Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in
this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give this chapter its most
reasonable application.
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.
A flood which has 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)
for Zones AE, AH, A1-30, 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.
Any area of the building having its floor below ground level
on all sides.
A 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.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to the construction, reconstruction, renovation,
repair, expansion, or alteration of buildings or other structures;
the placement of manufactured homes; streets and other paving; utilities;
filling, grading and excavation; mining; dredging; drilling operations;
storage of equipment or materials; and the subdivision of land.
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 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 before the effective date of
the floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
The preparation of additional sites by the construction of
facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction
of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete
pads).
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
The official map on which the Federal Emergency Management
Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the
areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable
to the community.
The official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map,
the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation
of the base flood.
Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions,
changes or adjustments to structures which reduces or eliminates flood
damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary
facilities, structures and their contents.
A relatively flat or low land area which is subject to partial
or complete inundation from an adjoining or nearby stream, river or
watercourse; and/or any area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation
of surface waters from any source.
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.
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
(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 preliminary determination by the Secretary of the
Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered
historic 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 either:
The floodplain area specifically identified in this chapter
as being inundated by the one-hundred-year flood.
Any of the following activities:
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts
or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
A group of two or more residential or nonresidential buildings,
whether proposed initially or cumulatively, or a single nonresidential
building on a lot or lots regardless of the number of occupants or
tenure; or
The division or allocation of land or space, whether initially
or cumulatively, between or among two or more prospective occupants
by means of or for the purpose of streets, common areas, leaseholds,
condominiums, building groups or other features.
A subdivision of land.
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.
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 completed 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
trailers, recreational and other similar vehicles which are placed
on a site for more than 180 consecutive days.
A parcel of land under single ownership which has been planned
or improved for the placement of two or more manufactured homes for
nontransient use.
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 November 1, 1986, and includes any subsequent improvements
thereto.
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 floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
A flood that, on the average, is likely to occur once every
100 years (i.e., that has a one-percent chance of occurring each year,
although the flood may occur in any year).
An individual, partnership, public or private association
or corporation, firm, trust, estate, municipality, governmental unit,
public utility or other legal entity whatsoever which is recognized
by law as the subject of rights and duties.
A vehicle which is: i) built on a single chassis; ii) not
more than 400 square feet, measured at the largest horizontal projections;
iii) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; iv) not designed for use as a permanent dwelling but as a 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.
Flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two separate
occasions during a ten-year period for which the cost of repairs at
the time of each such flood event, on average, equals or exceeds 25%
of the market value of the structure before the damages occurred.
An area in the floodplain subject to a one-percent or greater
chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the FIRM as Zone
A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99 or AH.
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.
Includes substantial improvement and other proposed new development
and means the date the permit was issued, provided the actual start
of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition,
placement or other improvement was within 180 days from the date of
the permit. 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 the building.
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.
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, partition by the court for
distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership for building
or lot development; provided, however, that the subdivision by lease
of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres,
not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential
dwelling, shall be exempted.
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.
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, 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 a historic structure, provided that the alteration
will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a
historic structure.
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations.
A structure or other development without the elevation certificate,
other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in
44 CFR 60.3(b)(5), (c)(4), (c)(10), (d)(3), (e)(2), (e)(4) or (e)(5)
is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation
is provided.