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.
A request for a review of the Construction Code Official's
interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a
variance.
A designated AO, AH, or VO Zone on a community's Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) with a one-percent or greater annual chance of flooding
to an average depth of one to three feet where a clearly defined channel
does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and where
velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding
or sheet flow.
[Amended 9-19-1995 by Ord. No. 2182]
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to
a one-percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It
is shown on the FIRM as Zone V, VE, V1-30, A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99,
or AH.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by Ord. No. 19-2550]
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year.
The flood elevation shown on a published Flood Insurance
Study (FIS) including the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). For Zones
AE, AH, AO, and A1-30, the elevation represents 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.
[Added 7-16-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-2550]
Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
A wall that is not part of the structural support of the
building and is intended through its design and construction to collapse
under specific lateral loading forces without causing damage to the
elevated portion of the building or supporting foundation system.
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,
or storage of equipment or materials located within the area of special
flood hazard.
[Amended 9-19-1995 by Ord. No. 2182]
A nonbasement building:
[Amended 7-16-2019 by Ord. No. 19-2550]
Built in the case of a building in an area of special flood
hazard to have the top of the elevated floor or in the case of a building
in a coastal high-hazard area to have the bottom of the lowest horizontal
structural member of the elevated floor elevated above the base flood
elevation plus freeboard ground level by means of pilings, columns
(posts and piers), or shear walls parallel to the flow of the water;
and
Adequately anchored so as not to impair the structural integrity
of the building during a flood of up to the magnitude of the base
flood.
In an area of special flood hazard "elevated building" also
includes a building elevated by means of fill or solid foundation
perimeter walls with opening(s) sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded
movement of floodwaters.
In areas of coastal high hazard "elevated building" also includes
a building otherwise meeting the definition of "elevated building"
even though the lower area is enclosed by means of breakaway walls.
The process of gradual wearing away of land masses.
[Added 7-16-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-2550]
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 completed before the effective date of
the floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
[Added 7-16-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-2550]
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from:
The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration
has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk
premium zones applicable to the community.
The official report provided in which the Federal Insurance
Administration has provided flood profiles, as well as the Flood Boundary
- Floodway Map and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
Zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes,
health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as a floodplain
ordinance, grading ordinance and erosion control ordinance) and other
applications or 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.
[Added 9-19-1995 by Ord. No. 2182]
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.
[Added 7-16-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-2550]
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
0.2 feet.
A factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood
level for purposes of floodplain management. "Freeboard" tends to
compensate for the many unknown factors that could contribute to flood
heights greater than the height calculated for a selected size flood
and floodway conditions, such as wave action, bridge openings, and
the hydrological effect of urbanization of the watershed.
[Added 7-16-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-2550]
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed or existing walls of a structure.
[Added 7-12-2005 by Ord. No. 05-2358; amended 7-16-2019 by Ord. No.
19-2550]
Any structure that is:
[Added 9-19-1995 by Ord. No. 2182]
Listed individually in the National Register
of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of Interior)
or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of 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 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.
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).
An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for the
parking of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other than
a basement is not considered a building's lowest floor provided that
such enclosure is not built so to render the structure in violation
of other applicable non-elevation design requirements of 44 CFR 60.3.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by Ord. No. 19-2550]
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 attached to the required utilities. The
term "manufactured home" does not include a recreational vehicle.
[Amended 9-19-1995 by Ord. No. 2182]
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) or land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of a floodplain regulations adopted
by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
[Amended 9-19-1995 by Ord. No. 2182]
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 completed on or after the effective date
of the floodplain management regulations adopted by the municipality.
[Added 9-19-1995 by Ord. No. 2182]
A vehicle which is:
[Added 9-19-1995 by Ord. No. 2182]
Built on a single chassis;
Four hundred square feet or less when measured
at the longest horizontal projections;
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 improvements and means the date the
building permit was issued, provided that the actual start of construction,
repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, 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 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.
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 or 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 the external dimensions of the building.
[Amended 9-19-1995 by Ord. No. 2182]
A walled and roofed building, a manufactured home, or a gas
or liquid storage tank, that is principally above ground.
Damage of any origin sustained by the 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.
[Added 9-19-1995 by Ord. No. 2182]
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement
of a structure, the cost of which 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,
however, include either:
[Amended 9-19-1995 by Ord. No. 2182]
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 officer and which are the minimum necessary to assure
safe living conditions; or
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided
that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation
as a historic structure.
A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which
permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited
by this chapter.
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with this chapter. A new or substantially improved 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), (e)(2), (e)(4), or (e)(5) is presumed to be in violation
until such time as that documentation is provided.
[Added 7-16-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-2550]
