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.
Areas subject to inundation by 1% annual chance shallow flooding
(usually areas of ponding) where average depths are between one and
three feet. Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) derived from detailed hydraulic
analyses are shown in this zone.
Areas subject to inundation by 1% annual chance shallow flooding
(usually sheet flow on sloping terrain) where average depths are between
one and three feet.
A request for a review of the Construction Code Official's
interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a
variance.
A designated AO or AH Zone on a community's Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) with a 1% annual or greater chance of flooding to
an average depth of one to 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.
Land in the floodplain within a community subject to a 1%
or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the
FIRM as Zone V, VE, V1-30, A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, or AH.
A flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in
any given year.
The flood elevation shown on a published Flood Insurance
Study (FIS), including the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). For Zones
AE, AH, AO, and A1-30 the elevation represents 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 subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
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.
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 the area of special
flood hazard.
A nonbasement building 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 base flood elevation plus freeboard by means of
piling, 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 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 floodwaters.
The process of gradual wearing away of land masses.
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 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.
The official report in which the Federal Insurance Administration
has provided flood profiles, as well as the Flood Insurance Rate Map(s)
and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
Zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes,
health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as a floodplain
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.
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 accumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more
than 0.2 foot.
A factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood
level for purposes of floodplain management. "Freeboard" tends to
compensate for the many unknown factors that could contribute to flood
heights greater than the height calculated for a selected size flood
and floodway conditions, such as wave action, bridge openings, and
the hydrological effect of urbanization of the watershed.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed or existing walls of a structure.
Any structure that is:
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;
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;
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
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified either:
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 building's lowest floor, provided
that such enclosure is not built so to render the structure in violation
of other applicable nonelevation design requirements of 44 CFR Section
60.3.
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 "manufactured home" does not include a recreational vehicle.
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
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.
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 floodplain management regulations adopted by the municipality.
A vehicle which is built on a single chassis; 400 square
feet or less when measured at the longest horizontal projections;
designed to be self- propelled or permanently towable by a light duty
truck; and designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling
but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel,
or seasonal use.
For other than new construction or substantial improvements
under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. No. 97-348) includes
substantial improvements and means 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 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 pilings,
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.
A walled and roofed building, a manufactured home, or a gas
or liquid storage tank that is principally aboveground.
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its condition before damage would
equal or exceed 50% 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,
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 officer and
which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions;
or
Any alteration of an "historic structure," provided that the
alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation
as an "historic structure."
A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter that
permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited
by this chapter.
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with this chapter. A new or substantially improved 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), (e)(2), (e)(4), or (e)(5) is presumed to be in violation
until such time as that documentation is provided.
