As used in this chapter, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
APPEAL
A request for a review of the local administrator's interpretation
of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING
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 indeterminate 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. This
area may be designated a Zone A, AE, AH, AO, A1-30, A99, V, VO, VE
or V1-V30. It is also commonly referred to as the "base floodplain."
BASE FLOOD
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year.
BASEMENT
That portion of a 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 the supporting foundation system.
BUILDING
Any structure built for support, shelter or enclosure for
occupancy or storage.
CELLAR
The same meaning as "basement."
COSTAL HIGH-HAZARD AREA
The area subject to high-velocity waters, including but not
limited to hurricane wave wash. The area is designated on a FIRM as
Zone V1-30, VE, VO or V.
CRAWL SPACE
An enclosed area beneath 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.
DEVELOPMENT
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.
ELEVATED BUILDING
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 V1-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 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, an elevated building also includes a building elevated
by fill or solid foundation perimeter walls with openings sufficient
to facilitate the unimpeded movement of floodwaters. In the case of
Zones V1-V30, VE or V, an elevated building also includes a building
meeting the definition of "elevated building", even though the lower
area is enclosed by means of breakaway walls that meet the federal
standards.
EXISTING 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 complete before the effective date of the floodplain
regulations adopted by the community.
EXPANSION OF AN EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
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).
FLOOD BOUNDARY AND FLOODWAY MAP (FBFM)
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.
FLOOD ELEVATION 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.
FLOOD HAZARD BOUNDARY MAP (FHBM)
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 designated as "Zone A" but no flood elevations are
provided.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
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.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY
The official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency. The report contains flood profiles as well as the Flood Boundary
Floodway Map and the water surface elevations of the base flood. (Also
see "flood elevation study.")
FLOOD OR FLOODING
(1)
The general and temporary condition of partial
or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(a)
The overflow of inland or tidal waters; or
(b)
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff
of surface waters from any source.
(2)
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 the 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) above.
FLOODPROOFING
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.
FLOODWAY
The same meaning as "regulatory floodway."
FLOOR
The top surface of an enclosed area in a building (including
basement), i.e., top of slab in concrete slab construction or top
of wood flooring in wood frame construction.
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE
A use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it
is located or carried out in close proximity to water, such as a 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, manufacture, sales or service facilities.
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 the
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, or a 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.
(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 certified by the Secretary of the Interior
in states without approved programs.
LOCAL ADMINISTRATOR
The person appointed by the community to administer and implement
this chapter by granting or denying development permits in accordance
with its provisions.
LOWEST FLOOR
The lowest level, including basement or cellar, of the lowest
enclosed area. An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure usable solely
for parking of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other
than a basement or cellar 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.
MANUFACTURED HOME
(1)
A structure, transportable in one or more sections,
which is:
(a)
Built on a permanent chassis and designed to
be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the
required utilities; or
(b)
Built without a permanent chassis and designed
to be placed only on a permanent foundation and connected to the required
utilities.
(2)
The term also includes recreational vehicles
such as park trailers, travel trailers and similar transportable structures,
when placed on a site for 180 consecutive days or longer and intended
to be improved property.
MEAN SEA LEVEL
For purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the
National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum to
which base flood elevations shown on a community's Flood Insurance
Rate Map are referenced.
MOBILE HOME
The same meaning as "manufactured home," Subsection (1)(a).
MODULAR HOME
The same meaning as "manufactured home," Subsection (1)(b).
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of this chapter, and including any
subsequent structural 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 grading or the pouring
of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date of this
chapter.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle which is:
(1)
Built on a single chassis;
(2)
Four hundred square feet or less when measured
at the largest horizontal projections;
(3)
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently
towable by a light-duty vehicle; and
(4)
Not deemed primarily for use as a permanent
dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping,
travel or seasonal use.
REGULATORY 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 a designated height as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a Flood Insurance Study or by other agencies as provided in §
88-14B of this chapter.
SAND DUNES
Naturally occurring accumulations of sand in ridges or mounds
landward of the beach.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
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 or sheds), storage trailers and building materials.
STRUCTURE
Anything constructed or erected which requires temporary
or permanent support of or attachment to the ground, such as 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 rehabilitation, reconstruction, addition or other improvement
of a structure the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market
value of the structure only, either before the improvement or repair
is started or, if the structure has been damaged and is being restored,
before the damage occurred. For the purposes of this definition, substantial
improvement is considered to commence 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. The term does not, however, include:
(1)
Any project for improvement of a structure to
comply with existing state or local building, fire, health, sanitary
or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure
safe living conditions.
(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 chapter which
permits construction or use in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited
by this chapter.
WATERCOURSE
Any streambed indicated on any United States Geological Survey
or other official map for the purposes of this chapter.