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.
The elevation shown on a community's Advisory Flood
Hazard Map that indicates the advisory stillwater elevation plus wave
effect (ABFE = SWEL + wave effect) resulting from a flood that has
a one-percent or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded in any
given year.
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to
flooding from the one-percent annual chance event depicted on the
Advisory Flood Hazard Map.
The official map on which the Federal Emergency Management
Administration has delineated the areas of advisory flood hazards
applicable to the community.
A request for a review of the Construction Code Official's
interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a
variance.
A designated AO, AH, or VO Zone on a community's Digital
Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) with a one-percent annual or greater
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.
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to
a one-percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
The flood having a one-percent 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 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 supporting foundation system.
An area of special flood hazard extending from offshore to
the inland limit of a primary frontal dune along an open coast and
any other area subject to high velocity wave action from storms or
seismic sources.
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.
The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk
premium zones applicable to the community.
A non-basement 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 base flood elevation 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. In areas of coastal high hazard, "elevated
buildings" also includes a building otherwise meeting the definition
of "elevated building" even though the lower area is enclosed by means
of breakaway walls.
The process of the gradual wearing away of land masses.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk
premium zones applicable to the community.
The official report in which the Federal Insurance Administration
has provided flood profiles, as well as the Flood Insurance Rate Map(s)
and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
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.
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.
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 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 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 to render the structure in violation
of other applicable nonelevation design requirements.
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."
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
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.
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.
A continuous or nearly continuous mound or ridge of sand
with relatively steep seaward and landward slopes immediately landward
and adjacent to the beach and subject to erosion and overtopping from
high tides and waves from coastal storms. The inland limit of the
primary frontal dune occurs at the point where there is a distinct
change from the relatively steep slope to a relatively mild slope.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Four hundred 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.
Naturally occurring accumulations of sand in ridges or mounds
landward of the beach.
For other than new construction or substantial improvements
under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. No. 97-348) includes
substantial improvements and means the date the building permit was
issued, provided 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.
A walled and roofed building, a manufactured home, or a gas
or liquid storage tank that is principally above the ground.
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its condition before damage would
equal or exceed 50% 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 local code enforcement officer 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."
A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter that
permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited
by this chapter.
