Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in
this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give this chapter its most
reasonable application.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A use or structure on the same lot with, and of a nature
customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal use or structure.
A flood which has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year (also called the "100-year flood" or "1% annual
chance flood").
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).
The elevation shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)
for Zones AE and AH, and that indicates the water surface elevation
resulting from a flood that has a 1% or greater chance of being equaled
or exceeded in any given year.
Any area of the building having its floor below ground level
on all sides.
A combination of materials to form a permanent structure
having walls and a roof. "Building" includes, but is not limited to,
all manufactured homes and mobile homes to be used for human habitation.
Any land identified within a local flood study as being within
an area subject to flooding.
Flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two or
more separate occasions during a ten-year period for which the cost
of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on average, equals
or exceeds 25% of the market value of the structure before the damages
occurred.
A form signed by the property owner to agree not to convert
or modify, in any manner that is inconsistent with the terms of the
floodplain management permit and these regulations, certain enclosures
below the lowest floor of elevated buildings and certain accessory
structures. The form requires the owner to record it on the property
deed to inform future owners of the restrictions.
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.
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.
The preparation of additional sites within an existing manufactured
home park or subdivision 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).
The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
The official map 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.
The official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map,
the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation
of the base flood.
The municipal official delegated the responsibility of administering
and enforcing the requirements of this chapter.
A relatively flat or low land area which is subject to partial
or complete inundation from an adjoining or nearby stream, river,
or watercourse, as well as any area subject to the unusual and rapid
accumulation of surface waters from any source.
A permit issued by the floodplain administrator that certifies
that proposed development within the identified floodplain area complies
with the applicable requirements of this chapter.
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.
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.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior
to construction, next to the proposed walls of a structure.
Any structure that meets at least one of the following conditions:
Structures that are listed individually on the National Register
of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the United States Department
of the Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the
United States Department of the Interior as meeting the requirements
for individual listing on the National Register.
Structures that are certified or preliminarily determined by
the Secretary of the United States Department 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.
Structures that are listed individually on a state inventory
of historic places, where such listing has been approved by the Secretary
of the United States Department of the Interior.
Structures that are listed individually on a local inventory
of historic places where such local inventory has been certified by
at least one of the following:
All of the areas within which the floodplain regulations
of this chapter are applied. The identified floodplain area includes
the area identified as the special flood hazard area on the Flood
Insurance Rate Maps and Flood Insurance Study and may include additional
areas identified by the Township of Germany.
The lowest fully enclosed area (including basement) of a
building or structure. 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 in a manner that renders the structure in violation of the
applicable nonelevation design requirements of this chapter.
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. The term also includes a mobile home, as defined in the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code (Act of 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247, as reenacted
and amended).[1]
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale. The term includes
a mobile home park, as defined in the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code (Act of 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247, as reenacted and amended).
The price at which a property will change hands between a
willing buyer and a willing seller, neither party being under compulsion
to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.
As used in these regulations, the term refers to the market value
of buildings and structures, excluding the land and other improvements
on the parcel.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of this chapter, including any subsequent
improvements to such structures. Any construction started after July
4, 1988, and before the effective start date of this chapter is subject
to the ordinance in effect at the time the floodplain management permit
was issued, provided the start of construction was within 180 days
of floodplain management permit issuance.
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 this chapter.
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.
Any 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 July 4, 1988, whichever is
later, and, as such, would be required to be compliant with the regulations
of the National Flood Insurance Program.
Any structure for which construction or substantial improvement
occurred on or before December 31, 1974, or before the community's
initial Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), dated July 4, 1988, whichever
is later, and, as such, would not be required to be compliant with
the regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program.
Any vehicle which meets the following conditions.
Built on a single chassis.
Comprised of 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.
Designed for use as temporary living quarters for recreational,
camping, travel, or seasonal purposes, but not as a permanent dwelling.
The base flood elevation (BFE), or the estimated flood height
as determined using simplified methods, plus a freeboard safety factor
of 1 1/2 feet.
Any area in the floodplain subject to a 1% or greater chance
of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the FIRM as Zone A,
AO, AE, or AH.
The point in time at which substantial improvement and other
proposed new development begins following the date that the floodplain
management permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction,
repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other
improvement is within 180 days after the date of the floodplain management
permit and is completed within 12 months after the date of issuance
of the floodplain management 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 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.
A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage
tank that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
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.
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.
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 "cumulative 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.
The statewide building code, established by the Pennsylvania
Construction Code Act (Act of November 10, 1999, P.L. 491, No. 45,
as amended),[2] and applicable to new construction in all municipalities,
whether administered by the municipality, a third party or the Pennsylvania
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 the construction
standard applicable to state floodplain construction.
A grant of relief by a community from the terms of a floodplain
management regulation. The term includes a variance as defined in
the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act of 1968, P.L. 805,
No. 247, as reenacted and amended).[3]
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with the floodplain management regulations of this chapter.
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), or (e)(5)
is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation
is provided.
A channel or conveyance of surface water having a defined
bed and banks, whether natural or artificial, with perennial or intermittent
flow.
Includes permanent or contingent measures applied to a structure
or its contents that prevent or provide resistance to damage from
flooding while allowing floodwaters to enter the structure or area.
Generally, this includes properly anchoring the structure, using flood-resistant
materials below the base flood elevation (BFE), protection of mechanical
and utility equipment, and use of openings or breakaway walls.
