As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
ADDITION (TO AN EXISTING BUILDING)
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 new construction.
APPEAL
A request for a review of the Town Engineer's interpretation
of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
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.
BASE FLOOD
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE)
The elevation of the crest of the base flood. The height
in relation to mean sea level expected to be reached by the waters
of the base flood at pertinent points in the floodplains of coastal
and riverine areas.
BASEMENT
That portion of a 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 the supporting foundation system.
BUILDING
Any structure built for support, shelter or enclosure for
any occupancy or storage.
COST
As related to substantial improvements, the cost 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 elements, structural elements, 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, 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.
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to the construction of buildings or structures;
the construction of additions, alterations or substantial improvements
to buildings or structures; the placement of buildings or structures;
mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling
operations or storage of equipment; the storage, deposition, or extraction
of materials; and the installation, repair or removal of public or
private sewage disposal systems or water supply facilities.
ELEVATED BUILDING
A nonbasement building built to have the lowest floor elevated
above the ground level by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter
walls, pilings, columns (posts and piers), shear walls or breakaway
walls.
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 home
are to be 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 October 1, 1980, the
effective date of the floodplain management ordinance adopted by the
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 manufacturing 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).
FINISHED LIVING SPACE
As related to fully enclosed areas below the base flood elevation
(BFE), a space that is, but is not limited to, heated and/or cooled,
contains finished floors (tile, linoleum, hardwood, etc.), has sheetrock
walls that may or may not be painted or wallpapered, and other amenities
such as furniture, appliances, bathrooms, fireplaces and other items
that are easily damaged by floodwaters and expensive to clean, repair
or replace.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
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.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY
The official report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The report contains flood profiles, as well as the Flood Insurance
Rate 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 the overflow or inland
or tidal water or the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of
surface waters from any source.
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.
FLOOR
The top surface of an enclosed area in a building (including
the 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 the garage used solely for parking vehicles.
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE OR FACILITY
A use or facility that cannot perform its intended purpose
unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The
term includes only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary
for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and shipbuilding
and ship repair facilities. The term does not include seafood processing
facilities, long-term storage, manufacturing, sales or service facilities.
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 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;
(2)
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;
(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.
LOWEST FLOOR
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area, including the
basement. An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure usable solely
for parking of vehicles, building access or storage, in an area other
than a basement area is not considered a building's lowest floor.
MANUFACTURED HOME
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 recreational vehicles, park trailers, travel trailers
and similar transportable structures placed on site for 180 consecutive
days or longer and intended to be improved property.
MARKET VALUE
Market value of the structure shall be determined by the
appraised value of the structure, using the cost approach to value
of the structure prior to the start of the initial repair or improvement,
or in the case of damage, the value of the structure prior to the
damage occurring.
MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL)
For purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, 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 are referenced.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after October 1, 1980, the effective date of the floodplain
management regulations, and includes any subsequent improvements to
such structures.
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 October 1, 1980,
the effective date of the floodplain management regulation adopted
by the community.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle which is:
(1)
Built on a single chassis;
(2)
Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest
horizontal projection;
(3)
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; and
(4)
Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as
temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal
use.
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
that 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 or 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 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 that is principally aboveground,
a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank or other man-made
facilities or infrastructures.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred. "Substantial damage" also means flood-related damages
sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a ten-year
period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each such flood
event, on the average, equals or exceeds 25% of the market value of
the structure before the damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
Any combination of repairs, reconstructions, alterations
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 before the start of construction of the improvement.
This term includes structures that have incurred substantial damage,
regardless of the actual repair work performed. The market value of
the structure should be the appraised value using the cost approach
of value to the structure prior to the start of the 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 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.
VARIANCE
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.
VIOLATION
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.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION
The height, in relation to the North American Vertical Datum
(NAVD) of 1988 or other datum, where specified, of floods of various
magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine
areas.