 Flood Insurance
Study, Borough of Colwyn, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, applies.
[Amended 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
An individual, partnership, public or private association
or corporation, firm, trust, estate, municipality, governmental unit,
public utility or any other legal entity whatsoever which is recognized
by law as the subject of rights and duties.
Where at least 51% of the actual cash value of a structure,
less land value, is above ground.
A vehicle which is:
[Added 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
Built on a single chassis;
Not more than 400 square feet, measured at the largest horizontal
projections;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck;
Not designed for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
The one-hundred-year flood elevation plus a freeboard safety
factor of 1 1/2 feet.
A special approval which is required for hospitals, nursing
homes, jails and new manufactured home parks and subdivisions and
substantial improvements to such existing parks, when such development
is located in all or a designated portion of a floodplain.
The first placement of permanent construction of a structure
(other than a manufactured home) on a site, such as the pouring of
slabs or footings or any work beyond the stage of excavation. 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 as
part of the main structure. For a structure (other than a manufactured
home) without a basement or poured footings, the start of construction
includes the first permanent framing or assembly of the structure
or any part thereof on its piling or foundation. For manufactured
homes within manufactured home parks or manufactured home subdivisions,
start of construction is the date on which the construction of facilities
for servicing the site on which the manufactured home is to be affixed
(including, at a minimum, the construction of streets, either final
site grading or the pouring of concrete pads and installation of utilities)
is completed.
[Amended 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
Anything constructed or erected on the ground or attached
to the ground including but not limited to buildings, sheds, manufactured
homes, and other similar items. This term includes any man-made object
having an ascertainable stationary location on or in land or water,
whether or not affixed to land.
[Amended 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land
by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions
of land, including changes in existing lot lines for the purpose,
whether immediate or future, of lease, transfer of ownership or building
or lot development; provided, however, that the division of land for
agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres, not involving
any new street or easement of access or residential buildings, shall
be exempted.
Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of an existing
manufactured home park or manufactured home subdivision, where such
repair, reconstruction, or improvement of the streets, utilities,
and pads will equal or exceed 50% of the value of the streets, utilities,
and pads before the repair, reconstruction, or improvement is started.
[Added 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
Damage from any cause sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% or more of the market value of the structure before
the damage occurred.
[Added 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
[Amended 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement
of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market
value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement.
This term includes structures which have incurred substantial damage
(or repetitive loss, when a repetitive loss provision is used) regardless
of the actual repair work performed.
The term does not, however, include either:
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
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration
will not preclude the structure's continued designation as an
historic structure.
The statewide building code adopted by the Pennsylvania General
Assembly in 1999 applicable to new construction in all municipalities
whether administered by the municipality, a third party or the Department
of Labor and Industry. Applicable to residential and commercial buildings,
the code adopted the International Residential Code (IRC) and the
International Building Code (IBC), by reference, as the construction
standard applicable with the commonwealth floodplain construction.
For coordination purposes, references to the above are made specifically
to various sections of the IRC and the IBC.
[Added 11-11-2009 by Ord. No. 540]
