As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Elevation of the 1977 flood as established by the flood profiles
or the 2021/2022 flood elevations if they exceed the 1977 flood elevations.
A nonresidential structure which is on the same parcel of property as the principal structure and the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure. Accessory structures are not to exceed 600 square feet. [NOTE: This is the size restriction set by FEMA Region III, but a community could choose a higher standard and limit accessory structures to a size less than 600 square feet. However, a variance could be issued for larger accessory structures, not to exceed 600 square feet. If a smaller size limit is chosen, additional language would be required in Article VI: Variances - See Footnote 23. The chosen size restriction should also be reflected in Article IV, Section 4.3.D.2.b, Article VI, Section M, and Article VIII-Glossary in the definition of "Appurtenant or accessory structure."[1]
The flood having a 1% chance of being equalled or exceeded
in any given year. One-percent annual chance floodplain: This is the
boundary of the flood that has a 1% chance of being equalled or exceeded
in any give year. Also known as the "100-year floodplain."
The water surface elevations of the base flood, that is,
the flood level that has a 1% or greater chance of occurrence in any
given year. The water surface elevation of the base flood in relation
to the datum specified on the community's Flood Insurance Rate
Map. For the purposes of this chapter, the base flood is the 1% annual
chance flood.
Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
The board appointed to review Building Code appeals in Chapter 25 of the Buchanan County Code shall also review appeals of decisions made by the Floodplain Coordinator in the interpretation of this chapter.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, temporary
structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation,
drilling or other land-disturbing activities or permanent or temporary
storage of equipment or materials.
A nonbasement building built to have the lowest floor elevated
above the ground level by means of solid foundation perimeter walls,
pilings, or columns (posts and piers).
The advance or infringement of uses, plant growth, fill,
excavation, buildings, permanent structures or development into a
floodplain, which may impede or alter the flow capacity of a floodplain.
For the purposes of the insurance program, structures for
which the "start of construction" commenced before the effective date
of the FIRM or before January 1, 1975, for FIRMs effective before
that date. "Existing construction" may also be referred to as "existing
structures" and "pre-FIRM."
An official map of a community, on which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency has delineated both the special hazard areas and
the risk premium zones applicable to the community. A FIRM that has
been made available digitally is called a Digital Flood Insurance
Rate Map (DFIRM).
A report by FEMA that examines, evaluates and determines
flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations,
or an examination, evaluation and determination of mudflow and/or
flood-related erosion hazards.
A general or temporary condition of partial or complete inundation
of normally dry land areas from:
The overflow of inland or tidal waters; or
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters
from any source.
Mudflows which are proximately caused by flooding as defined in Subsection A(2) of this definition and are akin to a river of liquid and flowing mud on the surfaces of normally dry land areas, as when earth is carried by a current of water and deposited along the path of the current.
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 flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in Subsection A(1) of this definition.
Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from
any source.
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 at any point within the community.
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 in the watershed.
A use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it
is located or carried out in close proximity to water. This term includes
only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the
loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and shipbuilding and
ship repair facilities, but does not include long-term storage or
related manufacturing facilities.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
Any structure that is:
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;
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:
Analyses performed by a licensed professional engineer, in
accordance with standard engineering practices that are accepted by
the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and FEMA, used
to determine the base flood, other frequency floods, flood elevations,
floodway information and boundaries, and flood profiles.
A letter of map change is an official FEMA determination,
by letter, that amends or revises an effective Flood Insurance Rate
Map or Flood Insurance Study. Letters of map change include:
LETTER OF MAP AMENDMENT (LOMA)An amendment based on technical data showing that a property was incorrectly included in a designated special flood hazard area. A LOMA amends the current effective Flood Insurance Rate Map and establishes that a land as defined by metes and bounds or structure is not located in a special flood hazard area.
LETTER OF MAP REVISION (LOMR)A revision based on technical data that may show changes to flood zones, flood elevations, floodplain and floodway delineations, and planimetric features. A letter of map revision based on fill (LOMR-F) is a determination that a structure or parcel of land has been elevated by fill above the base flood elevation and is therefore no longer exposed to flooding associated with the base flood. In order to qualify for this determination, the fill must have been permitted and placed in accordance with the community's floodplain management regulations.
CONDITIONAL LETTER OF MAP REVISION (CLOMR)A formal review and comment as to whether a proposed flood protection project or other project complies with the minimum NFIP requirements for such projects with respect to delineation of special flood hazard areas. A CLOMR does not revise the effective Flood Insurance Rate Map or Flood Insurance Study.
The lowest natural elevation of the ground surface next to
the walls of a structure.
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, provided that
such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation
of the applicable nonelevation design requirements of 44 CFR 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 connected to the required utilities. For
floodplain management purposes, the term "manufactured home" also
includes park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles
placed on a site for greater than 180 consecutive days.
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
For purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the
National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or the North American
Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 to which base flood elevations shown
on a community's FIRM are referenced.
For the purposes of determining insurance rates, structures
for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after September
16, 1988, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
For floodplain management purposes, "new construction" means structures
for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective
date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by a community
and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement
occurred on or after September 16, 1988.
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement
occurred before September 16, 1988.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest
horizontal projection;
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.
A building covered by a contract for flood insurance that
has incurred flood-related damages on two occasions in a ten-year
period, in which the cost of the repair, on the average, equalled
or exceeded 25% of the market value of the structure at the time of
each such flood event; and at the time of the second incidence of
flood-related damage, the contract for flood insurance contains increased
cost of compliance coverage.
A structure that:
Is covered under a contract for flood insurance made available
under the NFIP; and
Has incurred flood-related damage:
For which four or more separate claims payments have been made
under flood insurance coverage with the amount of each such claim
exceeding $5,000, and with the cumulative amount of such claims payments
exceeding $20,000; or
For which at least two separate claims payments have been made
under such coverage, with the cumulative amount of such claims exceeding
the market value of the insured structure.
A special flood hazard area 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. Such flooding is characterized by ponding
or sheet flow.
For other than new construction and substantial improvement,
under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. 97-348),[2] 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
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/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 part of the main structure. For a substantial improvement,
the actual start of the 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.
For floodplain management purposes, a walled and roofed building,
including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally aboveground,
as well as a manufactured home.
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. It also means flood-related damages sustained by
a structure on two occasions in a ten-year period, in which the cost
of the repair, on the average, equals or exceeds 25% of the market
value of the structure at the time of each such flood event.
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 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 official
and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions;
or
Any alteration of a historic structure, provided that the alteration
will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a
historic structure;
Historic structures undergoing repair or rehabilitation that
would constitute a substantial improvement, as defined above, must
comply with all ordinance requirements that do not preclude the structure's
continued designation as a historic structure. Documentation that
a specific ordinance requirement will cause removal of the structure
from the National Register of Historic Places or the State Inventory
of Historic Places must be obtained from the Secretary of the Interior
or the State Historic Preservation Officer. Any exemption from ordinance
requirements will be the minimum necessary to preserve the historic
character and design of the structure.
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations.
A structure or other development without the elevation certificate,
other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in
this chapter is presumed to be in violation until such time as that
documentation is provided.
A lake, river, creek, stream, wash, channel or other topographic
feature on or over which waters flow at least periodically. "Watercourse"
includes specifically designated areas in which substantial flood
damage may occur.
