Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in
this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give this chapter its most
reasonable application.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A use or structure on the same lot with, and of a nature
customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal use or structure.
A flood that has a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year (also called the "one-hundred-year flood").
The volume of water resulting from a base flood as it passes
a given location within a given time, usually expressed in cubic feet
per second (cfs).
The elevation shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)
for Zones AE, AH, A1-30 that indicates the water surface elevation
resulting from a flood that has a one-percent or greater chance of
being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
Any area of the building having its floor below ground level
on all sides.
A combination of materials to form a permanent structure
having walls and a roof. Included shall be all manufactured homes
and trailers to be used for human habitation.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to the construction, reconstruction, renovation,
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.
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 floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
A structure for which the start of construction commenced
before the effective date of the FIRM or before January 1, 1975, for
FIRMs effective before that date. "Existing structure" may also be
referred to as "existing construction."
The preparation of additional sites by the construction of
facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufacturing 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).
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
The official map on which the Federal Emergency Management
Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and
the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
The official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration
that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map, the Flood
Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation of the
base flood.
A relatively flat or low land area which is subject to partial
or complete inundation from an adjoining or nearby stream, river or
watercourse and/or any area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation
of surface waters from any source.
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 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
one foot.
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 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 that have been certified
either:
The lowest floor of the lowest fully enclosed area (including
basement). An unfinished, flood-resistant partially enclosed area,
used solely for the 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.
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 includes park trailers, travel trailers, recreational and other
similar vehicles that are placed on a site for more than 180 consecutive
days.
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
The replacement of existing work with equivalent materials
for the purpose of its routine maintenance and upkeep, but not including
the cutting away of any wall, partition or portion thereof, the removal
or cutting of any structural beam or bearing support, or the removal
or change of any required means of egress, or rearrangement of parts
of a structure affecting the exitway requirements; nor shall minor
repairs include addition to, alteration of, replacement or relocation
of any standpipe, water supply, sewer, drainage, drain leader, gas,
oil, waste, vent, or similar piping, electric wiring or mechanical
or other work affecting public health or general safety.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after April, 3, 2012, and includes any subsequent improvements
to such structures. Any construction started after May, 19, 1987,
and before April 3, 2012, is subject to the ordinance in effect at
the time the permit was issued, provided that the start of construction
was within 180 days of permit issuance.
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.
An individual, partnership, public or private association
or corporation, firm, trust, estate, municipality, governmental unit,
public utility or any other legal entity whatsoever, which is recognized
by law as the subject of rights and duties.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Not more than 400 square feet, measured at the largest horizontal
projections;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck;
Not designed for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
The base flood elevation (BFE) plus a freeboard safety factor
of 1 1/2 feet.
A flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two separate
occasions during a ten-year period for which the cost of repairs at
the time of each such flood event, on average, equals or exceeds 25%
of the market value of the structure before the damages occurred.
An area in the floodplain subject to a one-percent or greater
chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the FIRM as Zone
A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, or AH.
A special approval which is required for hospitals, nursing
homes, jails, and new manufactured home parks and subdivisions and
substantial improvements to such existing parks, when such development
is located in all or a designated portion of a floodplain.
Includes substantial improvement and other proposed new development
and means the date the permit was issued, provided that the actual
start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition,
placement, or other improvement was within 180 days from the date
of the permit and shall be completed within 12 months after the date
of issuance of the permit unless a time extension is granted, in writing,
by the Floodplain Administrator. "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 of streets
and walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement, footings,
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, "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.
A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage
tank that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract, or parcel of
land by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other
divisions of land, including changes in existing lot lines for the
purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court
for distribution to heirs, or devisees, transfer of ownership or building
or lot development; provided, however, that the subdivision by lease
of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres,
not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential
dwelling, shall be exempted.
Damage from any cause sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% or more 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% of the market
value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement.
This term includes structures that have incurred substantial damage
(or repetitive loss when a repetitive loss provision is used) 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. Documentation that a specific ordinance requirement
will cause removal of the structure from the National Register of
Historic Places or the State Inventory of Historic Places must be
obtained from the Secretary of the Interior or the State Historic
Preservation Officer. Any exemption from ordinance requirements will
be the minimum necessary to preserve the historic character and design
of the structure.
The statewide building code adopted by the Pennsylvania General
Assembly in 1999 applicable to new construction in all municipalities,
whether administered by the municipality, a third party or the Department
of Labor and Industry. Applicable to residential and commercial buildings,
the code adopted the International Residential Code (IRC) and the
International Building Code (IBC), by reference, as the construction
standard applicable with the state floodplain construction. For coordination
purposes, references to the above are made specifically to various
sections of the International Residential Code and the International
Building Code.
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations.
A structure or other development without the elevation certificate,
other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in
44 CFR 60.3(b)(5), (c)(4), (c)(10), (d)(3), (e)(2), (e)(4), or (e)(5)
is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation
is provided.
