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FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM) An official map of a community on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY See "flood elevation study."

FLOODPLAIN or FLOOD-PRONE AREA Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source (see definition of "flooding").

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 same meaning as "regulatory floodway."

FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE A use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water, such as a docking or port facility necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, shipbuilding, and ship repair facilities. The term does not include long-term storage, manufacturing, sales, or service facilities.

HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE The highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior to construction, next to the proposed walls of a structure.

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...

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 Building Inspector, Code Enforcement Officer, or employee of an engineering department.

LOWEST FLOOR Lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement or cellar). An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access, or 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 designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The term does not include a "recreational vehicle."

MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.

MEAN SEA LEVEL For purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.

MOBILE HOME The same meaning as "manufactured home."

NEW CONSTRUCTION Structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by the community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structure.

ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOOD or 100-YEAR FLOOD The same meaning as "base flood."

PRINCIPALLY ABOVE GROUND That at least 51% of the actual cash value of the structure, excluding land value, is above ground.

RECREATIONAL VEHICLE A vehicle which is: A. Built on a single chassis; B. Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections; C. Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and D. Not designed primarily for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

REGULATORY 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 a designated height as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a Flood Insurance Study or by other agencies as provided in § 152-14B of this chapter.

START OF CONSTRUCTION A. The date of permit issuance for new construction and substantial improvements to existing structures, provided that actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition placement, or other improvement is within 180 days after the date of issuance. The actual start of construction means the first placement of permanent construction of a building (including a manufactured home) on a site, such as the pouring of a slab or footings, installation of pilings or construction of columns. B. Permanent construction does not include land preparation (such as clearing, excavation, grading, or filling), or the installation of streets or walkways, or excavation for a basement, footings, piers or foundations, or the ere...