Definitions. Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases
used in this Article shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning
they have in common usage and to give this Article its most reasonable
application.
APPEAL
Shall mean a request for a review of the Construction Official's
interpretation of any provision of this Article or a request for a
variance.
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING
Shall mean a designated AO or AH zone on a community's Flood
Insurance Rate Map with a one (1%) percent or greater chance of flooding
to an average depth of one (1) to three (3) feet where a clearly defined
channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable
and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized
by ponding or sheet flow.
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD
Shall mean the land in the flood plain within a community
subject to a one (1%) percent or greater chance of flooding in any
given year.
BASE FLOOD
Shall mean the flood having a one (1%) percent chance of
being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
BASEMENT
Shall mean any area of the building having its floor subgrade
(below ground level) on all sides.
BREAKAWAY WALL
Shall mean 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 supporting foundation
system.
DEVELOPMENT
Shall mean any man-made change to improved or unimproved
real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures,
mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling
operations, or storage of equipment or materials located within an
area of special flood hazard.
ELEVATED BUILDING
Shall mean a non-basement building (i) built in the case
of a building in an Area of Special Flood Hazard to have the top of
the elevated floor elevated above the ground level by means of piling,
columns (posts and piers), or shear walls parallel to the flow of
the water, and (ii) adequately anchored so as not to impair the structural
integrity of the building during a flood up to the magnitude of the
base flood. In an Area of Special Flood Hazard "elevated building"
also includes a building elevated by means of fill or solid foundation
perimeter walls with openings sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded
movement of flood waters.
FLOOD OR FLOODING
Shall mean a general and temporary condition of partial or
complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
1.
The overflow of inland or tidal waters and/or
2.
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters
from any source.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
Shall mean the official map on which the 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)
Shall mean the official report provided in which the Federal
Insurance Administration has provided flood profiles, as well as the
Flood Insurance Rate Map and the water surface elevation of the base
flood.
FLOOD PLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS
Shall mean zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building
codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as a flood
plain ordinance, grading ordinance and erosion control ordinance)
and other applications of police power. The term describes such State
or local regulations, in any combination thereof, which provide standards
for the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.
FLOODWAY
Shall mean 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 two-tenths (0.2) foot.
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE
Shall mean the highest natural elevation of the ground surface
prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
Shall mean any structure that is:
1.
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places
(a listing maintained by the Department of 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 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
Shall mean the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including
basement). An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, usable solely
for the parking of vehicles, building access or storage in an area
other than a basement is not considered a buildings lowest floor provided
that such enclosure is not built so to render the structure in violation
of other applicable non-elevation design requirements.
MANUFACTURED HOME
Shall mean a structure, transportable in one (1) 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 "manufactured home" does not include a "recreational
vehicle."
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Shall mean structures for which the start of construction
commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain regulation
adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to
such structures.
NEW MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
Shall mean 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 the flood plain management regulations
adopted by the municipality.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
Shall mean a vehicle which is [i] built on a single chassis;
[ii] four hundred (400) square feet or less when measured at the longest
horizontal projections; [iii] designed to be self-propelled or permanently
towable by a light duty truck; and [iv] designed primarily not for
use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational,
camping, travel, or seasonal use.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
(Other than new construction or substantial improvements
under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. No. 97-348), shall include
substantial improvements and shall mean the date the building permit
was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction,
rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was within
one hundred eighty (180) days of the permit date. The actual start
means either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure
on a site such as the pouring of a 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 or 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
Shall mean a walled and roofed building, a manufactured home,
or a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above ground.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
Shall mean damage of any origin sustained by a structure
whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged
condition would equal or exceed fifty (50%) percent of the market
value of the structure before the damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
Shall mean any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition,
or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which exceeds fifty
(50%) percent 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 either:
1.
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 Officer and
which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions;
or
2.
Any alteration of a "historic structure," provided that the
alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation
as a "historic structure."
VARIANCE
Shall mean a grant of relief from the requirements of this
Article which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise
be prohibited by this Article.