As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The incipient elevation on the bank of a stream where flooding
begins. The bankfull stage is associated with the flow that just fills
the channel to the top of its banks, a point where the water begins
to overflow onto a floodplain.
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 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.
That portion of a building that is partially or wholly below
ground level. This portion serves as a substructure of foundation
for a building. A basement shall be counted as a story for the purpose
of height measurement, if the vertical distance between the ceiling
and the average level of the adjoining ground is more than five feet.
Also, any area of a building having its floor below ground level on
all sides.
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.
A relatively flat or low land area adjoining a river, stream
or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete inundation
in a one-hundred-year flood, as designated on the FIRM.
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.
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 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).
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
The official map on which the Federal Emergency Management
Agency 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.
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 proposed or existing 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.
The floor of a building nearest the mean grade of the front
of the building.
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 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 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 floodplain area specifically identified as being inundated
by the one-hundred-year flood as shown in the FIS.
The improvement of one lot, or two or more contiguous lots,
tracts, or parcels of land, for any purpose involving 1) a group of
two or more buildings 2) or the division or allocation of land or
space between or among two or more existing or 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 enclosed area (including basement).
An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, used 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, 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 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 which has been divided
for the placement of two or more manufactured homes.
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 the date of the Borough's first floodplain management
ordinance (July 17, 1978), 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.
Any wall, dam, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, projection,
excavation, channel, rectification, culvert, building, fence, stockpile,
refuse, fill, structure, or matter in, along, across, or projecting
into any channel, watercourse, or flood-prone area, which may impede,
retard, or change the direction of the flow of water either in itself
or by catching or collecting debris carried by such water or is placed
where the flow of the water might carry the same downstream to the
damage of life and property.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Not more than 400 square feet, measured at the larges 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 recreations, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
The one-hundred-year flood elevation plus a freeboard safety
factor of 1 1/2 feet.
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 that 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 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 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 or 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 division
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, not involving any new street or easement of
access, shall be exempted.
Damage from any cause sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to before-damaged conditions 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 that have incurred substantial damages
(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 highest point or level of the stream bank, at a break
in slope of the stream bank that represents bankfull stream flow.
On stream channels where a break in slope is indiscernible, the top-of-bank
shall be represented by the elevation of the runoff flow for the storm
having a fifty-percent annual chance of being equaled or exceeded.
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.
