The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this chapter,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
A building subordinate to and located on the same lot with
a main building, the use of which is clearly incidental to that of
the main building or to the use of the land, and which is not attached
by any part of a common wall or roof to the main building. An accessory
structure specifically excludes structures used for human habitation.
The term "accessory building" also includes, but is not limited to,
gazebos, carports, private greenhouses, and sheds which may be modular
in nature and are delivered to the site and which may or may not have
a foundation. Accessory structures are considered walled and roofed
where the structure includes at least two rigid walls and a fully
secured roof. Accessory structures are not to exceed 600 square feet.
A structure that is used exclusively in connection with the
production, harvesting, storage, raising, or drying of agricultural
commodities and livestock; an agricultural structure specifically
excludes any structure used for human habitation. Agricultural structures
are considered "walled and roofed" when the structure includes at
least two outside rigid walls and a fully secured roof.
The current standard for flood-resistant design and construction,
referenced by the Building Code, developed and published by the American
Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA.
The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year.
The water surface elevations of the base flood, that is,
the flood level that has a 1% or greater chance of occurrence in any
given year. The water surface elevation of the base flood in relation
to the datum specified on the community's Flood Insurance Rate
Map. For the purposes of this chapter, the base flood is the 1% annual
chance flood.
Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
The Board appointed to review appeals made by individuals
with regard to decisions of the Floodplain Administrator in the interpretation
of this chapter.
A formal review and comment as to whether a proposed flood
protection project or other project complies with the minimum NFIP
requirements for such projects with respect to delineation of special
flood hazard areas. A CLOMR does not revise the effective FIRM or
FIS.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, tanks,
temporary structures, the placement of manufactured homes, streets
and other paving, utilities, filling, grading, excavation, mining,
dredging, drilling operations and other land-disturbing activity,
or temporary or permanent storage of equipment or materials.
A nonbasement building built to have the lowest floor elevated
above the ground level by means of solid foundation perimeter walls,
pilings, or columns (posts and piers).
The advance or infringement of uses, plant growth, fill,
excavation, buildings, permanent structures or development into a
floodplain, which may impede or alter the flow capacity of a floodplain.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
before the effective date of the FIRM or before January 1, 1975. "Existing
construction" may also be referred to as "existing structures" and
"pre-FIRM."
A manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction
of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are 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 August 20, 2013.
See "existing construction."
The preparation of additional sites for which the construction
of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are 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 August 20, 2013.
An official map of a community on which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency has delineated the special hazard areas and the
risk premium zones applicable to the community. A FIRM that has been
made available digitally is called a Digital Flood Insurance Rate
Map (DFIRM).
A report by FEMA that examines, evaluates and determines
flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations,
or an examination, evaluation and determination of mudflow and/or
flood-related erosion hazards.
A general or temporary condition of partial or complete inundation
of normally dry land areas from:
The overflow of inland or tidal waters; or
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters
from any source; or
Mudflows which are proximately caused by flooding as defined in Subsection A(2) of this definition and are akin to a river of liquid and flowing mud on the surfaces of normally dry land area, as when earth is carried by a current of water and deposited along the path of the current.
The collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other similar body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly caused by an unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied by a severe storm, or by an unanticipated force of nature such as flash flood, or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in Subsection A of this definition.
Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from
any source.
Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions,
changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate the
risk of 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 at any point within the community.
A factor of safety usually expressed in inches or feet above
a flood level for purposes of floodplain management. Freeboard tends
to compensate for the many unknown factors that could contribute to
flood heights greater than the height calculated for a selected size
flood and floodway conditions, such as wave action, bridge openings,
and the hydrological effect of urbanization in the watershed. When
a freeboard is included in the height of a structure, the flood insurance
premiums may be less expensive.
A use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it
is located or carried out in close proximity to water. This term includes
only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the
loading or unloading of cargo or passengers, and shipbuilding and
ship repair facilities, but does not include long-term storage or
related manufacturing facilities.
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 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
historical 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:
Analyses performed by a licensed professional engineer, in
accordance with standard engineering practices that are accepted by
the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and FEMA,
used to determine the base flood, other frequency floods, flood elevations,
floodway information and boundaries, and flood profiles.
An official FEMA determination, by letter, that amends or
revises an effective FIRM or FIS. Letters of map change include:
LETTER OF MAP AMENDMENT (LOMA)An amendment based on technical data showing that a property was incorrectly included in a designated special flood hazard area. A LOMA amends the currently effective FIRM and establishes that a land as defined by metes and bounds or structure is not located in a special flood hazard area.
LETTER OF MAP REVISION (LOMR)A revision based on technical data that may show changes to flood zones, flood elevations, floodplain and floodway delineations, and planimetric features. A letter of map revision based on fill (LOMR-F) is a determination that a structure or parcel of land has been elevated by fill above the base flood elevation and is, therefore, no longer exposed to flooding associated with the base flood. In order to qualify for this determination, the fill must have been permitted and placed in accordance with the community's floodplain management regulations.
The lowest natural elevation of the ground surface next to
the walls of a structure.
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, provided that
such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation
of the applicable nonelevation design requirements of 44 CFR 60.3.
A structure subject to federal regulations which is transportable
in one or more sections; is eight body feet or more in width and 40
body feet or more in length in the traveling mode or is 320 or more
square feet when erected on site; is built on a permanent chassis;
is designed to be used as a single-family dwelling, with or without
a foundation, when connected to the required utilities; and includes
the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning and electrical systems contained
in the structure. In this chapter, the term also includes mobile homes,
park trailers, travel trailers and similar transportable structures
that are placed on a site for 180 consecutive days or longer.
Any site, lot, field or tract of land upon which is located
three or more manufactured homes for residential use, or which is
held out for the location of any mobile home or any motor vehicle
which is used for living or sleeping purposes and which is or may
be transported from one place to another, whether motive power or
other means shall be required, and shall include any building, structure,
tent, vehicle or enclosure used or intended for use as part of the
equipment of any such park.
The price at which a property will change hands between a
willing buyer and a willing seller, neither party being under compulsion
to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.
As used in these regulations, the term refers to the market value
of buildings and structures, excluding the land and other improvements
on the parcel. Market value shall be determined by one of the following
methods: 1) actual cash value (replacement cost depreciated for age
and quality of construction), 2) tax assessment value adjusted to
approximate market value by a factor provided by the property appraiser,
or 3) established by a qualified independent appraiser.
For the purposes of determining insurance rates, structures
for which the start of construction commenced on or after August 19,
1991, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
For floodplain management purposes, "new construction" means structures
for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective
date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by a community
and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement
occurred on or after August 19, 1991.
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement
occurred on or before August 19, 1991.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest
horizontal projection;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; and
Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as
temporary living quarters for recreational camping, travel or seasonal
use.
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
a designated height.
A building covered by a contract for flood insurance that
has incurred flood-related damages on two occasions in a ten-year
period, in which the cost of the repair, on the average, equaled or
exceeded 25% of the market value of the structure at the time of each
such flood event; and at the time of the second incidence of flood-related
damage, the contract for flood insurance contains increased cost of
compliance coverage.
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any given year as determined in § 135-3.2, Overlay concept, of this chapter. For purposes of these regulations, the term "special flood hazard area" is synonymous with the phrase "area of special flood hazard."
The date the building permit was issued, provided that the
actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation,
addition, placement or other improvement was within 180 days of the
permit date. 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 any 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 on any wall, ceiling, floor or other structural
part of a building, whether or not the alteration affects the external
dimensions of the building.
For floodplain management purposes, a walled and roofed building,
including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above
the ground, as well as a manufactured home. "Structure," for insurance
purposes, means:
A building with two or more outside rigid walls and a fully
secured roof that is affixed to a permanent site;
A manufactured home (a "manufactured home," also known as a
"mobile home," is a structure, built on a permanent chassis, transported
to its site in one or more sections, and affixed to a permanent foundation);
or
A travel trailer without wheels, built on a chassis and affixed
to a permanent foundation, that is regulated under the community's
floodplain management and building ordinances or laws.
For the latter purpose, "structure" does not mean a recreational vehicle or a park trailer or other similar vehicle, except as described in Subsection A(3) of this definition, or a gas and liquid storage tank.
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% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred. It also means flood-related damages sustained by
a structure on two occasions in a ten-year period, in which the cost
of the repair, on the average, equals or exceeds 25% of the market
value of the structure at the time of each such flood event.
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 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.
Historic structures undergoing repair or rehabilitation that
would constitute a substantial improvement, as defined above, must
comply with all ordinance requirements that do not preclude the structure's
continued designation as an historic structure. Documentation that
a specific ordinance requirement will cause removal of the structure
from the National Register of Historic Places or the State Inventory
of Historic Places must be obtained from the Secretary of the Interior
or the State Historic Preservation Office. Any exemption from ordinance
requirements will be the minimum necessary to preserve the historic
character and design of the structure.
Buildings and structures of an accessory character and miscellaneous
structures not classified in any special occupancy, as described in
the Building Code.
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.
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
this chapter is presumed to be in violation until such time as that
documentation is provided.
A lake, river, creek, stream, wash, channel or other topographic
feature on or over which waters flow at least periodically. "Watercourse"
includes specifically designated areas in which substantial flood
damage may occur.
