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.
means a use which is incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the parcel of land on which it is located.
means a request for a review of the flood-plain administrator's interpretation of any provision of this chapter, or a request for a variance.
means a designated AO or AH Zone on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The base flood depths range from one to three feet; a clearly defined channel does not exist; the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; and velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.
See "Special flood hazard area."
means the area subject to severe mudslides (i.e., mudflows). The area is designated as zone M on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the "one-hundred-year flood").
means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
means any manmade 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.
means the advancement or infringement of uses, plant growth, fill, excavations, buildings, permanent structures, or development into a floodplain, which may impede or alter the flow capacity of a floodplain.
means 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.
means 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 pouring of the concrete pads).
means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
The overflow of floodwaters;
The unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters from any source; and/or
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 this subsection.
means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the floodway.
means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated the areas of flood hazards.
means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium applicable to the community.
means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles, the FIRM, the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source (see definition of "flooding").
means the public works director of the city of Waterford.
means the operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works and floodplain management regulations.
means zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as 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.
means 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.
means 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. Also referred to as "regulatory floodway."
is that area of the floodplain on either side of the "Regulatory Floodway" where encroachment may be permitted.
as related to Section 15.32.200, variances, of this chapter, means that the variance granted may not cause fraud on or victimization of the public. In examining this requirement, the city council will consider the fact that every newly constructed building adds to government responsibilities and remains part of the community for fifty to one hundred years. Buildings that are permitted to be constructed below the base flood elevation are subject during all those years to increased risk of damage from floods, while future owners of the property and the community as a whole are subject to all the costs, inconvenience, danger, and suffering that those increased flood damages bring. In addition, future owners may purchase the property, unaware that it is subject to potential flood damage, and can be insured only at very high insurance rates.
means a use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out 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 shipbuilding and ship repair facilities, but does not include long-term storage or related manufacturing facilities.
is the local governing unit, i.e. county or municipality, that is empowered to adopt and implement regulations to provide for the public health, safety, and general welfare of its citizenry.
as related to Section 15.32.200, variances, of this chapter means the exceptional hardship that would result from a failure to grant the requested variance. The city council requires that the variance be exceptional, unusual, and peculiar to the property involved. Mere economic or financial hardship alone is not exceptional. Inconvenience, aesthetic considerations, physical handicaps, personal preferences, or the disapproval of one's neighbors likewise cannot, as a rule, qualify as an exceptional hardship. All of these problems can be resolved through other means without granting a variance, even if the alternative is more expensive, or requires the property owner to build elsewhere or put the parcel to a different use than originally intended.
means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
means 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 local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either by an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
means a man-made structure, usually an earthen embankment, designed and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to contain, control or divert the flow of water so as to provide protection from temporary flooding.
means a flood protection system which consists of a levee, or levees, and associated structures, such as closure and drainage devices, which are constructed and operated in accord with sound engineering practices.
means 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 it conforms to applicable non-elevation design requirements, including, but not limited to,
The wet floodproofing standard in Section 15.32.155(C);
The anchoring standards in Section 15.32.155(A);
The construction materials and methods standards in Section 15.32.155(B); and
The standards for utilities in Section 15.32.160.
means 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 one hundred eighty consecutive days.
means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for sale or rent.
shall be determined by estimating the cost to replace the structure in new condition and adjusting that cost figure by the amount of depreciation, which has accrued since the structure was constructed. The cost of replacement of the structure shall be based on a square foot cost factor determined by reference to a building cost estimating guide recognized by the building construction industry. The amount of depreciation shall be determined by taking into account the age and physical deterioration of the structure and functional obsolescence as approved by the Floodplain Administrator, but shall not include economic or other forms of external obsolescence. Use of replacement costs or other depreciation factors different from those contained in recognized building cost estimating guides may be considered only if such factors are included in a report prepared by an independent professional appraiser and supported by a written explanation of the differences.
means, 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.
means, for floodplain management purposes, structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of a flood-plain management regulation adopted by this community.
means 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 construction of streets, the installation of utilities, and either final site grading or pouring of concrete pads] is completed on or after the effective date of floodplain management regulations adopted by this community.
includes, but is not limited to, any dam, wall, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, protection, excavation, channelization, bridge, conduit, culvert, building, wire, fence, rock, gravel, refuse, fill, structure, vegetation or other material in, along, across or projecting into any watercourse which may impede, alter, retard or change the direction and/or velocity of the flow of water, or due to its location, its propensity to snare or collect debris carried by the flow of water, or its likelihood of being carried downstream.
means a flood which has a one percent annual probability of being equaled or exceeded. It is identical to the "base flood," which will be the term used throughout this chapter.
means an individual or his or her agent, firm, partnership, association or corporation, or agent of the aforementioned groups, or this state or its agencies or political subdivisions.
means 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.
means to bring the structure or other development into compliance with state or local floodplain management regulations, or, if this is not possible, to reduce the impact of its non-compliance. Ways that impacts may be reduced include protecting the structure or other affected development from flood damages, implementing the enforcement provisions of this chapter or otherwise deterring future similar violations, or reducing federal financial exposure with regard to the structure or other development.
means relating to, formed by or resembling a river (including tributaries), stream, brook, etc.
means an area having special flood or flood-related erosion hazards, and shown on an FHBM or FIRM as zone A, AD, Al-30, AE, A99, AH, VO, V1-V30, VE or V.
includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, placement or other improvement was within one hundred eighty 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.
means a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally aboveground, as well as a manufactured home.
means 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 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
means any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent of the market value of the structure either:
Before the improvement or repair is started; or
If the structure has been damaged, and is being restored, before the damage occurred.
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. The term does not, however, include either: | |
i. | Any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions; or |
ii. | Any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places. |
means a grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this chapter.
means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations. A certification, or other evidence of compliance required in this chapter, is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
means the height, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, (or other datum, where specified) of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.
means a lake, river, creek, stream, wash, arroyo, 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.
(Ord. 88-3, 1988; Ord. 02-01, 2002)