The following words, as used in this ordinance, shall have the meanings
indicated below:
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.
An accessory use includes, but is not limited to, fence, shed, swimming
pool, outside storage area, garage, etc.
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"
and "one-percent annual chance flood").
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION
The water surface elevation shown on the Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) in Zone AE that indicates the water surface elevation
having a one-percent or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year; the water surface elevation calculated in an engineering
hydraulic/hydrologic study in Zone A of the FIRM or adjacent to any
other watercourse resulting from a base flood.
BASEMENT
Any area of the building having its floor below ground level
on all sides.
BUILDING
Any structure having a roof, supported by columns or by walls,
and intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals
or any other property. Included shall be recreational vehicles and
trailers, with a permanent foundation, for use of 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.
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).
FLOOD
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
The official map on which the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard
and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS)
The official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate
Map, the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation
of the base flood in areas studied by FEMA.
FLOODPLAIN ADMINISTRATOR
The person qualified and officially appointed by the Municipal
Council to administer and enforce this ordinance.
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 to carry and discharge the base flood
without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than
one foot. Unless otherwise specified, the floodway is as indicated
in the Flood Insurance Study and on the FIRM as provided by FEMA.
Along a watercourse where no FEMA maps or studies have defined the
boundary of the one-hundred-year frequency floodway, it is assumed,
absent evidence to the contrary, that the floodway extends from the
top of bank of the stream to 50 feet from the top of the bank of the
stream.
GRADING
Any excavation or fill, or any combination thereof, including
the conditions resulting from any earthmoving activity.
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:
1.
Listed individually on 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;
2.
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;
3.
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
4.
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified either:
a.
By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary
of the Interior; or
b.
Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without
approved programs
IDENTIFIED FLOODPLAIN AREA
The term is an umbrella term that includes all of the areas
within which the community has selected to enforce floodplain regulations.
It will always include that area identified as the special flood hazard
area on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Flood Insurance Study and
floodplains associated with all other watercourses.
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 ordinance.
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. Note: Manufactured homes constructed without a permanent foundation
are prohibited in the Municipality.
MINOR REPAIR
The replacement of existing work with equivalent material
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; nor shall minor
repairs include addition to alteration of, replacement or relocation
of any standpipe, water supply, mechanical or other work affecting
public health or general safety.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective start date of this Floodplain Management
Ordinance and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
Any construction started after June 15, 1981, and before the effective
date of this Floodplain Management Ordinance is subject to the ordinance
in effect at the time the permit was issued, provided 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, public or private corporation, unincorporated
association, partnership, firm, estate, municipality, governmental
unit, public entity, or any other 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 community's
initial Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), dated June 15, 1981, 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 before December 31, 1974, or on or after the community's
initial Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), dated June 15, 1981, whichever
is later, and, as such, would be required to be compliant with the
regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program.
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
A person licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to
practice engineering and who is knowledgeable in the branch of civil
engineering.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle which is:
1.
Built on a single chassis;
2.
Not more than 400 square feet, measured at the largest horizontal
projections;
3.
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck;
4.
Not designed for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
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, or AE.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
Includes substantial improvement and other proposed new development
and means the date the appropriate municipal 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 appropriate municipal 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 foundation 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, a gas or liquid storage tank
that is principally above ground, a manufactured home and sheds.
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,"
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.
SURVEYOR
A person licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to
practice the field of surveying.
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 construction standards
applicable with the state floodplain construction. For coordination
purposes, references to the above are 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
44CFR 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 a defined
bed and banks, whether natural or artificial, with perennial or intermittent
flow.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION
The height of the water for the one-hundred-year flood in
relation to the NVAD88 datum as calculated in an engineering hydrologic
and hydraulic study.