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 any action that will change the location of the channel occupied by water within the banks of any portion of a riverine waterbody.
means an area that appears on FIRMS as AO zones with depth designations. The base flood depths in these zones range from one to three feet above ground where a clearly defined channel does not exist, or where the path of flooding is unpredictable and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is usually characterized as sheet flow. Further provisions for AO zones are laid out in CRMC § 15.24.270 for residential structures, and CRMC § 15.24.280 for nonresidential structures.
means a request for a review of the building official's or their designee'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. AO is characterized as sheet flow and AH indicates ponding.
means the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Designation on the FIRM always includes the letter A. "Special flood hazard area" is synonymous in meaning with the phrase "area of special flood hazard."
means the most recently published version of ASCE 24, Flood Resistant Design and Construction, published by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also referred to as the "100-year flood").
means the elevation to which floodwater is anticipated to rise during the base flood.
means any area of the building having its floor sub-grade (below ground level) on all sides.
is synonymous with "structure."
means the currently effective versions of the International Building Code and the International Residential Code adopted by the state of Washington and city of Castle Rock.
means a facility for which even a slight chance of flooding might be too great. Critical facilities include, but are not limited to, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, police, fire and emergency response installations, and installations which produce, use or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste.
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 located within the area of special flood hazard.
means, for insurance purposes, a nonbasement building that has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, posts, piers, pilings, or columns.
means an administrative tool of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that can be used to provide elevation information, to determine the proper insurance premium rate, and to support a request for a letter of map amendment (LOMA) or letter of map revision based on fill (LOMR-F).
This term has the same meaning as "essential facility" defined in ASCE 24. Table 1-1 in ASCE 24-14 further identifies building occupancies that are essential facilities.
means the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
means:
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
The overflow of inland or tidal waters.
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
Mudslides (i.e., mudflows) which are proximately caused by flooding as defined in subsection (1)(b) 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 (1)(a) of this definition.
means an examination, evaluation and determination of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations, or an examination, evaluation and determination of mudslide (i.e., mudflow) and/or flood-related erosion hazards. Also known as a Flood Insurance Study (FIS).
means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards 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).
means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source. See "Flood or flooding."
means the community official designated by title to administer and enforce the floodplain management regulations.
means any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate risk of flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures, and their contents. Floodproofed structures are those that have the structural integrity and design to be impervious to floodwater below the base flood elevation.
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 a designated height. Also referred to as "regulatory floodway."
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 ship building and ship repair facilities, and does not include long-term storage or related manufacturing facilities.
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 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:
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 chapter found at CRMC § 15.24.270(B).
means a single-family residence constructed after June 15, 1976, in accordance with state and federal requirements for manufactured homes which:
Is comprised of at least two fully enclosed parallel sections each of not less than 12 feet wide by 36 feet long;
Was originally constructed with and now has a composition or wood shake or shingle, coated metal, or similar roof of nominal 3:12 pitch; and
Has exterior siding similar in appearance to siding materials commonly used on conventional site-built Uniform Building Code single-family residences.
means a plot of ground divided into lots or sites under the ownership and/or management of one person for the purpose of locating manufactured homes for dwelling purposes.
means, for purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the vertical datum to which base flood elevations shown on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.
means structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter.
is synonymous with "base flood."
means development that is designed and built to be safe from flooding based on consideration of current flood elevation studies, historical data, high water marks and other reliable data known to the community. In unnumbered A zones where flood elevation information is not available and cannot be obtained by practicable means, reasonably safe from flooding means that the lowest floor is at least two feet above the highest adjacent grade.
means a vehicle that 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.
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 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 foundation 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 that which is built or constructed, an edifice or building or structure, such as foundations, bearing walls, columns, beams, floor or floor joists, girders or rafters, or changes in the exterior dimensions of the building or structure, or increase in floor space. A "structure" for floodplain management purposes also 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.
"Substantial improvement"a. b.
means any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 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:
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
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. Criteria for a floodplain variance is outlined in CRMC § 15.24.170.
means a structure for commerce or industry which cannot exist in any other location and is dependent on the water by reason of the intrinsic nature of its operations.
means the height, in relation to the vertical datum utilized in the applicable flood insurance study of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.
(Ord. 88-14 § 2.0, 1988; Ord. 2015-12 § 1, 2015; Ord. 2023-05, 2023)