Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this article shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this article its most reasonable application.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Appeal" means a request for a review of the floodplain administrator's interpretation of any provision of this article or a request for a variance.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Area of shallow flooding" 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.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
See Special flood hazard area.
(Ord. 1464, 5 2)
"Base flood" means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the "one-hundred-year flood").
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Basement" means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Development" 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.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Flood" or "flooding" means a general and temporary condition or partial or complete foundation of normally dry land areas from:
(a) 
The overflow of floodwaters;
(b) 
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; and/or
(c) 
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 by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in this definition.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Flood Boundary and Floodway Map" means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of flood hazard and the floodway.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)" means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated the areas of special flood hazard, the flow way, and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
(Ord. 1464 § 2; Ord. 2101, 2005)
"Flood Insurance Study" means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles, the FIRM, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
(Ord. 1464 § 2; Ord. 2101, 2005)
"Floodplain" or "flood-prone area" means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source (see Flooding).
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Floodplain management" 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.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Flood-plain management regulations" means zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as floodplain ordinances and grading ordinances) 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.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Floodproofing" 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.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Floodway" 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 flood-way."
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Highest adjacent grade" means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Lowest floor" 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 that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable nonelevation design requirements of this article.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Manufactured home" 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 greater than one hundred eighty consecutive days.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Manufactured home park or subdivision" means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for sale or rent.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Mean sea level" 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.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"New construction" means, for floodplain management purposes, structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by this community.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"One-hundred-year flood" or "100-year flood" 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 article.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Person" means an individual or his or her agent, firm, partnership, association or corporation, or agent of the aforementioned groups, or the state or its agencies or political subdivisions.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Remedy a violation" 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 impacts of its noncompliance. Ways that impacts may be reduced include protecting the structure or other affected development from flood damages, implementing the enforcement provisions of the ordinance or otherwise deterring future similar violations, or reducing federal financial exposure with regard to the structure or other development.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Riverine" means relating to, formed by, or resembling a river (including tributaries, stream, brook, etc).
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Special flood hazard area (SFHA)" means an area having special flood hazard and shown on a FIRM as Zone A, AO, AI-30, AE, A99, or AH.
(Ord. 1464 § 2; Ord. 2101, 2005)
"Start of construction" 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. 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 external dimensions of the building.
(Ord. 1464 § 2; Ord. 2101, 2005)
"Structure" means a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above ground, as well as manufactured home.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
(a) 
"Substantial improvement" means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other proposed new development of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent 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:
(1) 
Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations or 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 alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a "historic structure."
(b) 
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:
(1) 
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
(2) 
Any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historical Places or a State Inventory of Historical Places.
(Ord. 1464 § 2; Ord. 2101, 2005)
"Variance" means a grant of relief from the requirements of this article which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this article.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)
"Violation" means 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 article is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
(Ord. 1464 § 2)