Definitions. Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases
used in this section shall be interpreted so as to give this section
its most reasonable application.
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE OR USE
A use or structure on the same lot with, and of a 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").
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, 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 the building having its floor below ground level
on all sides.
BUILDING
A combination of materials forming a permanent structure
and which has walls and a roof. This term shall include manufactured
homes and trailers 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
or 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 FEMA or Federal Insurance Administration
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk
premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS)
The official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration
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 building, structure, site, object or district that is
included on any of the following lists:
(1)
The National Register of Historic Places, individually or as
a contributing resource in a National Register Historic District.
(2)
The Mount Joy Borough Registry of Historic Buildings included
in Appendix 1.
LOWEST FLOOR
The lowest floor of the lowest fully enclosed area, including
any basement. An unfinished flood-resistant partially enclosed area
used solely for the 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 section.
MANUFACTURED HOME
A type of single-family detached dwelling that meets all
of the following requirements:
(1)
It is transportable in a single piece, or two substantial pieces
designed to be joined into one integral unit capable of again being
separated for towing;
(2)
It is designed for permanent occupancy;
(3)
It arrives at a site complete and ready for occupancy except
for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations;
(4)
May be constructed so that it may be used without a permanent
foundation;
(5)
It is not a recreation vehicle.
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been so
designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile/manufactured
home lots for the placement thereon of mobile/manufactured homes.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of these floodplain regulations that
were adopted by the Borough, and includes any subsequent improvements
thereto. Any construction started after October 15, 1981, and before
the effective date of these floodplain regulations is subject to the
regulations in effect at the time the permit was issued, provided
the start of construction was within 180 days of permit issuance.
[Amended 6-6-2016 by Ord.
No. 3-16]
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.
OBSTRUCTION
Any wall, dam, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile abutment,
projection, excavation, channel, culvert, fence, stockpile, refuse,
fill, structure or other matter in, along, across or projecting into
any channel, watercourse or flood-prone area, which may impede, retard
or change the direction of the flow of water, either by itself or
by catching or collecting debris carried by such water, or is placed
where the flow of the water may carry the matter downstream to threaten
life and property.
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.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle which is built on a single chassis; not more than
400 square feet, measured at the largest horizontal projections; designed
to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck;
and not designed for use as a permanent dwelling but as a 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.
REPETITIVE LOSS
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 an average, equals or exceeds
25% of the market value of the structure before the damages occurred.
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.
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. 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 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 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
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"
or "repetitive loss," regardless of the actual repair work performed.
The term does not, however, include either 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.
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 UCC 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 IBC.
VIOLATION
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with the Borough'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),
and (e)(5) is presumed to be in violation until such time as that
documentation is provided.