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 the same
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, and 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.
BASEMENT
Any area of a building having its floor below ground level
on all sides.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Washington, 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 the Township.
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 but not limited to the installation of
utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading
or the pouring of concrete pads.
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 hazard and the
risk premium zones applicable to the Township.
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 STRUCTURE
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
of the Interior 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 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.
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, and recreational and
other similar vehicles which are placed on a site for more than 180
consecutive days.
MINOR REPAIR
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. Minor repairs shall
also not include the addition to, alteration of, replacement of 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.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after July 3, 2012, including any subsequent improvements to
such structures. Any construction started after June 1, 1984, and
before July 3, 2012, is subject to the ordinance in effect at the
time the permit is issued, provided the start of construction is 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 the Township.
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 on or after the community's initial Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) dated June 1, 1984, 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 the community's initial Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) dated June 1, 1984, 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 flood height
as determined using simplified methods 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.
SPECIAL PERMIT
A special approval which is required, after issuance for
a variance, for hospitals, nursing homes, jails and newly 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.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
Includes substantial improvement and other proposed new development
and means the date the permit was issued, provided 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. 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 but not limited to
a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above 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 but not limited to 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
A.
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,
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.
B.
Historic structures undergoing repair or rehabilitation that
would constitute a substantial improvement, as defined in this chapter,
shall comply with all requirements that do not preclude the structure's
continued designation as an historic structure. Documentation that
a specific 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 Office.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of Washington, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
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 Uniform Construction 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.
ZONING HEARING BOARD
The Zoning Hearing Board of the Township of Washington, Berks
County, Pennsylvania.