Special definitions. As used in
the Flood Hazard Zone regulations, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
ADMINISTRATOR
The Federal Flood Administrator who has been designated the
responsibility for the administration of this program.
BASE FLOOD
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE)
The elevation of the crest of the base flood or one-hundred-year
flood. The height in relation to mean sea level expected to be reached
by the waters of the base flood at pertinent points in the floodplains
of coastal and riverine areas.
BASEMENT
Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
BREAKAWAY WALLS
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.
BUILDING
See definition for "structure."
COASTAL AE ZONE
The portion of the coastal high-hazard area with wave heights
between 1.5 feet and 3.0 feet during the base flood and seaward of
the line labeled the "Limit of Moderate Wave Action" (LiMWA) on a
Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
[Added effective 2-15-2019]
COASTAL HIGH-HAZARD AREA
An area of special flood hazard extending from offshore to
the inland limit of a primary frontal dune along an open coast and
any other area subject to high velocity wave action from storms or
seismic sources. Coastal high-hazard areas are designated as Zones
VE and Coastal AE on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
[Amended effective 2-15-2019]
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to the construction of buildings or structures;
the construction of additions, alterations or substantial improvements
to buildings or structures; the placement of buildings or structures;
mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling
operations or storage of equipment; the storage, deposition, or extraction
of materials; and the installation, repair or removal of public or
private sewage disposal systems or water supply facilities.
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, as 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,
April 24, 1978, of the floodplain management ordinance adopted by
the community.
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 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).
FLOOD OR FLOODING
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from either the overflow of
inland or tidal waters, or the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff
of surface waters from any source.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
An official map of the City of Norwalk on which the Administrator
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk
premium zones applicable to Norwalk.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS)
The official study of a community in which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) has conducted an examination, evaluation
and determination of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding
water surface elevations.
FLOODPROOF
Watertight with walls substantially impermeable to the passage
of water and with structural components having the capability of resisting
hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and effects of buoyancy.
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
one (1.0) foot. The "floodway" is shown on the Fairfield County, Connecticut,
Flood Insurance Rate Maps prepared by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, dated June 18, 2010, as amended.
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE OR FACILITY
A use or facility that cannot perform its intended purpose
unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The
term includes but is not limited to docking facilities, port facilities
that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers,
ship building and ship repair facilities. The term does not include
seafood processing facilities, long-term storage, manufacturing, sales
or service facilities.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
Any structure that is:
(a)
listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places
maintained by the U.S. Department of the 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 historic 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 the Interior; or
(d)
individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified by an approved state program as determined by the Secretary
of the Interior.
LIMIT OF MODERATE WAVE ACTION (LiMWA)
The landward limit of the 1.5-foot breaking wave within a
Coastal AE Zone. These areas are seaward of the line labeled "Limit
of Moderate Wave Action" (LiMWA) on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
[Added effective 2-15-2019]
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.
MANUFACTURED HOME
A structure, transportable in one (1) 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 "manufactured home" does not include a "recreational vehicle."
MARKET VALUE
The market value of a structure shall be determined by an
independent appraisal by a licensed professional appraiser prior to
the start of the initial repair or improvement, or in the case of
damage, the value of the structure prior to the damage occurring.
MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL)
The North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 or other
datum to which base flood elevations shown on a community's Flood
Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) are referenced.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after April 24, 1978, the effective date of the floodplain management
regulations, 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,
April 24, 1978, of the floodplain management regulation adopted by
the community.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle which is (i) built on a single chassis; (ii) four
hundred (400) square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal
projections; (iii) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable
by a light-duty truck; and (iv) designed primarily not for use as
a permanent dwelling, but as temporary living quarters for recreational,
camping, travel or seasonal use.
SAND DUNES
Naturally occurring accumulations of sand in ridges or mounds
landward of the beach.
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA (SFHA)
The land in the floodplain subject to a one-percent or greater
chance of flooding in any given year, as shown on the Fairfield County,
Connecticut, Flood Insurance Rate Maps, City of Norwalk applicable
Panels 0389, 0391-0394, 0526, 0527, 0529, 0531-0534, 0537, 0541, 0542,
prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, dated June 18,
2010, as amended. SFHAs are determined utilizing the base flood elevations
(BFE) provided on the flood profiles in the Flood Insurance Study
(FIS) for a community. BFEs provided on a Flood Insurance Rate Map
(FIRM) are only approximate (rounded up or down) and should be verified
with the BFEs published in the FIS for a specific location. SFHAs
include, but are not necessarily limited to, the land shown as Zones
A, AE, AO, AH, and the coastal high-hazard areas shown as Zones VE
and Coastal AE on a FIRM. The SFHA is also called the "area of special
flood hazard."
[Amended effective 2-15-2019]
START OF CONSTRUCTION
The date the building permit was issued, provided the actual
start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition,
placement or other improvement was within one hundred eighty (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 a 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/or 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, the "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. [This definition is for other than new
construction of substantial improvements under the Coastal Barrier
Resources Act. (Pub.L. 97-348)]
STRUCTURE
A walled and roofed building which is principally above ground,
including a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank, or other
man-made facilities or infrastructures.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure, whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its predamaged condition would
equal or exceed fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure
before the damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
Any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure,
the cumulative cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%)
of the market value of the structure either before the start of construction
of the improvement or repair is started or, if the structure has been
damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred, including
the cumulative cost of improvements taking place after the original
effective date of these regulations April 24, 1978. This term includes
structures that have incurred substantial damage, regardless of the
actual repair work performed. For the purpose of this definition,
"substantial improvement" is considered to occur 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 either any project
for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local
health, sanitary or safety code specifications which have been previously
identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the
minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions nor any alteration
of an historic structure listed on the National Register of Historic
Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places, provided that the
alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation
as an historic structure.
[Amended effective 12-24-2010; effective 7-8-2013]
VARIANCE
A grant of relief by the Norwalk Zoning Board of Appeals
from the terms of the Flood Hazard Zone regulation that allows construction
in a manner otherwise prohibited and where specific enforcement would
result in unnecessary hardship.
VIOLATION
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with the City of Norwalk's Flood Hazard Zone regulations.
A structure or other development without required permits, lowest
floor elevation documentation, floodproofing certificates or required
floodway encroachment calculations is presumed to be in violation
until such time as that documentation is provided.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION
The height, in relation to the North American Vertical Datum
(NAVD) of 1988, (or other datum, where specified) of floods of various
magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine
areas.