Section
175-75
DEFINITIONS
A.
BASE FLOOD - The
flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any
given
year.
B.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency designated as the Special
Flood
Hazard Area.
C.
BASEMENT - Any area
of the building having its floor sub-grade (below ground level) on all
sides.
D.
BOARD OF ZONING
APPEALS - The Board appointed to review appeals made by individuals
with
regard to decisions of the Zoning Administrator in the interpretation
of this
ordinance.
E.
BREAKAWAY WALL - 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.
F.
DEVELOPMENT- Any
man-made 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.
G.
ELEVATED BUILDING
- A non-basement building built to have the lowest floor elevated
above
the ground level by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter walls,
pilings,
or columns (posts and piers).
H.
ENCROACHMENT - The
advance or infringement of uses, plant growth, fills, excavation,
buildings,
permanent structures or development into a floodplain, which may impede
or
alter the flow capacity of a floodplain.
I.
FLOOD OR FLOODING
-
1.
A general or temporary condition of partial
or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
a. The
overflow of
inland or tidal waters; or,
b. The
unusual and
rapid accumulation or run-off of surface waters from any source.
2.
The collapse or subsistence 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 flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly
unusual
and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in
paragraph (1)
(a) of this definition.
J.
FLOODPLAIN OR
FLOOD-PRONE AREA - Any land area susceptible to being inundated by
water
from any source.
K.
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.
L.
FREEBOARD - 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 in the watershed.
M.
FLOOD-PROOFING - any
combination of structural and non-structural 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..
N.
LOWEST FLOOR – The
lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). 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
non-elevation
design requirements of Federal Code 44CFR §60.3.
O.
NEW CONSTRUCTION -
For the purposes of determining insurance rates, structures for which
the
“start of construction” commenced on or after the effective date of
an
initial Flood Insurance Rate Map on or after December 31,
1974,
whichever is later, and includes any subsequent improvements to such
structures. For floodplain management purposes,
new
construction means structures for which start of
construction
commenced on or after the effective
date
of a floodplain management regulation adopted
by a
community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
P.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
- A vehicle which is:
1. Built on a single
chassis;
2. 400 square feet or
less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
3. Designed to be
self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck; and,
4.
Designed primarily not for use as a
permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational
camping,
travel, or seasonal use.
Q.
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD
AREA - The land in the floodplain subject to a one (1%) percent or
greater
chance of being flooded in any given year, commonly known as the
one-hundred (100) year floodplain.
R.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
- The date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of
construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition,
placement,
substantial improvement 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 slab or
footings,
the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work
beyond the
stage of excavation. Permanent construction does not include
land preparation,
such as clearing, grading and filling; 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 the 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.
S.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
- Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of
restoring
the structure to it’s before damaged condition would equal
or exceed 50 percent
of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
T.
SUBSTANTIAL
IMPROVEMENT - Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or
other
improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50
percent 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 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.
U.
WATERCOURSE - A
lake, river, creek, stream, wash, channel or other topographic feature
on or
over which waters flow at least periodically. Watercourse
includes
specifically designated areas in which substantial flood damage may
occur.