The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have
the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in this
chapter shall be interpreted so as to give this chapter its most reasonable
application.
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 Plain Management Act (32 P.S. §§ 679.101
- 679.601).
A flood which has a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year (also called the "one-hundred-year flood"
or "one-percent annual chance flood").
The volume of water resulting from a base flood as it passes
a given location within a given time, usually expressed in cubic feet
per second (cfs).
The elevation shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)
for Zones AE, AH, and 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.
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 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.
A structure for which the "start of construction" commenced
before the effective date of the FIRM or before January 1, 1975, for
FIRMs effective before that date. "Existing structure" may also be
referred to as "existing construction."
The preparation of additional sites by the construction of
facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufacturing 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).
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, to which were transferred
the functions of the Federal Insurance Administration, Department
of Housing and Urban Development, under Reorganization Plan No. 3
of 1978, 43 FR 41943 (September 19, 1978), and Executive Order 12127,
44 FR 19367 (April 3, 1979).
Sand, gravel, or other material placed or deposited so as
to form an embankment or raise the elevation of the land surface.
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
The official map of Potter on which FEMA has delineated both
the floodplain/special flood hazard areas and the risk premium zones
applicable to Potter Township.
The official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration
that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map, the Flood
Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation of the
base flood.
The person and/or entity responsible for the administration
of this chapter as designated/approved by the Township of Potter.
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.
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 sanitary
facilities, structures and their contents.
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.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
A roadway, highway embankment, highway drainage structure,
or highway appurtenant structure, constructed, owned or maintained
by the commonwealth or a political subdivision of the commonwealth,
which might impede, retard, or change flood flows, including but not
limited to new highway construction, pavement or shoulder widening,
reconstruction with additional embankment, turning lanes and curve
flattening.
Any structure that is:
Listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places
(a listing maintained by the Department of the 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 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 that have been certified
either:
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 structure, transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without
a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities. 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 or contiguous parcels of land divided into two or
more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
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,
oil, 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 August 12, 2015, and includes any subsequent improvements
to such structures. Any construction started after December 2, 1988,
and before August 12, 2015, is subject to the ordinance in effect
at the time the permit was issued, provided the start of construction
was within 180 days of permit issuance.
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 structure or assembly of materials owned or maintained
by the commonwealth, a political subdivision of the commonwealth,
a public utility and/or any private entity, whether nonprofit or for
profit, including fill above or below the surface of land or water,
or an activity conducted by the commonwealth, a political subdivision
of the commonwealth, a public utility and/or a private nonprofit or
for-profit entity which might impede, retard or change flood flows.
The term excludes planting, cultivation and harvesting of field and
orchard crops; the grazing of livestock; and the maintenance of necessary
appurtenant agricultural fencing.
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.
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement
occurred after December 31, 1974, or on or after the Potter Township
initial Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) dated December 2, 1988, whichever
is later, and, as such, would not be required to be compliant with
the regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program.
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement
occurred on or before December 31, 1974, or before the Potter Township
initial Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) dated December 2, 1988, whichever
is later, and, as such, would not be required to be compliant with
the regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program.
The rendering of the following services for the public:
Gas, electricity, or steam production, generation, transmission
or distribution.
Water diversion, pumping, impoundment or distribution.
Railroad transportation of passengers or properties.
Operation of a canal, turnpike, tunnel, bridge, wharf or similar
structure.
Transportation of natural or artificial gas, crude oil, gasoline
or petroleum products, materials for refrigeration, or other fluid
substances by pipeline or conduit.
Telephone or telegraph communications.
Sewage collection, treatment, or disposal.
A vehicle which is:
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; and
Not designed for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
The base flood elevation (BFE) plus a freeboard safety factor
of 1Â 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.
Includes but are not limited to repaving; replacement of
rails, ties or ballast; gas or water main repairs; and replacement
in kind of individual components or appurtenant structures, etc.,
or any activities that may affect future flooding activities.
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.
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 and shall be completed within 12 months after the date
of the issuance of the permit, unless a time extension is granted,
in writing, by the floodplain administrator. 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.
A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage
tank that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
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 or 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 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.
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
standards applicable with state floodplain construction. For coordination
purposes, references to the above are made specifically to various
sections of the IRC and the IBC, including any revisions and/or updates
as may be adopted from time to time.
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.
A channel or conveyance of surface water having a defined
bed and banks, whether natural or artificial, with perennial or intermittent
flow. Areas within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which have been
identified by FEMA as being subject to flooding by a one-hundred-year
flood are determined to be flood hazard areas. Areas subject to flooding
by a one-hundred-year flood are areas of special flood hazard on flood
insurance studies and maps provided by FEMA.