A.
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.
B.
APPEAL
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD
BASE FLOOD
BASEMENT
BUILDING
CELLAR
CRAWL SPACE
DEVELOPMENT
ELEVATED BUILDING
EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
EXPANSION TO AN EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
FLOOD BOUNDARY AND FLOODWAY MAP (FBFM)
FLOOD ELEVATION STUDY
FLOOD HAZARD BOUNDARY MAP (FHBM)
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY
FLOOD OR FLOODING
(1)
(2)
FLOODPLAIN OR FLOOD-PRONE AREA
FLOODPROOFING
FLOODWAY
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
LOCAL ADMINISTRATOR
LOWEST FLOOR
MANUFACTURED HOME
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
MEAN SEA LEVEL
MOBILE HOME
NATIONAL GEODETIC VERTICAL DATUM (NGVD)
NEW CONSTRUCTION
NEW MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOOD OR 100-YEAR FLOOD
PRINCIPALLY ABOVE GROUND
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
REGULATORY FLOODWAY
START OF CONSTRUCTION
STRUCTURE
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
(1)
(2)
VARIANCE
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
A request for a review of the local administrator'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 Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) with a one-percent or greater annual chance of flooding to
an average annual 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. This area may be designated
as Zone A, AE, AH, AO, A1-A30, A99, V, VO, VE, or Vl-V30. It is also commonly
referred to as the base floodplain or 100-year floodplain.
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year.
That portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below ground
level) on all sides.
See "structure."
The same meaning as "basement."
An enclosed area beneath the lowest elevated floor, eighteen inches
or more in height, which is used to service the underside of the lowest elevated
floor. The elevation of the floor of this enclosed area, which may be of soil,
gravel, concrete or other material, must be equal to or above the lowest adjacent
exterior grade. The enclosed crawl space area shall be properly vented to
allow for the equalization of hydrostatic forces which would be experienced
during periods of flooding.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including
but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling,
paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.
A nonbasement building built, in the case of a building in Zones
A1-A30, AE, A, A99, AO, AH, B, C, X, or D, to have the top of the elevated
floor, or in the case of a building in Zones Vl-V30, VE, or V to have the
bottom of the lowest horizontal structure member of the elevated floor, elevated
above the ground level by means of pilings, 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 the case of Zones A1-A30, AE, A, A99,
AO, AH, B, C, X, or D, "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 the case of Zones
Vl-V30, VE, or V, "elevated building" also includes a building otherwise meeting
the definition of "elevated building," even though the lower area is enclosed
by means of breakaway walls that meet the federal standards.
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 complete before the effective date of the floodplain management regulations
adopted by the community.
The preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities
for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including
the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final
site grading or the pouring of concrete pads).
The federal agency that administers the National Flood Insurance
Program.
An official map of the community published by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency as part of a riverine community's Flood Insurance Study.
The FBFM delineates a regulatory floodway along watercourses studied in detail
in the Flood Insurance Study.
An examination, evaluation and determination of the flood hazards
and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations, or an examination,
evaluation and determination of flood-related erosion hazards.
An official map of a community, issued by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, where the boundaries of the areas of special flood hazard have been
designed as Zone A but no flood elevations are provided.
An official map of a community, on which the Federal Emergency Management
Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk
premium zones applicable to the community.
See "flood elevation study."
Flood or Flooding — Also, means the collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly caused by an unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied by a severe storm, or by an 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 as defined in Subsection (1)(a) above.
Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source
(see definition of "flooding").
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.
The same meaning as "regulatory floodway."
A use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located
or carried out in close proximity to water, such as docking or port facility
necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, shipbuilding,
and ship repair facilities. The term does not include long-term storage, manufacturing,
sales or service facilities.
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 the 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 person appointed by the community to administer and implement
this chapter by granting or denying development permits in accordance with
its provisions. This person is often the Code Enforcement Officer, Building
Inspector or employee of an engineering department.
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement
or cellar). An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for
parking of vehicles, building access, or storage in an area other than a basement
area, is not considered a building's lowest floor, provided that such
enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable
nonelevation design requirements of this chapter.
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built
on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without a permanent
foundation when connected to the required utilities. The term 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.
For purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the National
Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, or other data, to which base flood
elevations shown on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.
The same meaning as "manufactured home."
As corrected in 1929, a vertical control used as a reference for
establishing varying elevations within the floodplain.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after
the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by the community
and includes any subsequent improvements to such structure.
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 floodplain management regulations
adopted by a community.
The same meaning as "base flood."
That at least 51% of the actual cash value of the structure, excluding
land value, is above ground.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal
projections;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; and
Not designed primarily for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal use.
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 a designated height as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a Flood Insurance Study or by other agencies as provided in § 112-14B of this chapter.
Includes substantial improvement and means the initiation, excluding
planning and design, of any phase of a project or physical alteration of the
property, and shall include land preparation, such as clearing, grading, and
filling; installation of streets and/or walkways; excavation for a basement,
footings, piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms. It also
includes the placement and/or installation on the property of accessory buildings
(garages, sheds), storage trailers, and building materials. For manufactured
homes the "actual start" means affixing of the manufactured home to its permanent
site.
A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank,
that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
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 percent 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 percent of the market
value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement.
The 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 official 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 which permits
construction or use in a manner that would otherwise he prohibited by this
chapter.
