Definitions. The following defined terms are particular to the Floodplain Overlay District and are intended as a supplement to the definitions provided in Article
II. In some cases definitions provided in this §
470-602 may not be consistent with definitions provided in Article
II. In any such cases definitions in this §
470-602 shall have precedence when applied as related to this Article
VI, and definitions in Article
II shall have precedence when otherwise applied. As applied to terms used in or related to the application of this §
470-602 and not specifically defined in this §
470-602, meanings derived from and/or consistent with usage in the Federal NFIP Regulations and any associated guidance document promulgated by FEMA shall be given precedence when determining the most reasonable application of such terms.
BASE FLOOD
The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year, also referred to as the 100-year flood, as published
by the FEMA as part of a Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and depicted
on a FIRM.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE)
The elevation of the crest of the base flood at a particular
location. The BFE in relation to actual ground elevations sets the
limits of the base floodplain (i.e., the SFHA).
BASEMENT
Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
BUILDING
See definition for "structure."
COST
As related to substantial improvements, the cost of any reconstruction,
rehabilitation, addition, alteration, repair or other improvement
of a structure shall be established by a detailed written contractor's
estimate. The estimate shall include, but not be limited to: the cost
of materials (interior finishing elements, structural elements, utility
and service equipment); sales tax on materials, building equipment
and fixtures, including heating and air conditioning and utility meters;
labor; built-in appliances; demolition and site preparation; repairs
made to damaged parts of the building worked on at the same time;
contractor's overhead; contractor's profit; and grand total. Items
to be excluded include: cost of plans and specifications, survey costs,
permit fees, outside improvements such as septic systems, water supply
wells, landscaping, sidewalks, fences, yard lights, irrigation systems,
and detached structures such as garages, sheds, and gazebos.
DEVELOPMENT
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 materials.
ELEVATION CERTIFICATE
An administrative tool of the National Flood Insurance Program
(NFIP) used to provide elevation information necessary to ensure compliance
with community floodplain management ordinances.
ENCLOSURES
A nonbasement building built to have the top of the lowest
floor elevated above the ground level by means of pilings, columns,
posts, or piers. It also includes a building elevated by means of
fill or solid foundation perimeter walls with opening sufficient to
facilitate the unimpeded movement of floodwaters.
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 home
are to be affixed (including, as a minimum, the installation of utilities,
the construction of streets, and either final lot grading or the pouring
of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date that floodplain
management regulations were adopted by Canton.
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 manufacturing homes
are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction
of streets, and either final lot grading or the pouring of concrete
pads).
FLOOD FRINGE
The flood fringe is that area between the floodway and the
outer limits of the 100-year floodplain (special flood hazard area)
within zones A and AE. It thus encompasses the portion of the Floodplain
District which can be encroached upon without raising the water surface
elevation of the base flood more than one foot.
Diagram 470-602D - Floodplain/Floodway Diagram
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FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
An official map of a community, on which the FEMA has delineated
special hazard areas, regulatory floodway, and the risk premium zones
applicable to the community. The FIRM shall include any revisions,
amendments, or other modifications that have been duly issued by FEMA.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS)
The official study of a community in which FEMA has conducted
a technical engineering evaluation and determination of local flood
hazards, flood profiles and water surface elevations. The FIRM, which
accompanies the FIS, provides both flood insurance rate zones and
base flood elevations, and may provide the regulatory floodway limits.
The FIS shall include any revisions, amendments, or other modifications
that have been duly issued by FEMA subsequently to the issuance of
the current official study.
FLOOD OR FLOODING
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(1)
The overflow of inland waters.
(2)
The unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff or surface waters
from any source.
(3)
Mud slides which are proximately caused or precipitated by accumulations
of water on or under the ground.
(4)
The collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of any 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 flash flood, or by some similarly unusual and enforceable
event which results in flooding.
FLOODPROOFING
Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions,
changes, or adjustments to structures which reduces or eliminates
flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary
facilities, structures and their contents.
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
one foot; more practically as delineated on, and thereby defined by,
the FIRM. For the purposes of these regulations, the term "regulatory
floodway" is synonymous in meaning with the term "floodway."
FLOOR
The top surface of an enclosed area in a building (including basement) i.e., top of slab in concrete slab construction or top of wood flooring in wood frame construction. The term does not include the floor of a garage used solely for parking vehicles provided the structure complies with the design standards contained in §
470-602H(4), Elevated buildings.
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT FACILITY
A facility which cannot be used for its intended purpose
unless it is located in close proximity to water. The term includes
only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the
loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and ship building and
ship repair facilities. The term does not include seafood processing
facilities, long-term storage, manufacturing, sales or service facilities.
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE (HAG)
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 historic 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.
LOWEST FLOOR
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).
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.
MANUFACTURED HOME
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 also includes park trailers, travel trailers, recreational vehicles
and other similar vehicles or transportable structures placed on a
lot for 180 consecutive days or longer and intended to be improved
property.
MARKET VALUE
The market value of a structure as of a particular date shall
be determined by the Town Assessor as follows: the basis shall be
the market value of the subject tax parcel at the most recent revaluation
date and as determined by such revaluation; which value shall be adjusted
or trended forward to said particular date through the use of a sales/assessment
ratio study provided by the State of Connecticut Office of Policy
and Management, thereby resulting in a market value of the subject
parcel as of the particular date in question; the market value of
the subject structure shall then be determined by calculating the
proportion of subject parcel's market value at said revaluation date
that is attributable to the subject structure, and applying this proportion
to the said market value of the parcel as of the particular date in
question. (e.g., Say the market value of a subject parcel at the last
revaluation was $200,000, and applying the provided sales/assessment
ratio resulted in a market value of the parcel as of the particular
date in question equal to $250,000; further, say the portion of the
parcel value at revaluation attributable to the main structure was
$140,000, then the proportion of the structure's value to the parcel
value would be 140,000/200,000 = 70%; finally, the market value of
the structure as of the particular date in question would be equal
to $250,000 x 70% = $175,000.)
MEAN SEA LEVEL
As defined for the North American Vertical Datum of 1988
(NAVD 1988), to which all elevations associated herewith, including
BFEs, are, or are to be, referenced.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures or development for which the "start of construction"
commenced on or after the effective date that floodplain management
regulations were originally adopted by Canton, and includes any subsequent
improvements to such structures or development.
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 lot grading or the pouring
of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date that
floodplain management regulations were originally adopted by Canton.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle which is: a) built on a single chassis; b) 400
square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
c) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towed by a light duty
truck; and d) designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling
but as a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel,
or seasonal use.
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA (SFHA)
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to
a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any given year. SFHAs are determined
utilizing the BFEs provided on the flood profiles in the FIS for a
community. BFEs provided on FIRM are only approximate (rounded up
or down) and should be verified with the BFEs published in the FIS
for a specific location. SFHAs include, but are not necessarily limited
to, the land shown as zones A, AE, AO, AH on a FIRM.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
Includes substantial improvement and means the date the building
permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair,
reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition placement, substantial improvement
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 lot, 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/or walkways; nor does include excavation for a basement,
footings, piers, or foundations or the erections of temporary forms;
not 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
A walled and roofed building which is principally aboveground,
including a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank, or other
man-made facilities or infrastructures.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure, whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its pre-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
Any combination of repairs, reconstruction, or improvement
of a structure, taking place during a ten-year period, in which the
cumulative cost equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure
as determined at the beginning of such ten-year period, before the
"start of construction" of the improvement. This term includes structures
that have incurred "substantial damage" regardless of the actual repair
work performed. 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 does not 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 official
and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions;
or
(2)
Any alteration of a "historic structure," provided that the
alternation will not preclude the structure's continued designation
as a "historic structure."
VARIANCE
A grant of relief by a community from the terms of the floodplain
management regulation that allows construction in a manner otherwise
prohibited and where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary
hardship.
VIOLATION
Failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant
with the community's floodplain management regulations. A structure
or other development without required permits, lowest floor elevation
documentation, flood-proofing certificates or required floodway encroachment
calculations is presumed to be in violation until such time as that
documentation is provided.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION
The height, in relation to the North American Vertical Datum
(NAVD) of 1988 (or other datum, where specified), of floods of various
magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal and riverine
areas.