Specific definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
BASE FLOOD
A flood which has a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year (formerly called the "one-hundred-year
flood").
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE)
The elevation shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)
for Zones AE, AH, A1-30 that indicates the water surface elevation
resulting from a flood that has a one-percent or greater chance of
being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
BASEMENT
Any area of the building having its floor below ground level
on all sides.
BUILDING
Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls
and intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals
or property, including covered porches or bay windows and chimneys.
COMPLETELY DRY SPACE
A space which will remain totally dry during flooding; the
structure is designed and constructed to prevent the passage of water
and water vapors.
CONSTRUCTION
The construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, extension,
expansion, alteration or relocation of a building or structure, including
the placement of manufactured homes.
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to the construction, reconstruction, renovation,
repair, expansion, or alteration of buildings or other structures;
the placement of manufactured homes; streets and other paving; utilities;
filling, grading, excavation; mining; dredging; drilling operations;
storage of equipment or materials; and the subdivision of land.
ESSENTIALLY DRY SPACE
A space which will remain dry during flooding, except for
the passage of some water vapor or minor seepage; the structure is
substantially impermeable.
EXISTING USE
The use of a lot or structure at the time of the enactment
of this chapter.
FLOOD
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
The official map on which the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) or Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) has delineated
both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones
applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY (FIS)
The official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration
that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map, the Flood
Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation of the
base flood.
FLOODPLAIN
A relatively flat or low land area which is subject to partial
or complete inundation from an adjoining or nearby stream, river or
watercourse, and/or any area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation
of surface waters from any source.
FLOODPLAIN ADMINISTRATOR
The person or persons appointed by the Board of Supervisors to administer and enforce both Article XV of Chapter
195 and Chapter
108, Floodplain Management. For this chapter, this would be the Codes Administrator or his designee.
FLOODPROOFING
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.
FLOODWAY
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.
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
HISTORIC STRUCTURES
Any structure that is:
(1)
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; or
(2)
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; or
(3)
Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places
in states which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior;
or
(4)
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation that have been certified
by either an approved state program as determined by the Secretary
of the Interior or directly by the Secretary in states without approved
programs.
IDENTIFIED FLOODPLAIN DISTRICT
The floodplain area specifically identified in this chapter
as being inundated by the base or one-percent-annual-chance flood
event (BFE). Included would be districts identified as Floodway (FW),
Flood-Fringe (FF) and General Floodplain (FA).
LOWEST FLOOR
The lowest enclosed area (including basement) of a structure.
An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for the
parking of vehicles, building access or incidental 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.
MANUFACTURED HOME
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, recreational vehicles, and
other similar vehicles on a site for greater than 180 consecutive
days. For insurance purposes, the term "manufactured home" does not
include park trailers, travel trailers, recreational vehicles, and
other similar vehicles.
MINOR REPAIR
The replacement of existing work with equivalent materials
for the purpose of its routine maintenance and upkeep, but not including
the cutting away of any wall, partition or portion thereof, the removal
of any structural beam or bearing support, or the removal or change
of any required means of egress, or rearrangement of parts of a structure
affecting the exitway requirements; nor shall minor repairs include
addition to, alteration of, replacement of or relocation of any standpipe,
water supply, sewer drainage, drain leader, gas, soil, waste, vent
of similar piping, electric wiring or mechanical or other work affecting
public health or general safety.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after March 17, 1980, and includes subsequent improvements thereto.
OBSTRUCTION
Any wall, dam, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile abutment,
projection, excavation, channel, rectification, culvert, building,
fence, stockpile, refuse, fill, structure or matter in, along, across
or projecting into any channel, watercourse or flood-prone area which
may impede, retard or change the direction of the flow of water either
in itself or by catching or collecting debris carried by such water
or in places where the flow of the water might carry the same downstream
to the damage of life and property.
ONE-PERCENT-ANNUAL-CHANCE FLOOD EVENT (BFE)
A flood that on average is likely to occur 1% of the time
within a given year. Otherwise known as a "base flood." This used
to be referred to as a "one-hundred-year flood."
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE (for floodplain management ordinance only)
A vehicle which is built on a single chassis, is not greater
than 400 square feet at full expansion, is either self-propelled or
towable by a light-duty truck, is not designed for use as a permanent
dwelling, but is designed for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal
use.
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA (SFHA)
An area in the floodplain subject to a one-percent or greater
chance of flooding within any given year. It is shown on the FIRM
as Zone A, AO, A1-30, AE, A99, or AH.
SPECIAL PERMIT
A special approval which is required when such development
is totally or partially located in a designated portion of a floodplain.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
The date a building permit is issued for any new or modification
to a structure, provided that the actual start of construction, repair,
reconstruction, placement or other improvement was within 180 days
of the permit date. "Actual start" means either the first placement
of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring
of a 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. For the purposes of this chapter,
construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing,
grading and filling; the installation of streets and/or walkways;
excavation for a basement, footings, piers or foundation or the erection
of temporary forms; 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,
"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 the external dimensions of the building.
STRUCTURE
A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage
tank that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
SUBDIVISION
The division, combination, or redivision of a lot, tract
or parcel of land by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels
or other divisions of land, including changes in existing lot lines
for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition
by a court for distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership
or building or lot development. The leasing of land for agricultural
purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres, not involving any new
streets or easement of access, shall be exempted.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
Damage from any cause sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% or more 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.
This term includes structures which have incurred substantial damage
regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not
include 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.
This term also does not include any alteration of an historic structure,
provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's
continued designation as an historic structure.
UNIFORM CONSTRUCTION CODE (UCC)
The statewide building code adopted by the Pennsylvania General
Assembly in 1999, as amended, applicable to new construction in all
municipalities, whether administered by the municipality, a third
party, or the Department of Labor and Industry. Applicable to residential
and commercial buildings, the Code adopted the International Residential
Code (IRC) and the International Building Code (IBC), by reference
and as amended, as the construction standard applicable with the state
floodplain construction.
VIOLATION
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
44 CFR 60.3(b)(5), (c)(4), (c)(10), (d)(3), (e)(2), (e)(4), or (e)(5)
is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation
is provided.