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"
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, 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 subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
A combination of materials to form a permanent structure
having walls and a roof. Included shall be 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,
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 the construction 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) in an existing manufactured home park or subdivision.
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 hazard 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 the 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.
Any structure that is:
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;
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 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-percent-annual-chance 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 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 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 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 does include park trailers,
travel trailers or 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.
For floodplain management purposes, structures for which
the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date
of this floodplain management ordinance, Ordinance No. 2014-2, adopted
on July 16, 2014, by Lehigh Township and includes any subsequent improvements
to such structures. Any construction started after December 15, 1981,
and before July 16, 2014, 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.
Any wall, dam, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment,
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 flood that, on the average, has a one percent chance of
occurring each year.
Includes any individual, partnership, public or private association
or corporation, firm, trust, estate, municipality, government unit,
public utility or any other legal entity whatsoever, which is recognized
by law as the subject of rights and duties.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Not more than 400 square feet, measured at the largest horizontal
projection;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; and
Not designed for use as a permanent dwelling but as a temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
The one-percent-annual-chance 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.
A permit that is required before any development or construction,
reconstruction, enlargement, alteration, or relocation of any building
or structure is undertaken within any floodplain area of the Township.
Such permit shall be issued by the Township Zoning Officer.
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 six months after 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 Township Zoning Officer. The actual start of construction is
when earth disturbance commences. This includes, among other things,
any land preparation (not including clearing), grubbing, grading,
filling, excavation for basement, footings, piers, or foundations,
erection of temporary forms, the installation of piling under proposed
subsurface footings or the installation of sewer, gas and water pipes,
or electrical or other service lines from the street. For a structure
where typical earth disturbance is not required, i.e., one without
a basement or poured footings, the start of construction includes
the first permanent framing or assembly of the structure or any part
thereof, or the affixing of any prefabricated structure or mobile
home to its permanent site.
A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage
tank, that is principally aboveground, 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 heiress, 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. The term "subdivision" shall refer, as appropriate in this
chapter, to the process of subdivision land or to the land proposed
to be subdivided. The term "subdivision" includes resubdivision.
Damage of any origin 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,
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 Township Zoning Officer 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.
Means 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.
