Unless specifically defined below, words or
phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them
the same meaning as they have in common usage and so as to give this
chapter its most reasonable application.
APPEAL
A request for a review of the Local Administrator's interpretation
of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
BASEMENT
That portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
CELLAR
The same meaning as "basement."
CRAWL SPACE
An enclosed area beneath the lowest elevated floor, 18 inches
or more in height, which is used to service the underside of the lowest
elevated floor. The elevation of the floor of this enclosed area,
which may be of soil, gravel, concrete or other material, must be
equal to or above the lowest adjacent exterior grade. The enclosed
crawl space area shall be properly vented to allow for the equalization
of hydrostatic forces which would be experienced during periods of
flooding.
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining,
dredging, filling, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage
of equipment or materials.
EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
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 complete before the effective date of
the floodplain management regulations adopted by the community.
EXPANSION TO AN EXISTING MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
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 the pouring of concrete
pads).
FLOOD or FLOODING
A.
A general and temporary condition of partial
or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(1)
The overflow of inland or tidal waters;
(2)
The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff
of surface waters from any source.
B.
"Flood" or "Flooding" also means 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 a 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) above.
FLOODPROOFING
Any combination of structural and non-structural 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.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
Any structure that is:
A.
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;
B.
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;
C.
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
D.
Individually listed on a local inventory of
historic places in communities with historic preservation programs
that have been certified either:
(1)
By an approved state program as determined by
the Secretary of the Interior; or
(2)
Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in
states without approved programs.
LOCAL ADMINISTRATOR
The person appointed by the community to administer and implement
this chapter by granting or denying development permits in accordance
with its provisions. This person is often the Code Enforcement Officer,
Building Inspector or employee of an engineering department.
MANUFACTURED HOME
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without
a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The
term does not include a "recreational vehicle."
PERSON
Includes any individual or group of individuals, corporation,
partnership, association, or any other entity, including state and
local governments and agencies.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
Includes substantial improvement and means the initiation,
excluding planning and design, of any phase of a project, physical
alteration of the property, and shall include land preparation, such
as clearing, grading, and filling; installation of streets and/or
walkways; excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations
or the erection of temporary forms. It also includes the placement
and/or installation on the property of accessory buildings (garages,
sheds), storage trailers, and building materials. For manufactured
homes, the "actual start" means affixing of the manufactured home
to its permanent site.
STRUCTURE
A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage
tank, that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured
home.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
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.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
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 includes structures which have incurred substantial damage,
regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not,
however, include either:
A.
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
B.
Any alteration of an historic structure provided
that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation
as an "historic structure."
VARIANCE
A grant of relief by a community from the terms of a floodplain
management regulation.