§ 15-24. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Appeal means a request for a review of the administrator's interpretation of any provision of this article or a request for a variance.

Area of shallow flooding means a designated AO zone on a community's flood insurance rate map with base flood depths from one to three feet. This condition occurs where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate, and where velocity flow may be evident.

Area of special flood hazard is the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

Base flood means the flood having a one percent chance of being equalled or exceeded in any given year.

Critical feature means an integral and readily identifiable part of a flood protection system, without which the flood protection provided by the entire system would be comprised.

Development means 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.

Fill plan means a scaled site plan showing information listed below:

a.

Elevations at all property corners and the proposed finished floor elevations for all building improvements;

b.

Location and dimensions of the fill/excavation footprint;

c.

Proposed elevation of all proposed paving within the property, such as driveway, patio, etc.;

d.

Net volume of fill to be hauled in to the site in cubic yards;

e.

The location of any drainage servitudes or waterways near the property.

Note: Elevation can be either MSL or relative. If relative, please show your reference elevation and location.

Flood or flooding means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation or normally dry land areas from:

(1)

The overflow of inland or tidal waters.

(2)

The unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters from any source.

Flood hazard boundary map (FHBM) means an official map of a community, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where the areas within the boundaries of special flood hazards have been designated as zone A.

Flood insurance rate map (FIRM) means an official map of a community on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and risk premium zones applicable to the community.

Floodway means the channel of a river of 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 one foot.

Freeboard means a factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for the purposes of floodplain management. "Freeboard" tends to compensate for the many unknown factors that could contribute to flood heights greater than the heights calculated for a selected size flood and floodway conditions, such as wave action, bridge openings, and the hydrological effect of urbanization of the watershed.

Functionally dependent use means a use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term includes only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and ship building and ship repair facilities, but does not include longterm storage or related manufacturing facilities.

Grade means the heights of a surface relative to a fixed height such as mean sea level (MSL).

Habitable floor means any floor usable for living purposes, which includes working, sleeping, eating or cooking or a combination thereof. A floor used for storage purposes only is not a "habitable floor."

Levee system means a flood protection system which consists of a levee, or levees, and associated structures, such as closure and drainage devices, which are constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering practices.

Manufactured home means 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. It does not include recreational vehicles or travel trailers.

Manufactured home park or manufactured home subdivision means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lot on which the manufactured home is to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, either final site grading or the paving of concrete pads, and the construction of streets) is completed on or after the effective date of Ordinance No. 2143.

Mean sea level (MSL) means, for the purpose of the National Flood Insurance Program, the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community's flood insurance rate map area referenced.

Natural grade or natural ground grade means the existing elevation of land prior to any manmade changes or prior to a proposed change in grade.

Ordinary water mark means that mark on lakes, rivers, and streams that will be found by examining the bed and banks and determining where the presence and action of waters are so common and usual, and so long continued in ordinary years, as to leave a mark on the soil.

Start of construction means the date the building permit was issued, provided that the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, 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 slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of execution; 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 excavations for a basement, footings, 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.

Structure means a walled and roofed building that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.

Substantial improvement means any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure either before the improvement or repair is started, or if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. For the purposes of this definition, substantial improvement is considered to occur when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor or other structural part of the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure. The term does not, however, include either any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to ensure safe living conditions, or any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a state inventory of historic places.

Variances means a grant of relief to a person from the requirements of this article when specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship. A variance, therefore, permits construction and development in a manner otherwise prohibited by this article.

(Code 1966, § 7-24; Ord. No. 3269, 5-10-2005; Ord. No. 3343, 9-12-2006)

Cross reference

Definitions generally, § 1-2.