The Legislature of the State of New Jersey has in New Jersey
statutes delegated the responsibility to local governmental units
to adopt regulations designed to promote the public health, safety
and general welfare of its citizenry and conform to Federal Emergency
Management Agency criteria established for the National Flood Insurance
Program.
It is the purpose of this article to promote the public health,
safety and general welfare and to minimize public and private losses
due to flood conditions in specific areas by provisions designed to:
A. Protect human life and health;
B. Minimize the expenditure of public money for costly flood-control
projects;
C. Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding
and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public;
D. Minimize prolonged business interruption;
E. Minimize damage to public facilities and utilities such as water
and gas mains, telephone and sewer lines, streets and bridges located
in floodplains;
F. Help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use and
development of flood-prone areas in such a manner as to minimize future
flood blight areas; and
G. Ensure that potential home buyers are notified that property is in
a flood area.
In order to accomplish its purposes, this article uses the following
methods:
A. Restrict or prohibit uses which are dangerous to health, safety and
property due to water or erosion or flood heights or velocities.
B. Require that uses vulnerable to floods, including facilities which
serve such uses, be protected against flood damage at the time of
initial construction.
C. Control the alteration of natural floodplains, stream channels, and
natural protective barriers which are involved in the accommodation
of floodwaters.
D. Control filling, grading, dredging and other development which may
increase flood damage.
E. Prevent or regulate the construction of flood barriers which will
unnaturally divert floodwaters or which may increase flood hazards
to other land.
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in
this article shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they
have in common usage and to give this article its most reasonable
application. As used in this article, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING
A designated AO or VO Zone on a community's Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) 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.
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 (one-hundred-year
floodplain).
BASE FLOOD
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year (one-hundred-year floodplain).
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,
located within the area of special flood hazard.
ELEVATED BUILDING
A non-basement building built, in the case of a building
in an area of special flood hazard, to have the top of the elevated
floor or, in the case of a building in a coastal high hazard area,
to have the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member of the
elevated floor elevated above the ground level by means of piling,
columns (posts and piers), or shear walls parallel to the flow of
the water and adequately anchored so as not to impair structural integrity
of the building during a flood of up to the magnitude of the base
flood. In an area of special flood hazard, "elevated building" also
includes a building elevated by means of fill or solid foundation
perimeter walls with openings sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded
movement of floodwaters. In areas of coastal high hazard, "elevated
building" also includes a building otherwise meeting the definition
of "elevated building" even though the lower area is enclosed by means
of breakaway walls.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk
premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY
The official report in which the Federal Insurance Administration
has provided flood profiles, as well as the Flood Boundary Floodway
Map and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
FLOOD or FLOODING
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
A.
The overflow of inland or tidal waters.
B.
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters
from any source.
FLOODWAY
Land, and the space above that land, which lies within the
inner portion of the flood hazard area, and which is mathematically
determined to be required to carry and discharge floodwaters resulting
from the one-hundred-year flood under certain conditions. The floodway
always includes the channel and often includes land adjacent to the
channel. The floodway is normally characterized by faster and deeper
flows than the flood-fringe, which is the portion of the flood hazard
area outside the floodway. The floodway limits for any watercourse
shall be as determined by FEMA as published by a FEMA flood insurance
study or as determined by a New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection approved delineation.
LOWEST FLOOR
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).
An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for the
parking of vehicles, building access or storage, in an area other
than a basement is not considered a building's lowest floor, provided
that such enclosure is not built so to render the structure in violation
of other applicable non-elevation design requirements.
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. For insurance purposes
the term "manufactured home" does not include park trailers, travel
trailer and other similar vehicles.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of this article.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
For other than new construction or substantial improvements
under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. 97-348), includes substantial
improvement and means the date the building permit was issued, provided
the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, placement,
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 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 street 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.
STRUCTURE
A combination of materials to form a construction for occupancy,
use or ornamentation, whether installed on, above, or below the surface
of a parcel of land.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure,
the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the
structure 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 article, 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:
A.
Any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing
state or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications which
are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
B.
Any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register
of Historic Places or a state inventory of historic places.