Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in
this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they
have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable
application.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any walled and roofed expansion to the perimeter of a building
in which the addition is connected by a common load-bearing wall other
than a fire wall. Any walled and roofed addition which is connected
by a fire wall or is separated by independent perimeter load-bearing
walls is a new/separate structure.
A request for a review of the Town Engineer's interpretation
of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to
one-percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year.
That portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
Any structure built for support, shelter or enclosure for
any occupancy or storage.
As related to substantial improvements, the costs of any
reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, alteration, repair or other
improvement of a structure shall be established by a detailed written
contractor's estimate. The estimate shall include, but not be limited
to, the cost of materials (interior finishing components, structural
components, and utility and service equipment); sales tax on materials;
building equipment and fixtures, including heating and air conditioning
and utility meters; labor; built-in appliances; demolition and site
preparation; repairs made to damaged parts of the building worked
on at the same time; contractor's overhead; contractor's profit; and
grand total. Items to be excluded include cost of plans and specifications;
survey costs; permit fees; and outside improvements such as septic
systems, water supply wells, landscaping, sidewalks, fences, yard
lights, irrigation systems and detached structures such as garages,
sheds and gazebos.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining,
dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavating, drilling operations,
or storage of equipment or materials.
A non-basement building built to have the lowest floor elevated
above the ground level by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter
walls, piling, columns (posts and piers), shear walls, or breakaway
walls.
A manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction
of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are 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 of
the floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
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).
The federal agency that administers the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP).
An official map of a community on which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency has delineated the boundaries of the floodway.
An official map of a community on which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard
and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
The official report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The report contains flood profiles as well as the Flood Boundary and
Floodway Map and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
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 top surface of an enclosed area in a building (including
basement), i.e., top of slab in concrete slab construction or top
of wood flooring in wood frame construction. The term does not include
the floor of a garage used solely for parking vehicles.
A facility which cannot be used for its intended purpose
unless it is located in close proximity to water, such as a docking
or port facility necessary for the unloading of cargo or passengers,
shipbuilding, ship repair, or seafood processing facilities. The term
does not include long-term storage, manufacture, sales or service
facilities.
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 historic 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 with historic preservation programs 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 programs that have been
certified either:
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, is not considered a building's
lowest floor.
The market value of the structure determined by an independent
appraisal by a professional appraiser.
A structure, transportable in one 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 also includes similar transportable structures placed on a site
for 180 consecutive days or longer and intended to be improved property.
A parcel, or contiguous parcels, of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
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.
As corrected in 1929, a vertical control used as a reference
for establishing varying elevations within the floodplain.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after September 26, 2008, the effective date of the floodplain
management regulations, and includes any subsequent improvements to
such structures.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the longest
horizontal projection;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; and
Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as
a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal
use.
Naturally occurring accumulations of sand in ridges or mounds
landward of the beach.
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to
a one-percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Special
flood hazard areas are determined utilizing the base flood elevations
(BFE) provided on the flood profiles in the Flood Insurance Study
(FIS) for a community. Base flood elevations 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.
Special flood hazard areas include, but are not necessarily limited
to, the land shown as Zones A, A1-30, AE, AO and AH and the coastal
high-hazard areas shown as Zones V, V1-30 and VE on a FIRM. The SFHA
is also called the "area of special flood hazard."
Includes substantial improvement and means the date the building
permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair,
reconstruction or improvement was within 180 days of the permit date.
The actual start means the first placement of permanent construction
of a structure (including a manufactured home) on a site, such as
the pouring of slabs or footings, installation of piles, construction
of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation, or placement
of a manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does
not include land preparation, such as clearing, grading or 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.
A walled and roofed building that is principally above ground,
a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank, or other man-made
facilities or infrastructure.
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure, whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its pre-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred.
Any combination of repairs, reconstruction, alteration, or
improvements to a structure taking place over a ten-year period in
which the cumulative cost equals or exceeds 50% of the market value
of the structure. The market value of the structure should be the
appraised value of the structure using the cost approach to value
method prior to the start of initial repair or improvement or, in
the case of damage, the value of the structure prior to the damage
occurring. For the purposes 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 any project for improvement of
a structure required to comply with existing health, sanitary or safety
code specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living
conditions.
A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which
permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this chapter
where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship.
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with the community's floodplain management ordinance. 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.
The height, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical
Datum (NGVD) of 1929 (or other datum, where specified), of floods
of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of riverine
areas.
