Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this document
shall be interpreted so as to give them the same meaning as they have in common
usage and so as to give this document 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 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.
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 or 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 aboveground, 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.