The objectives of this chapter are:
A. To protect human life and health.
B. To minimize expenditure of public money for costly flood control
projects.
C. To minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with
flooding and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public.
D. To minimize prolonged business interruptions.
E. To minimize damage to public facilities and utilities such as water
and gas mains, electric, telephone, sewer lines, streets and bridges
located in areas of special flood hazard.
F. To help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use
and development of areas of special flood hazard so as to minimize
future flood blight areas.
G. To provide that developers are notified that property is in an area
of special flood hazard.
H. To ensure that those who occupy the areas of special flood hazard
assume responsibility for their actions.
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.
APPEAL
A request for a review of the local administrator's interpretation
of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING
A designated AO, AH or VO Zone on a community's Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) with a 1% or greater annual chance of flooding to
an average annual depth of one footto three 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
The land in the floodplain, within a community, subject to
a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any given year. This area may
be designated as Zone A, AE, AH, AO, A1-A30, A99, V, VO, VE, or V1-V30.
It is also commonly referred to as the "base floodplain" or "100-year
floodplain."
BASE FLOOD
The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year.
BASEMENT
That portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
CELLAR
Has the same meaning as "basement."
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining,
dredging, filling, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage
of equipment or materials.
ELEVATED BUILDING
A nonbasement building built, in the case of a building in
Zones A1-A30, AE, A, A99, AO, AH, B, C, X, or D, to have the top of
the elevated floor, or in the case of a building in Zones V1-V30,
VE, or V, to have the bottom of the lowest horizontal structure member
of the elevated floor, elevated above the ground level by means of
pilings, columns (posts and piers), or shear walls parallel to the
flow of the water and adequately anchored so as not to impair the
structural integrity of the building during a flood of up to the magnitude
of the base flood. In the case of Zones A1-A30, AE, A, A99, AO, AH,
B, C, X, or D, "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 floodwaters. In
the case of Zones V1-V30, VE, or V, "elevated building" also includes
a building otherwise meeting the definition of "elevated building,"
even though the lower area is enclosed by means of breakaway walls
that meet the federal standards.
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 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 complete before the effective date of
the floodplain management regulations 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 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 BOUNDARY AND FLOODWAY MAP (FBFM)
An official map of the community published by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency as part of a riverine community's Flood
Insurance Study. The FBFM delineates a regulatory floodway along watercourses
studied in detail in the Flood Insurance Study.
FLOOD ELEVATION STUDY
An examination, evaluation and determination of the flood
hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations,
or an examination, evaluation and determination of flood-related erosion
hazards.
FLOOD HAZARD BOUNDARY MAP (FHBM)
An official map of a community, issued by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, where the boundaries of the areas of special flood
hazard have been designated as Zone A, but no flood elevations are
provided.
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 or FLOODING
A.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation
of normally dry land areas from:
(1)
The overflow of inland or tidal waters;
(2)
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters
from any source.
B.
The collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake
or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused
by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels
or suddenly caused by an unusually high water level in a natural body
of water, accompanied by a severe storm, or by an unanticipated force
of nature, such as a flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by
some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding
as defined in Subsection (1) above.
FLOODPROOFING
Any combination of structural 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
Has the same meaning as "regulatory floodway."
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE
A use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it
is located or carried out in close proximity to water, such as a docking
or port facility necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo
or passengers, shipbuilding, and ship repair facilities. The term
does not include 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:
A.
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;
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 a state inventory of historic places
in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved
by the Secretary of the Interior; or
D.
Individually listed on a 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.
LOCAL ADMINISTRATOR
The person appointed by the community to administer and implement
this chapter by granting or denying development permits in accordance
with its provisions. This person is often the Code Enforcement Officer
or employee of an engineering department.
LOWEST FLOOR
Lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement
or cellar). 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,"
provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure
in violation of the applicable nonelevation design requirements of
this chapter.
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 does not include a recreational vehicle.
MEAN SEA LEVEL
For purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the
National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, or other datum, to
which base flood elevations shown on a community's Flood Insurance
Rate Map are referenced.
MOBILE HOME
Has the same meaning as "manufactured home."
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation
adopted by the community and includes any subsequent improvements
to such structure.
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.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle which is:
A.
Built on a single chassis;
B.
Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest
horizontal projections;
C.
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck; and
D.
Not designed primarily for use as a permanent dwelling but as
temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal
use.
REGULATORY 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
a designated height as determined by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency in a Flood Insurance Study or by other agencies as provided
in Section 4.4-2 of this Law.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
Includes substantial improvement and means the initiation,
excluding planning and design, of any phase of a project or physical
alteration of the property and shall include land preparation, such
as clearing, grading, and filling; installation of streets and/or
walkways; excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations
or the erection of temporary forms. It also includes the placement
and/or installation on the property of accessory buildings (garages,
sheds), storage trailers, and building materials. For manufactured
homes, the "actual start" means affixing of the manufactured home
to its permanent site.
STRUCTURE
A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage
tank, that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured
home.
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 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.
The 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 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;
or
B.
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration
will not preclude the structure's continued designation as an "historic
structure."
VARIANCE
A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which
permits construction or use in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited
by this chapter.