As used in this article, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
ADVISORY BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (ABFE)
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.
[Added 4-1-2013 by Ord. No. 1-2013]
ADVISORY FLOOD HAZARD AREA (AFHA)
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.
[Added 4-1-2013 by Ord. No. 1-2013]
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.
[Added 4-1-2013 by Ord. No. 1-2013]
APPEAL
A request for a review of the Zoning Officer's interpretation
of any provision of this article or a request for a variance.
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING
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.
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.
AREAS OF SPECIAL FLOOD-RELATED EROSION HAZARD
The land within a community which is most likely to be subject
to severe flood-related erosion losses. After a detailed evaluation
of the special flood-related erosion hazard area will be designated
a Zone E on the Flood Insurance Rate Map.
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 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.
COASTAL HIGH HAZARD AREA
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.
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.
ELEVATED BUILDING
A nonbasement building: a) 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 b) 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.
EROSION
The process of the gradual wearing away of land masses.
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; and/or
(2)
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff
of surface waters from any source.
DIGITAL FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (DFIRM)
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 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.
FLOOD-RELATED EROSION
The collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake
or other body of water as a result of undermining caused by waves
or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly
caused by unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied
by a severe storm, or by unanticipated force of nature, such as a
flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual
and unforeseeable event which results in flooding.
FLOOD-RELATED EROSION AREA MANAGEMENT
The operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive
measures for reducing flood-related erosion damage, including but
not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood-related erosion
control works, and floodplain management regulations.
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.
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 requirement adding height above the base flood elevation
to provide an extra margin of protection to account for waves, debris,
blocked bridge or culvert openings, and the hydrological effect of
urbanization of the watershed.
[Added by 12-3-2012 by Ord. No. 10-2012]
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
Any structure that is:
(1)
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;
(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, 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 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 recreation 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.
PRIMARY FRONTAL DUNE
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.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle which is: a) built on a single chassis; b) 400
square feet or less when measured at the longest horizontal projections;
c) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; and d) designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling
but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel,
or seasonal use.
REFERENCE FEATURE
The receding edge or bluff or eroding frontal dune or, if
such a feature is not present, the normal high water line or the seaward
line of permanent vegetation if a high water line cannot be identified.
SIXTY-YEAR SETBACK
A distance equal to 60 times the average annual long-term
recession rate at a site, measured from the reference feature.
THIRTY-YEAR SETBACK
A distance equal to 30 times the average annual long-term
recession rate at a site, measured from the reference feature.
SAND DUNES
Naturally occurring accumulations of sand in ridges or mounds
landward of the beach.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
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.
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 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 4-1-2013 by Ord. No. 1-2013]
(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 article that
permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited
by this article.