Unless specifically defined below, words and
phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give this
chapter its most reasonable application.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A use or structure on the same lot with, and of a nature
customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal use or structure.
Any area of the building having its floor below ground level
on all sides.
A combination of materials to form a permanent structure
having walls and a roof; included shall be all manufactured homes
and trailers to be used for human habitation.
A space which will remain totally dry during flooding; the
structure is designed and constructed to prevent the passage of water
and water vapor.
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 and excavation; mining; dredging; drilling operations;
storage of equipment or materials; and the subdivision of land.
A space which will remain dry during flooding, except for
the passage of some water vapor or minor seepage; the structure is
substantially impermeable to the passage of water.
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
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.
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.
The designated area of a floodplain required to carry and
discharge floodwaters of a given magnitude. For the purposes of this
chapter, the floodway shall be capable of accommodating a flood of
the one-hundred-year magnitude.
Any structure that is:
Listed individually in the National Register
of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of 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 Interior; or
Individually listed on a local inventory of
historic places in communities with historic preservation programs
that have been certified either by an approved state program as determined
by the Secretary of the Interior or directly by the Secretary of the
Interior in states without approved programs.
The floodplain area specifically identified in this chapter
as being inundated by the one-hundred-year flood.
Any of the following activities:
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous
lots, tracts, or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
A group of two or more residential or nonresidential
buildings, whether proposed initially or cumulatively, or a single
nonresidential building on a lot or lots, regardless of the number
of occupants or tenure; or
The division or allocation of land or space,
whether initially or cumulatively, between or among two or more existing
or prospective occupants by means of, or for the purpose of, streets,
common areas, leaseholds, condominiums, building groups or other features.
A subdivision of land.
The lowest floor of the lowest fully enclosed area (including
basement). An unfinished, flood-resistant partially enclosed area,
used solely for parking of vehicles, building access, and incidental
storage, in an area other than a basement area is not considered the
lowest floor of a building, provided that such space is not designed
and built so that the structure is in violation of the applicable
nonelevation design requirements of this chapter.
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 includes park trailers, travel trailers and recreational and
other similar vehicles which are placed on a site for more than 180
consecutive days.
A parcel of land under single ownership which has been planned
and improved for the placement of two or more manufactured homes for
nontransient use.
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
or cutting 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,
oil, waste, vent, or similar piping, electric wiring or mechanical
or other work affecting public health or general safety.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date and includes any subsequent improvements
thereto.
A flood that, on the average, is likely to occur once every
100 years (i.e., that has a one-percent chance of occurring each year,
although the flood may occur in any year).
An individual, partnership, public or private association
or corporation, firm, trust, estate, municipality, governmental unit,
public utility or any other legal entity whatsoever which is recognized
by law as the subject of rights and duties.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Not more than 400 square feet, measured at the
largest horizontal projections;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently
towable by a light-duty truck;
Not designed for use as a permanent dwelling
but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel,
or seasonal use.
The one-hundred-year-flood elevation, plus a freeboard safety
factor of 1 1/2 feet.
Flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two separate
occasions during a ten-year period for which the cost of repairs at
the time of each such flood event, on average, equals or exceeds 25%
of the market value of the structure before the damages occurred.
A special approval which is required for hospitals, nursing
homes, jails, and new manufactured home parks and subdivisions, and
substantial improvements to such existing parks, when such development
is located in all, or a designated portion of, a floodplain.
Anything constructed or erected on the ground or attached
to the ground, including but not limited to buildings, sheds, manufactured
homes, and other similar items. This term includes any man-made object
having an ascertainable stationary location on or in land or water,
whether or not affixed to land.
The division 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 the court
for distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership or building
or lot development; provided, however, that the subdivision by lease
of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres,
not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential
dwelling, shall be exempted.
Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of an existing
manufactured home park or manufactured home subdivision where such
repair, reconstruction, or improvement of the streets, utilities,
and pads will equal or exceed 50% of the value of the streets, utilities,
and pads before the repair, reconstruction, or improvement is started.
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.
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
or repetitive loss, regardless of the actual repair work performed.
The term does not, however, include either:
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
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided
that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation
as an historic structure.
The statewide building code adopted by the Pennsylvania General
Assembly in 1999, 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, as the construction
standard applicable to the commonwealth floodplain construction. For
coordination purposes, references to the above are made specifically
to various sections of the IRC and the IBC.[1]
