As used in this chapter, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
AH ZONE
Areas subject to inundation by one-percent-annual-chance
shallow flooding (usually areas of ponding) where average depths are
between one and three feet. Base flood elevations (BFEs) derived from
detailed hydraulic analyses are shown in this zone.
[Added 8-14-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-09-1541]
AO ZONE
Areas subject to inundation by one-percent-annual-chance
shallow flooding (usually sheet flow on sloping terrain) where average
depths are between one and three feet.
[Added 8-14-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-09-1541]
APPEAL
A request for a review of the governing body's interpretation
of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING
A designated AO, AH or VO Zone on a community's Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) with a one-percent or greater annual chance of flooding
to an average depth of one to three feet where a clearly defined channel
does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and where
velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding
or sheet flow.
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD
Land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one-percent
or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the
FIRM as Zone V, VE, V1-30, A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, or AH.
[Amended 8-14-2019 by Ord. No. 19-09-1541]
BASE FLOOD
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE)
The flood elevation shown on a published Flood Insurance
Study (FIS), including the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). For Zones
AE, AH, AO, and A1-30, the elevation represents the water surface
elevation resulting from a flood that has a 1-percent or greater chance
of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
[Added 8-14-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-09-1541]
BASEMENT
Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
BREAKAWAY WALL
A wall that is 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 supporting foundation system.
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining,
dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations
or storage of equipment or materials located within the area of special
flood hazard.
DIGITAL FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (DFIRM)
The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk
premium zones applicable to the community.
[Added 8-14-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-09-1541]
ELEVATED BUILDING
A nonbasement building built, in the case of a building in
an area of special flood hazard, to have the top of the elevated floor
or, in the case of a building in a coastal high hazard area, to have
the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member of the elevated
floor elevated above the ground level by means of piling, columns
(posts and piers) or shear walls parallel to the flow of the water
and adequately anchored so as not to impair the structural integrity
of the building during a flood up to the magnitude of the base flood.
In an area of special flood hazard, "elevated building" also includes
a building elevated by means of fill or solid foundation perimeter
walls with openings sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded movement
of floodwaters.
EROSION
The process of gradual wearing away of land masses.
[Added 8-14-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-09-1541]
EXISTING MANUFACTRED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
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 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.
[Added 8-14-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-09-1541]
FLOOD or FLOODING
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(1)
The overflow of inland or tidal waters.
(2)
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff
of surface waters from any source.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk
premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS)
The official report provided in which the Federal Insurance
Administration has provided flood profiles as well as the Flood Boundary
and Floodway Map and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS
Zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes,
health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as a floodplain
ordinance, grading ordinance and erosion control ordinance) and other
applications of police power. The term describes such state or local
regulations, in any combination thereof, which provide standards for
the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.
FLOODPROOFING
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.
[Added 8-14-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-09-1541]
FLOODWAY
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
0.2 foot.
FREEBOARD
A factor of safety usually expressed in 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 of the watershed.
[Added 8-14-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-09-1541]
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed or existing walls of a structure.
[Added 8-14-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-09-1541]
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
Any structure that is:
(1)
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;
(2)
Certified or preliminarily determined by the
Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance
of a registered historic district preliminarily determined by the
Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
(3)
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
(4)
Individually listed on a local inventory of
historic places in communities with historic preservation programs
that have been certified either:
(a)
By an approved state program as determined by
the Secretary of the Interior; or
(b)
Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in
states without approved programs.
LOWEST FLOOR
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).
An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for the
parking of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other than
a basement is not considered a building's "lowest floor," provided
that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in
violation of other applicable elevation design requirements of 44
CFR 60.3.
[Amended 8-14-2019 by Ord. No. 19-09-1541]
MANUFACTURED HOME
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 "manufactured home" does not include a recreational vehicle.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of a floodplain regulation adopted
by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
NEW MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
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 the
floodplain management regulations adopted by the municipality.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle which is built on a single chassis, 400 square
feet or less when measured at the longest horizontal projections,
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.
START OF CONSTRUCTION (for other than new construction or substantial
improvements under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. 97-348)
Includes substantial improvements and means 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 a 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
or 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.
STRUCTURE
A walled and roofed building, a manufactured home or a gas
and liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 40% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred. "Substantial damage" also means flood-related damages
sustained by a structure on two or more separate occasions during
a ten-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each
such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds 25% of the market
value of the structure before the damages occurred.
[Amended 8-14-2019 by Ord. No. 19-09-1541]
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
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:
[Amended 8-14-2019 by Ord. No. 19-09-1541]
(1)
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 officer and which are the minimum necessary to assure
safe living conditions; or
(2)
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided
that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation
as an historic structure.
VARIANCE
A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which
permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited
by this chapter.
VIOLATION
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with this chapter. A new or substantially improved 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), (e)(2), (e)(4), or (e)(5) is presumed to be in violation
until such time as that documentation is provided.
[Added 8-14-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-09-1541]