The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
AGENT
The individual charged with the responsibility to administer
and enforce this chapter and to perform the duties outlined in this
chapter.
BASE FLOOD
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION
The Federal Emergency Management Agency designated one-hundred-year
floodwater surface elevation.
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 or drilling operations
or storage of equipment or materials.
ELEVATED BUILDINGS
A nonbasement building built to have the lowest floor elevated
above the ground level by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter
walls, pilings, or columns (posts and piers).
ENCROACHMENT
The advance or infringement of uses, plant growth, fill,
excavation, buildings, permanent structures or development into a
floodplain, which may impede or alter the flow capacity of a floodplain.
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 completed before the effective date of
the initial floodplain management regulations adopted by the County.
EXPANSION TO 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 pouring of concrete pads).
FLOOD or FLOODING
(1)
A general or temporary condition of partial or complete inundation
of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland or tidal water
or 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 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 and unanticipated force of nature such as flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in Subsection
(1) of this definition.
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.
FREEBOARD
A factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood
level for purposes of floodplain management. "Freeboard" tends to
compensate for the many unknown factors that could contribute to flood
heights greater than the height calculated for a selected size flood
and floodway conditions, such as wave action, bridge openings, and
the hydrological effect of urbanization in the watershed.
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 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; or
(4)
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified either by an approved state program as determined by the
Secretary of the Interior or 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 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 Federal Code
44 CFR 60.3.
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 utilities. 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
For the purposes of determining insurance rates, structures
for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective
date of an initial Flood Insurance Rate Map or on or after December
31, 1974, whichever is later, and includes any subsequent improvements
to such structures. For floodplain management purposes, "new construction"
means structures for which the start of construction commenced on
or after the effective date of the initial floodplain management regulation
adopted by the County 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 this chapter.
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOOD
A flood that, on the average, is likely to occur once every
100 years, i.e., has a one-percent chance of occurring in any given
year, although the flood may actually occur in any year.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLES
A vehicle which is:
(1)
Built on a single chassis;
(2)
Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest
horizontal projection;
(3)
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; and
(4)
Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as
temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal
use.
SHALLOW FLOODING AREA
A special flood hazard with base flood depths from 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.
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA
The land in the floodplain subject to a one-percent or greater
chance of being flooded in any given year.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
The date the building permit was issued, provided that actual
start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition,
placement, substantial improvement 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 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 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 the 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
(1)
For floodplain management purposes, a walled and roofed building,
including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above
ground, as well as a manufactured home.
(2)
For insurance purposes:
(a)
A walled and roofed building, other than a gas or liquid storage
tank, that is principally above ground and affixed to a permanent
site, as well as a manufactured home on a permanent foundation. For
insurance purposes, the term includes a building while in the course
of construction, alteration or repair, but does not include building
materials or supplies intended for use in such construction, alteration
or repair, unless such materials or supplies are within an enclosed
building on the premises;
(b)
A manufactured home. A "manufactured home," also known as a
"mobile home," is a structure built on a permanent chassis, transported
to its site in one or more sections, and affixed to a permanent foundation;
or
(c)
A travel trailer without wheels built on a chassis and affixed
to a permanent foundation that is regulated under the community's
floodplain management and building ordinance or laws.
(3)
For the latter purpose, "structure" does not mean a recreational vehicle or a park trailer or other similar vehicle, except as described in Subsection
(2)(c) of this definition, or a gas or liquid storage tank.
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:
(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 official
and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living; or
(2)
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration
will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as an
historic structure.
WATERCOURSE
A lake, river, creek, stream, wash, channel or other topographic
feature on or over which waters flow at least periodically. "Watercourse"
includes specifically designated areas in which substantial flood
damage may occur.