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. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
A request for a review of the Building Official's interpretation
of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to
a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any given year. The Area of
Special Flood Hazard is also called the "Special Flood Hazard Area"
(SFHA). SFHAs are determined utilizing the base flood elevations (BFE)
provided on the flood profiles in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS)
for a community. BFEs provided on Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)
are only approximate (rounded up or down) and should be verified with
the BFEs published in the FIS for a specific location. SFHAs include,
but are not necessarily limited to, the land shown as Zones A, A1-30,
AE, AO, AH on a FIRM.
The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year, also referred to as the 100-year flood, as published
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as part of a Flood
Insurance Study (FIS) and depicted on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
The elevation of the crest of the base flood or 100-year
flood. The height in relation to mean sea level expected to be reached
by the waters of the base flood at pertinent points in the floodplains
of coastal and riverine areas.
That portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
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.
Any structure built for support, shelter, or enclosure for
any occupancy or storage.
As related to substantial improvements, the cost of any reconstruction,
rehabilitation, addition, alteration, repair or other improvement
of a structure shall be established by a detailed written contractor's
estimate. The estimate shall include, but not be limited to: the cost
of materials (interior finishing elements, structural elements, utility
and service equipment); sales tax on materials, building equipment
and fixtures, including heating and air conditioning and utility meters;
labor; built-in appliances; demolition and site preparation; repairs
made to damaged parts of the building worked on at the same time;
contractor's overhead; contractor's profit; and grand total.
Items to be excluded include: cost of plans and specifications, survey
costs, permit fees, outside improvements such as landscaping, sidewalks,
fences, yard lights, irrigation systems, and detached structures such
as garages, sheds, and gazebos.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including, but not limited to, the construction of buildings or other
structures, the construction of additions, alterations or substantial
improvements to buildings or structures, the placement of buildings
or structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavating,
drilling operations, or storage of equipment, the storage, deposition
or extraction of materials, and the installation, repair or removal
of public or private sewage disposal systems or water supply facilities
located within the area of special flood hazard.
A nonbasement 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.
A manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction
of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured home
are to be affixed (including, as 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,
October 18, 1988, of the floodplain management regulations adopted
by the community.
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 agency that administers the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP).
As related to fully enclosed areas below the base flood elevation
(BFE), a space that is, but is not limited to, heated and/or cooled,
contains finished floors, has sheetrock walls that may or may not
be painted or wallpapered, and other amenities such as furniture,
appliances, bathrooms, fireplaces and other items that are easily
damaged by floodwaters and expensive to clean, repair or replace.
Unfinished enclosed areas below the BFE should comply with FEMA Technical
Bulletin 2, Flood-Damage Resistant Materials Requirements.
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.
The official report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The report contains flood profiles, as well as the Flood Boundary
and Floodway Map and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
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. For the purposes of these regulations, the term "regulatory
floodway" is synonymous in meaning with the term "floodway."
A use or facility which cannot be used for its intended purpose
unless it is located in close proximity to water. The term includes
only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the
loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and shipbuilding and
ship repair facilities. The term does not include seafood processing
facilities, long-term storage, manufacturing, sales or service facilities.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior
to construction, next to the proposed walls of a structure.
Any structure that is: a) listed individually in 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; b) certified or preliminarily determined by the
Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historic significance
of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined
by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district; c)
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 d) individually listed on a local inventory
of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs
that have been certified either: 1) by an approved state program as
determined by the Secretary of the Interior or 2) directly by the
Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).
An unfinished or flood-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.
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, recreational vehicles
and other similar vehicles or transportable structures placed on a
site for 180 consecutive days or longer and intended to be improved
property.
A parcel, or contiguous parcels, of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
As related to substantial improvement and substantial damage,
the market value of the structure shall be determined by the tax assessor's
appraised value minus land value prior to the start of the initial
repair or improvement, or in the case of damage, the value of the
structure prior to the damage occurring.
For purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the
North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 or other datum to which
base flood elevations shown on a community's Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) are referenced.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after October 18, 1988, 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,
October 18, 1988, of the floodplain management regulation adopted
by the community.
As corrected in 1988, a vertical control used as a reference
for establishing varying elevations within the floodplain.
A vehicle which is: a) built on a single chassis; b) 400
square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
c) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; and d) designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling
but as a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel,
or seasonal use.
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, rehabilitation,
addition placement, substantial improvement or other improvement was
within 180 days of the permit date. The "actual start" means either
the first placement or 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 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 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 that is principally above ground,
including a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank, or other
man-made facilities or infrastructures.
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure, whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its pre-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred.
Any combination of repairs, reconstruction, alteration, rehabilitation,
additions or other improvements to a structure taking place during
the life of a structure in which the cumulative cost equals or exceeds
50% of the market value of the structure before the "start of construction"
of the improvement. This term includes structures that have incurred
"substantial damage," regardless of the actual repair work performed.
The market value of the structure should be the tax assessor's
appraised value of the structure, minus land value, prior to the start
of the initial repair or improvement or, in the case of damage, the
value of the structure prior to the damage occurring. 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: a) any project for improvement of a structure to correct
existing state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications
which have been previously identified by the local code enforcement
official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living
conditions, or b) any alteration of a "historic structure," provided
that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued
designation as a "historic structure."
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.
A failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with the community's floodplain management ordinance.
A structure or other development without required permits, lowest
floor elevation documentation, floodproofing certificates or required
floodway encroachment calculations is presumed to be in violation
until such time as that documentation is provided.
The height, in relation to the North American Vertical Datum
(NAVD) of 1988 (or other datum, where specified), of floods of various
magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine
areas.
