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)