[Ord. 795-12, 4/23/2012]
Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in
this Chapter shall be interpreted so as to give this Chapter its most
reasonable application.
[Ord. 795-12, 4/23/2012]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ACCESSORY USE OR STRUCTURE
A use or structure on the same lot with, and of a nature
customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal use or structure.
BASE FLOOD
A flood which has a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year (also called the "one-hundred-year flood"
or one-percent-annual-chance flood).
BASE FLOOD DISCHARGE
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).
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE)
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 chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. In areas that the BFE is not indicated on the FIRM, the BFE shall be considered the BFE as calculated in §
8-402.
BASEMENT
Any area of the building having its floor below ground level
on all sides.
BOROUGH
The Borough of Hamburg, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
BUILDING
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.
DEVELOPMENT
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.
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 floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
EXISTING STRUCTURE
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."
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 the pouring of concrete
pads), for the purpose of expanding an existing manufactured home
park or subdivision.
FLOOD
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
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.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS)
The official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map,
the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation
of the base flood.
FLOODPLAIN AREA
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.
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 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.
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
HISTORIC STRUCTURES
Any structure that is:
A.
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;
B.
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;
C.
Individually listed on a State inventory of historic places
in states 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 that have been certified
either:
(1)
By an approved State program as determined by the Secretary
of the Interior; or
(2)
Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without
approved programs.
LOWEST FLOOR
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/or 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.
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 attached to the required utilities. The
term includes park trailers, travel trailers, recreational and other
similar vehicles which are placed on a site for more than 180 consecutive
days.
MINOR REPAIR
The replacement of existing work and materials with equivalent
work and materials for the purpose of a structure's 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 facilities or other work affecting public
health or general safety.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of this Chapter adopted by the Borough
of Hamburg and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
Any construction started after the effective date of the Borough of
Hamburg's first floodplain management ordinance and before the
effective start date of this Chapter 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.
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 floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
PERSON
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.
POST-FIRM STRUCTURE
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement
occurred after December 31, 1974, or on or after the effective date
of the Borough of Hamburg's initial Flood Insurance Rate Map
(FIRM), whichever is later, and, as such, would be required to be
compliant with the regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program.
PRE-FIRM STRUCTURE
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement
occurred on or before December 31, 1974, or before the effective date
of the Borough of Hamburg's initial Flood Insurance Rate Map
(FIRM), and, as such, would not be required to be compliant with the
regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle which is:
A.
Built on a single chassis;
B.
Not more than 400 square feet, measured at the largest horizontal
projections;
C.
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck;
D.
Not designed for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
REGULATORY FLOOD ELEVATION
The base flood elevation (BFE) or estimated one-percent-annual-chance
flood elevation, as determined using methods acceptable to the Floodplain
Administrator, plus a freeboard safety factor of 1 1/2 feet.
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA (SFHA)
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.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
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. 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 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.
STRUCTURE
A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage
tank that is principally above the ground, as well as a manufactured
home.
SUBDIVISION
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.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
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.
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
(or repetitive loss, when a repetitive loss provision is used), regardless
of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include
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.
Historic structures undergoing repair or rehabilitation that would
constitute a substantial improvement as defined in this Chapter must
comply with all ordinance requirements that do 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.
UNIFORM CONSTRUCTION CODE (UCC)
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 IRC and the IBC.
VIOLATION
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.
WATERCOURSE
A channel or conveyance of surface water having defined bed
and banks, whether natural or artificial, with perennial or intermittent
flow.