Unless specifically defined below, words and
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.
APPEAL
A request for a review of the Township Engineer's interpretation
of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING
A designated AO or AH Zone on the Flood Insurance Rate Map
(FIRM) with one percent or greater annual chance of flooding to an
average depth of one to three feet. The base flood depths range from
one to three feet; a clearly defined channel does not exist; the path
of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; and velocity flow
may be evident.
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to
a one-percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
BASE FLOOD
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year.
BASEMENT
Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
BREAKAWAY WALL
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.
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, drilling operations
or storage equipment or materials located within the area of special
flood hazard.
ELEVATED BUILDING
A nonbasement building built in the case of a building in
a area of special flood hazard to have the top 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 of 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.
FLOOD or FLOODING
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
A.
The overflow of inland or tidal waters; and/or
B.
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 hazards 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 Insurance
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 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.
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.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
Any structure that is:
A.
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;
B.
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;
C.
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
D.
Individually listed on a local inventory of
historic places in communities with historic preservation programs
that have been certified either:
(1)
By an approved state program as determined by
the Secretary of the Interior; or
(2)
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, useable 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 nonelevation design requirements.
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
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 effects the external
dimensions of the building.
STRUCTURE
A walled and roofed building, a manufactured home or a gas
or 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 50% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvement
of a structure, the cost of which 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.
A.
The term does not, however, include either:
(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 a historic structure.
B.
For the purposes of this definition substantial
improvement is considered to occur when the first alteration of any
wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the building commences,
whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of
the structure.
C.
The term does not, however, include either:
(1)
Any project for improvement of a structure to
comply with existing state and local health, sanitary, or safety code
specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions,
or
(2)
Any alteration of a structure listed on the
National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic
Places.
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.