As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
BASEMENT
Any area of the building having its floor below ground level
on all sides.
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to the construction, reconstruction, renovations,
repair, expansion, or alteration of buildings or other structures;
the placement of manufactured homes, streets, and other paving; utilities;
filling, grading and excavation; mining; dredging; drilling operations;
storage of equipment or materials; and the subdivision of land.
FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Insurance
Administration.
FLOOD
A general, but temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of streams,
rivers, or other waters of this commonwealth.
FREEBOARD
A margin of safety, expressed in feel above the one-hundred-year-flood
elevation.
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE
A use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it
is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term includes
only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the
loading and unloading of cargo or passengers and shipbuilding and
ship repair facilities but does not include long-term storage or related
manufactured facilities.
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 or a 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 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 fully enclosed area (including
basement). An unfinished, flood resistant partially enclosed area,
used solely for parking of vehicles, building access, and incidental
storage, in an area other than a basement area is not considered the
lowest floor of a building, provided that such space is not designed
and built so that the structure is in violation of the applicable
nonelevation design requirements of this chapter.
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 connected to the required facilities.
For floodplain management purposes, the term "manufactured home" also
includes park trailers, travel trailers and other similar vehicles
placed on a site for greater than 180 consecutive days.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after November 1, 1981, and includes any subsequent improvements
thereto.
MEAN SEA LEVEL
The National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other
datum to which base flood elevations shown on a participating municipality's
National Flood Insurance Map are referenced.
OBSTRUCTION
Any structure or assembly of materials including fill above
or below the surface of land or water, and any activity which might
impede, retard or change flood flows. The planting, cultivation, and
harvesting of field and orchard crops, or the grazing of livestock,
including the maintenance of necessary appurtenant agricultural fencing,
shall not be considered an "obstruction" under this definition and
shall not be subject to regulation under these regulations.
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOOD
A flood that, on the average, is likely to occur every 100
years (i.e., that has a one-percent chance of occurring each year,
although the flood may occur more frequently). Included in this area
are the Floodway (FW) and Flood-Fringe (FF) and Approximated Floodplain
(AF). The one-hundred-year flood is also referred to as "the base
flood."
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOODWAY OR FLOODPLAIN
The one-hundred-year floodway and that maximum area of land
that is likely to be flooded by a one-hundred-year flood as shown
on the floodplain maps provided by FEMA.
POLLUTION
The contamination of any waters such as will create a nuisance
to or render such waters harmful, detrimental or injurious to public
health, safety, or welfare; or to domestic, municipal, commercial,
industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate beneficial
uses; or to livestock, wild animals, birds, fish, or other aquatic
life; including but not limited to such contamination by alteration
of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of such waters,
or change in temperature, taste, color, or odor thereof, or the discharge
of any liquid, gaseous, radioactive, solid, or other substances into
such water.
STRUCTURE
A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage
tank that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
Damage from any cause sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before damage condition would
equal or exceed 50% or more 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:
A.
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 ensure
safe living conditions; or
B.
Any alteration of an "historic structure," provided
that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation
as an "historic structure."
The construction, placement, enlargement, or
expansion of any structure used, or intended to be used, for any of
the following activities shall be prohibited within any floodplain
area:
D. Manufactured homes and manufactured home parks.
Prior to the issuance of any building permit,
the Code Enforcement Officer shall review the application for permit
to determine if all other necessary government permits required by
state and federal laws have been obtained, such as those required
by the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (Act 537, as amended); the
Pennsylvania Dam Safety and Encroachments Act (Act 1978-325, as amended);
the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Act (Act 1937-394, as amended); the US Clean Water Act, Section 404, 33 U.S.C. § 1344.
No permit shall be issued until this determination has been made.
A structure or use of a structure or premises
which lawfully existed before the enactment of these provisions, but
which is not in conformity with these provisions may be continued
subject to the following conditions:
A. Existing structures and/or uses located in any Floodway
District shall not be expanded or enlarged, unless the effect of the
proposed expansion or enlargement on flood heights is fully offset
by accompanying improvements.
B. Any modification, alteration, repair, reconstruction,
or improvement of any kind to a structure and/or use located in any
Floodplain District to an extent or amount of less than 50% of its
market value shall be elevated and/or floodproofed.
C. The modification, alteration, repair, reconstruction,
or improvement of any kind to a structure and/or use regardless of
its location in a Floodplain District to an extent or amount of 50%
or more of its market value shall be considered a substantial improvement
and shall be undertaken only in compliance with the provisions of
this and any other applicable ordinance.
D. Uses or adjuncts thereof that are, or become, nuisances
shall not be permitted to continue.