Unless specifically defined below,
words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to
give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter
its most reasonable application:
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE
Shall mean a nonhabitable structure which is on the same
parcel of property as the principal structure to be insured and the
use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure.
APPEAL
Shall mean a request for a review of the code enforcement
coordinator interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request
for a variance.
APPROPRIATE USE
Shall mean only those uses permissible in the regulatory
floodway that will be considered for permit issuance.
APPURTENANT STRUCTURE
Shall mean a structure which is on the same parcel of the
property as the principal structure to be insured and the use of which
is incidental to the use of the principal structure.
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING
Shall mean a designated AO zone on a community's Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) with base flood depths from one to three feet where
a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding
is unpredictable and indeterminate, and where velocity flow may be
evident.
BASE FLOOD
Shall mean the flood having a 1% probability of being equaled
or exceeded in any given year. The base flood is also known as the
100-year frequency flood event.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE)
Shall mean the highest water surface elevation that can be
expected during the base flood in relation to mean sea level. The
base flood elevation (BFE) is also known as the 100-year frequency
flood elevation and as a 1% probability of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year.
BASEMENT
Shall mean any enclosed area of a structure which has its
flood or lowest level below ground level (subgrade) on all sides.
See also "lowest floor."
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPS)
Shall mean practices or measures typically developed as part
a stormwater management program that reduce nonpoint source pollution
that enter the waterways.
BUILDING
Shall mean a structure that is principally above ground and
is enclosed by walls and a roof. The term includes a gas or liquid
storage tank, a manufactured home, mobile home or a prefabricated
building. This term also includes recreational vehicles and travel
trailers to be installed on a site for more than 180 days.
CHANNEL
Shall mean any river, stream, creek, brook, branch, natural
or artificial depression, ponded area, flowage, slough, ditch, conduit,
culvert, gully, ravine, wash, or natural or man-made drainage way,
which has a definite bed and banks or shoreline, into which surface
or groundwater flows, either perennially or intermittently.
CHANNEL MODIFICATION
Shall mean the alteration of a channel by changing the physical
dimensions or materials of its bed or banks and includes damming,
rip-rapping or other armoring, widening, deepening, straightening,
relocating, lining or significant removal of bottom or woody vegetation.
Modification does not include the clearing of dead or dying vegetation,
debris or trash from the channel.
COMPENSATORY STORAGE
Shall mean an artificially excavated, hydraulically equivalent
volume of storage within the SFHA used to balance the loss of natural
flood storage capacity when artificial fill or structures are placed
within the flood plain. The uncompensated loss of natural flood plain
storage can increase off-site floodwater elevations and flows.
CRITICAL FACILITY
Shall mean any facility which is critical to the health and
welfare of the population and, if flooded, would create an added dimension
to the disaster. Damage to a critical facility can impact delivery
of vital services, can cause greater damage to other sectors of the
community, or can put special populations at risk. Critical facilities
include but may not be limited to emergency services, schools, retirement
or senior care facilities, major roads and bridges, utility sites
and hazardous materials storage sites.
CRITICAL FEATURE
Shall mean an integral and readily identifiable part of a
flood protection system, without which the flood protection provided
by the entire system would be compromised.
DAM
Shall mean any obstruction, wall embankment or barrier, together
with their abutments and appurtenant works, if any, constructed for
the purpose of storing or diverting water or creating a pool. Underground
water storage tanks are not included. Dams may include weirs, restrictive
culverts or impoundment structures.
DESIGN STORM
Shall mean a selected storm event, described in terms of
probability of occurrence for which flood mitigation protection elevations
are determined.
DEVELOPMENT
Shall mean any man-made change to improved or unimproved
real estate, including, but not limited to:
a.
Construction, reconstruction, repair, addition to or replacement
of a building or structure.
b.
Installing a manufactured home on a site, preparing a site for
a manufactured home, or installing a travel trailer on a site for
more than 180 days.
c.
Drilling, mining, installing utilities, construction of roads,
bridges, or similar projects.
d.
Demolition of a structure or redevelopment of a site.
e.
Clearing of land as an adjunct of construction.
f.
Construction or erection of levees, walls, fences, dams, or
culverts; channel modification; filling, dredging, grading, excavating,
paving or other non-agricultural alterations of the ground surface;
storage of equipment or materials; deposit of solid or liquid waste.
g.
Any other activity of man that might change the direction, height,
or velocity of flood or surface water, including extensive vegetation
removal. Development does not include maintenance of existing buildings
and facilities such as reroofing or resurfacing of roads when there
is no increase in elevation, or gardening, plowing, cultivation, and
similar agricultural practices that do not involve filling, grading,
or construction of levees.
ELEVATION CERTIFICATE
Shall mean a form used by FEMA to certify building elevations,
confirm compliance with the Village floodplain management ordinance,
determine proper insurance premium rates, and to support a request
for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or a Letter of Map Revisions
based on fill (LOMR-F).
EROSION
Shall mean the general process whereby soils are moved by
flowing water or wave action.
EXISTING CONSTRUCTION
Shall mean any structure for which the start of construction
commenced before the effective date of the first floodplain management
regulations adopted by the community.
EXISTING FACTORY-BUILT HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
Shall mean a factory-built home park or subdivision for which
the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the
factory-built 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 first floodplain management regulations
adopted by the community.
EXPANSION OF EXISTING FACTORY-BUILT HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
Shall mean the preparation of additional sites by the construction
of facilities for servicing the lots on which the factory-built 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.
500-YEAR FLOOD
Shall mean a flood, the magnitude of which has a 0.2% chance
of being equaled or exceeded in any given year or which, on average,
will be equaled or exceeded at least once every 500 years.
FACTORY-BUILT HOME PARK
Shall mean a parcel or contiguous parcels of land divided
into two or more factory-built home lots for sale or lease.
FEMA
Shall mean the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its
regulations at 44 CFR 59-79, specifically the regulations within CFR
44 Section 60.3d which are adopted by this reference. FEMA is the
independent Federal agency that, in addition to carrying out other
activities, administers the NFIP.
FLOOD OR FLOODING
Shall mean a general and temporary condition of partial or
complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of
inland rivers or streams or tidal waters and the unusual and rapid
accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
FLOOD FREQUENCY
Shall mean a period of years, based on a statistical analysis,
during which a flood of a stated magnitude may be expected to be equaled
or exceeded.
FLOOD FRINGE
Shall mean that portion of the flood plain outside of the
regulatory floodway.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
Shall mean a map prepared by FEMA that depicts the special
flood hazard area (SFHA) within a community. This map includes insurance
rate zones and flood plains and may or may not depict floodway.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY
Shall mean the official report provided by the Federal Insurance
Administration. The report contains flood profiles and the water surface
elevation of the base flood.
FLOOD PLAIN
Shall mean any land area susceptible to being inundated by
water as a result of a flood. The land is typically adjacent to a
body of water with ground surface elevations at or below the base
flood or the 100-year frequency flood elevation. Flood plains may
also include detached special flood hazard areas, ponding areas, etc.
The flood plain is also known as the special flood hazard area (SFHA).
FLOOD PLAIN MANAGEMENT
Shall mean an overall program of corrective and preventive
measures (mitigation) for reducing flood damages and promoting the
wise use of flood plains, including but not limited to emergency preparedness
plans, flood control works, floodproofing and flood plain management
regulations.
FLOOD PROTECTION ELEVATION (FPE)
Shall mean the elevation of the base flood or 100-year frequency
flood plus one foot of freeboard at any given location in the SFHA.
Outside of the floodplain limits, the 100-year design water surface
elevation of any adjacent stormwater facility or the 100-year storm
elevation on non-NFIP mapped floodplain plus two feet of freeboard.
FLOODPROOFING
Shall mean any combination of structural or nonstructural
changes, or adjustments to structures, including utility and sanitary
facilities, which will reduce or eliminate flood damage to such structures.
FLOODPROOFING CERTIFICATE
Shall mean a form used to certify that a building has been
designed and constructed to be structurally dry floodproofed to the
flood protection elevation.
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 (design storm) so that confinement of flood flows within
the floodway area will not cumulatively increase the water surface
elevation of the base flood by more than one foot.
FLOODWAY FRINGE
Shall mean those portions of the flood plain, other than
the floodway, which can be filled, leveed, or otherwise obstructed
without causing higher flood levels or flow velocities.
FREEBOARD
Shall mean an increment of elevation added to the base flood
elevation to provide a factor of safety for uncertainties in calculations
(development outside the communities control), unknown localized conditions,
wave actions and unpredictable effects such as those caused by ice
or debris jams.
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE
Shall mean a use which cannot perform its intended purpose
unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The
term shall include only docking facilities, port facilities that are
necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and
ship building and ship repair facilities, but does not include long
term storage or related manufacturing facilities.
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE
Shall mean the highest natural elevation of the ground surface
prior to construction next to the proposed walls of the structure.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
Shall mean any structure that is:
a.
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places
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
to qualify as a registered historic district;
c.
Individually listed on the State Inventory of Historic Places
which inventory is part of a historic preservation program approved
by the Secretary of the Interior; or
d.
Individually listed on the local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs 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.
HYDRAULICALLY EQUIVALENT COMPENSATORY STORAGE
Shall mean compensatory storage either adjacent to the floodplain
fill or not located adjacent to the development but can be shown by
hydrologic and hydraulic analysis to be equivalent to compensatory
storage located adjacent to the development.
HYDROLOGICALLY DISTURBED
Shall mean an area where the land surface has been cleared,
grubbed, compacted, or otherwise modified to change runoff volumes,
rates or direction.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE
Shall mean any hard-surfaced, man-made area that does not
readily absorb or retain water including, but not limited to, building
roofs, parking and driveway areas, graveled areas, sidewalks, and
paved recreation surfaces.
INTERMITTENT STREAM
Shall mean a stream whose bed intersects the groundwater
table for only a portion of the year on the average or any stream
which flows continuously for at least one month out of the year but
not the entire year.
LEVEE
Shall mean a man-made structure, usually an earthen embankment,
designed and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices
to contain, control, or divert the flow of water so as to provide
protection from temporary flooding. For a levee to provide relief
from flood insurance requirements it will need to be a certified level
meeting the minimum requirements of 44 CFR 65.
LEVEE SYSTEM
Shall mean a flood protection system which consists of a
levee, or levees, and associated structures, such as closure and drainage
devices, which are constructed and operated in accordance with sound
engineering practices.
LOWEST FLOOR
Shall mean the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area,
including basement. An exception results when all of the following
criteria are met:
a.
The enclosed area is designed to flood, to equalize hydrostatic
pressure during floods with walls or openings that satisfy the provisions
of Section 15.44.110CB (please refer to FEMA Technical Bulletin No.
1 entitled "Openings in Foundation Walls and Walls of Enclosures");
and
b.
The enclosed area is unfinished (not carpeted, drywalled, etc.)
and used solely for low damage potential uses such as building access,
parking or storage; and
c.
Machinery and service facilities contained within the enclosed
area are protected from flood water to a height of at least one foot
above the base flood elevation; and
d.
The enclosed area is not defined as a "basement" in this section;
and
e.
Provided the enclosure is not built so as to render the structure
in violation of the applicable non-elevation design requirements of
this chapter.
In cases where the lowest enclosed area satisfies criteria stated
in paragraphs a through d above, the lowest floor is the floor on
the next highest enclosed area that does not satisfy the criteria
above.
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MANUFACTURED HOME
As defined by Chapter 414.28 of the Iowa Code shall mean
a factory built structure, which is manufactured or constructed under
the authority of 42 U.S.C. § 5403 and is to be used as
a place for human habitation, but which is not constructed or equipped
with a permanent hitch or other device allowing it to be moved other
than for the purpose of moving to a permanent site, and which does
not have permanently attached to its body or frame any wheels or axles.
For the sake of this chapter the definition of manufactured home includes
factory-built home. "Factory-build home" shall mean 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. For flood plain management purposes the
term "factory-built home" shall also include park trailers, travel
trailers, and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater
than 180 consecutive days. For insurance purposes the term "factory-built
home" does not include park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar
devices.
MAXIMUM DAMAGE POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
Shall mean hospitals and like institutions; buildings or
building complexes containing documents, data, or instruments of great
public value; buildings or building complexes containing materials
dangerous to the public or fuel storage facilities; power installations
needed in emergency or other buildings or building complexes similar
in nature or use.
MEAN SEA LEVEL
Shall mean, for the purposes of the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP), the National American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD
88) or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on the community's
Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) are
referenced.
MINOR PROJECTS
Shall mean small development activities (except for filling,
grading, and excavating) valued at less than $500.
MITIGATION
Shall mean those measures necessary to minimize the negative
effects which flood plain development activities might have on the
public health, safety and welfare. Examples of mitigation include
compensatory storage, soil erosion and sedimentation control, and
channel restoration. Mitigation may also include those activities
taken to reduce a structure's susceptibility to flooding.
NATURAL
When used in reference to channels means those channels formed
by the existing surface topography of the earth prior to changes made
by man. A natural stream tends to follow a meandering path; its flood
plain is not constrained by levees; the area near the bank has not
been cleared, mowed or cultivated; the stream flows over soil and
geologic materials typical of the area with no substantial alteration
of the course or cross-section of the stream caused by filling or
excavating. A modified channel may regain some natural characteristics
over time as the channel meanders and vegetation is re-established.
Similarly, a modified channel may be restored to more natural conditions
by man through regarding and re vegetation.
NAVD 88
Shall mean National American Vertical Datum of 1988, which
supersedes the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD).
NET WATERSHED BENEFIT
Shall mean a finding that, when compared to the existing
condition, the developed project will do one of the following: substantially
reduce (more than 10%) downstream peak discharges; reduce downstream
flood stages (more than 0.1 foot); or reduce downstream damages to
structures occurring in the pre-development condition. The demonstration
of one of these conditions must be through detailed hydrologic and
hydraulic analysis of the watershed(s) on a regional scale.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Shall mean structures for which the "start of construction"
commenced on or after the effective date of the FIRM, 3-1-78, and
includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
NEW FACTORY-BUILT HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
Shall mean a factory-built home park or subdivision for which
the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the
factory-built 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 first floodplain management regulations
adopted by the community.
NGVD
Shall mean National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929. Reference
surface set by the National Geodetic Survey deduced from a continental
adjustment of all existing adjustments in 1929.
NO ADVERSE IMPACT (NAI)
Shall mean a managing principle that includes both structural
and nonstructural measure of floodplain management established by
the Association of State Floodplain Manager (ASFPM) that provide a
higher level of protection for a community and its citizens and to
prevent increased flooding now and in the future.
NON-CONVERSION AGREEMENT
Shall mean an agreement binding on the current and future
homeowners that the enclosure located below the base flood elevation
will not be converted into living space.
NON-RIVERINE
Shall mean areas not associated with a stream or river such
as isolated depressional storage areas, ponds and lakes.
NPDES II
Shall mean that program mandated by Congress under the Clean
Water Act, the NPDES Stormwater Program is a comprehensive two-phased
national program for addressing the nonagricultural sources of stormwater
discharges which adversely affect the quality of our nation's waters.
The program uses the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permitting mechanism to require the implementation of controls
designed to prevent harmful pollutants from being washed by stormwater
runoff into local water bodies.
ORDINARY HIGH WATER MARK (OHWM)
Shall mean the point on the bank or shore up to which the
presence and action of surface water is so continuous so as to leave
a distinctive mark such as by erosion, destruction or prevention of
terrestrial vegetation, predominance of aquatic vegetation or other
easily recognized characteristics.
PERENNIAL STEAMS
Shall mean riverine watercourses whose thalweg generally
intersects the groundwater table elevation and flows throughout the
year.
PROGRAM DEFICIENCY
Shall mean a defect in a community's flood plain management
regulations or administrative procedures that impairs effective implementation
of those flood plain management regulations or of the standards in
Section 60.3 and 60.6 of the National Flood Insurance Program.
PUBLIC BODIES OF WATER
Shall mean all open public streams and lakes capable of being
navigated by watercraft, in whole or in part, for commercial uses
and purposes, and all lakes, rivers, and streams which in their natural
condition were capable of being improved and made navigable, or that
are connected with or discharge their waters into navigable lakes
or rivers within, or upon the borders of the state of Iowa, together
with all bayous, sloughs, backwaters, and submerged lands that are
open to the main channel or body of water directly accessible thereto.
PUBLIC FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT
Shall mean a flood control project which will be operated
and maintained by a public agency to reduce flood damages to existing
buildings and structures which includes a hydrologic and hydraulic
study of the existing and proposed conditions of the watershed. Nothing
in this definition shall preclude the design, engineering, construction
or financing, in whole or in part, of a flood control project by persons
or parties who are not public agencies.
REASONABLY SAFE FROM FLOODING
Shall mean methods and standards of foundation protection,
such as the placement, compaction and protection of fill when used
to elevate a building, that base flood waters will not inundate or
damage a structure(s) to be removed from the SFHA and that any subsurface
waters related to the base flood will not damage existing or proposed
buildings. Please refer to FEMA Technical Bulletin No. 10-1 "Ensuring
That Structures Built on Fill In or Near Special Flood Hazard Areas
Are Reasonably Safe From Flooding."
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
Shall mean a vehicle which is: (a) built on a single chassis;
(b) 400 feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
(c) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light
duty truck; and (d) designed primarily not for use as a permanent
dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping,
traveling or seasonal use.
REGISTERED LAND SURVEYOR
Shall mean a land surveyor registered in the state of Iowa
as per Chapter 542b of the State Code of Iowa entitled "Professional
Engineers and Land Surveyors."
REGULATORY FLOOD PLAIN
Shall mean the flood plain as depicted on maps recognized
by FEMA as defining the limits of the SFHA.
REGULATORY FLOODWAY OR DESIGNATED FLOODWAY
Shall mean those portions of the floodplain depicted on the
Flood Insurance Rate Map which is needed to store and convey the existing
and anticipated future 100-year frequency flood discharge with no
increase in stage due to the loss of flood conveyance or storage,
and no increase in velocities.
REMEDY A VIOLATION
Shall mean to bring the structure or other development into
compliance with state or local flood plain management regulations,
or, if this is not possible, to reduce the impacts of its noncompliance.
Ways that impacts may be reduced include protecting the structure
or other affected development from flood damages, implementing the
enforcement provisions of the section or otherwise deterring future
similar violations, or reducing federal financial exposure with regard
to the structure or other development.
REPETITIVE LOSS
Shall mean 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.
RETENTION/DETENTION FACILITY
Shall mean a facility for the purpose of retaining or detaining
stormwater. A retention facility stores stormwater runoff without
a gravity release for infiltration purposes. A detention facility
provides for storage of stormwater runoff and controlled release of
this runoff during and after a flood or storm.
ROUTINE MAINTENANCE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES
Shall mean repairs necessary to keep a structure in a safe
and habitable condition that do not trigger a building permit, provided
they are not associated with a general improvement to the structure
or repair of a damaged structure. Such repairs include:
a.
Normal maintenance of structures such as re-roofing, replacing
roofing tiles and replacing siding.
b.
Exterior and interior painting, papering, tiling, carpeting,
cabinets, counter tops, and similar finish work.
d.
Repairing or replacing damaged or broken window panes.
e.
Repairing plumbing systems, electrical systems, heating or air
conditioning systems, and repairing wells or septic systems.
RUNOFF
Shall mean the water derived from melting snow or rain falling
on the land surface, flowing over the surface of the ground or collected
in channels or conduits.
SEDIMENTATION
Shall mean the process that deposits soil, debris, and other
materials either on ground surfaces or in bodies of water or water
courses.
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA
Shall mean the land within a community subject to the base
flood. This land is identified on the community's Flood Insurance
Rate Map as Zone A, A1-30, AE, AH, AO, AR and/or A99.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
Shall include substantial improvement, 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 180 days of the permit date. The actual
start of construction means either the first placement of permanent
construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slabs
or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns,
or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of a
factory-built home on a permanent 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 as 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.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
Shall mean a set of actions taken to control stormwater (surface)
runoff with the objectives of providing controlled surface drainage,
flood control and pollutant reduction.
STREAM OR RIPARIAN BUFFER
Shall mean a best management practice (BMP) that either as
a stand-alone practice or in conjunction with other practices seeks
to minimize the adverse effects on the quality of water within the
adjacent stream by providing or preserving a predominantly vegetation
area that acts as a barrier between a particular land use (house,
lawn, commercial, etc.) and the water for the purpose eliminating
or mitigating adverse run-off effects.
STRUCTURE
Shall mean man-made change to the land constructed on or
below grade, including construction, reconstruction or placement of
a building or any addition to a building, roads, signs, billboards,
etc.; installing a manufactured home on a site; preparing a site for
manufactured home or installing a travel trailer on a site for more
than 180 days.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
Shall mean damage of any origin sustained by a structure
whereby the cumulative percentage of damage during a ten-year period,
the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the
structure before the damage occurred regardless of the actual repair
work performed.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
Shall mean any repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition
or other improvement of a structure since the City entered the regular
program of the NFIP (3-1-1978), the cost of which equals or exceeds
50% of the market of the structure either (a) before the "start of
construction" of the improvement, or (b) if the structure has been
damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred regardless
of the actual repair work performed. Also any addition which cumulatively
increases the original floor area of a structure by 25% or more since
the City entered the regular program of the NFIP (3-1-1978). All additions
constructed after the effective date of the FIRM for Davenport (3-1-1978)
shall be added to any proposed addition in determining whether the
total increase in original floor area would exceed 25%. 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. This term includes structures
which have incurred "substantial damage," regardless of the actual
repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either
(a) any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing
state and 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, or (b)
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 to a person 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
Shall mean the failure of a structure or other development
to be fully compliant with the community's flood plain management
regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation
certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance
required in the National Flood Insurance Program is presumed to be
in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION
Shall mean the height, in relation to the National American
Vertical Datum of 1988 or other datum, where specified, of floods
of various magnitudes and frequencies in the flood plains of riverine
or other areas.