Definitions
Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in this division pertain to floodplain management, have the same meaning as they have in common usage and to give this division its most reasonable application.
Accessory structure means a structure which is on the same parcel of property as the principal structure to be insured and the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure.
Area of shallow flooding (for a community with AO or AH zones only) means a designated AO, AH, AR/AO, AR/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.
Area of special flood hazard. See definition for "special flood hazard area".
Base flood means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
Base flood elevation (BFE) means the elevation of the crest of the base flood or 100-year flood. The height, as established in relation to the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 (or other datum where specified), in relation to mean sea level expected to be reached by the waters of the base flood at pertinent points in the floodplains of coastal and riverine areas.
Basement means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
Building. See definition for "structure".
Coastal A zone means an area within a special flood hazard area, landward of a V zone or landward of an open coast without mapped V zones. The principal source of flooding must be astronomical tides, storm surges, seiches, or tsunamis, not riverine flooding. During the base flood conditions, the potential for breaking wave heights shall be greater than or equal to one and one-half feet.
Cost means as related to substantial improvements, the cost of any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, alteration, repair or other improvement of a structure shall be established by a detailed written contractor's estimate. The estimate shall include, but not be limited to: the cost of materials (interior finishing elements, structural elements, utility and service equipment); sales tax on materials, building equipment and fixtures, including heating and air conditioning and utility meters; labor; built-in appliances; demolition and site preparation; repairs made to damaged parts of the building worked on at the same time; contractor's overhead; contractor's profit; and grand total. Items to be excluded include: cost of plans and specifications, survey costs, permit fees, costs to correct code violations subsequent to a violation notice, outside improvements such as septic systems, water supply wells, landscaping, sidewalks, fences, yard lights, irrigation systems, and detached structures such as garages, sheds, and gazebos.
Development means any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to, the construction of buildings or structures; the construction of additions, alterations or substantial improvements to buildings or structures; the placement of buildings or structures; mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment; the storage, deposition, or extraction of materials; and the installation, repair or removal of public or private sewage disposal systems or water supply facilities.
Dry floodproofing means any combination of structural and nonstructural protection measures incorporated in a building that is not elevated above the base flood elevation that keeps water from entering the building to prevent or minimize flood damage. Note: For insurance purposes, a dry floodproofed, nonresidential structure is rated based on the elevation of its lowest floor unless it is floodproofed to one foot above the BFE.
Existing manufactured home park or manufactured home subdivision means a manufactured home park or manufactured home subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured home are to be affixed (including, as 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.
Expansion to an existing manufactured home park or manufactured home subdivision means the preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufacturing homes are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) means the federal agency that administers the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Finished living space means fully enclosed areas below the base flood elevation (BFE) that are not considered a basement cannot have finished living space and needs to be designed to be exposed to flood forces. These spaces can only be used for parking, building access or limited storage. Finished living space can include, but is not limited to, a space that is heated and/or cooled, contains finished floors (tile, linoleum, hardwood, etc.), has sheetrock walls that may or may not be painted or wallpapered, and other amenities such as furniture, appliances, bathrooms, fireplaces and other items that are easily damaged by floodwaters and expensive to clean, repair or replace.
Flood orflooding means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from either the overflow of inland or tidal waters, or the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
Flood boundary and floodway map (FBFM) means the official map of a community on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has delineated the limits of the regulatory floodway and 100-year floodplain.
Flood insurance rate map (FIRM) means the official map of a community on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has delineated both the special flood hazard areas (100-year floodplain) and the insurance risk premium zones applicable to a community. A FIRM that has been made available digitally is called a digital flood insurance rate map (DFIRM).
Flood insurance study (FIS) means the official study of a community in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has conducted a technical engineering evaluation and determination of local flood hazards, flood profiles and water surface elevations. The flood insurance rate maps (FIRM), which accompany the FIS, provide both flood insurance rate zones and base flood elevations, and may provide the regulatory floodway limits.
Floodproofing means 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.
Floodway means 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 one foot. For the purposes of these regulations, the term "regulatory floodway" is synonymous in meaning with the term "floodway".
Freeboard means 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.
Functionally dependent use or facility means a use or facility that 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. The term does not include seafood processing facilities, long-term storage, manufacturing, sales or service facilities.
Highest adjacent grade (HAG) means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
Historic structure means any structure that is:
(1) 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;
(2) Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historic significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
(3) 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
(4) Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either:
a. By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or
b. Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
Limit of moderate wave action (LiMWA) means an advisory line indicating the limit of the one and one-half foot wave height during the base flood.
Lowest floor means 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 section 28-309.
Manufactured home means 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". NOTE: Manufactured homes are not allowed in Bristol. Reference the use table at section 28-82.
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.
Market value means the price of a structure that a willing buyer and seller agree upon. This can be determined by an independent appraisal by a professional appraiser; the property's tax assessment, minus land value; the replacement cost minus depreciation of the structure; the structure's actual cash value.
Mean sea level (MSL) means average height of the sea for all stages of the tide, usually determined from hourly height observations over a 19-year period on an open coast or in adjacent waters having free access to the sea. The National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 (or other datum where specified) to which base flood elevations shown on the community flood insurance rate map (FIRM) are referenced.
New construction means structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of an initial FIRM 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 the 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.
New manufactured home park or manufactured home subdivision means a manufactured home park or manufactured home 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 floodplain regulations adopted by the community.
Recreational vehicle means a vehicle which is:
(1) Built on a single chassis;
(2) Four hundred 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 a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
Regulatory floodway. See definition for "floodway".
Sand dunes mean naturally occurring accumulations of sand in ridges or mounds landward of the beach.
Sheet flow area (for community with AO, AH, or VO zones only). See definition for "area of shallow flooding".
Special flood hazard area (SFHA) means the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. After detailed ratemaking has been completed in preparation for publication of the flood insurance rate map, zone A usually is refined into zones A, AO, AH, A1-30, AE, A99, AR, AR/A1-30, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/AH, AR/A, VO, or V1-30, VE or V. For purposes of these regulations, the term "special flood hazard area" is synonymous in meaning with the phrase "area of special flood hazard".
Start of construction means for other than new construction or substantial improvements under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. 97-348), includes substantial improvement and means 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, 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, piers, or foundations or the erections 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.
Structure means, for floodplain management purposes, a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home. For insurance purposes, "structure" means:
(1) A building with two or more outside rigid walls and a fully secured roof, that is affixed to a permanent site;
(2) A manufactured home ("a manufactured home" also known as a mobile home, is a structure; built on permanent chassis, transported to its site in one or more sections, and affixed to a permanent foundation); or,
(3) A travel trailer without wheels, built on a chassis and affixed to a permanent foundation, that is regulated under the community's floodplain management and building ordinance or laws.
For the latter purposes, "structure" does not mean recreational vehicle or a park trailer or other similar vehicle, except as described in subsection (3) of this definition, or a gas or liquid storage tank.
Substantial damage means damage of any origin sustained by a structure, whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its pre-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
Substantial improvement means any combination of repairs, reconstruction, rehabilitation, alterations, additions or other improvements to a structure, taking place during a ten-year period, in which the cumulative cost equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure as determined at the beginning of such ten-year period. This term includes structures that have incurred "substantial damage", regardless of the actual repair work performed. For 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:
(1) 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
(2) Any alteration of a "historic" structure, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a "historic structure".
Variance means a grant of relief by a community from the terms of the floodplain management ordinance that allows construction in a manner otherwise prohibited and where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship.
Violation means failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community's floodplain management ordinance. Construction or other development without required permits, lowest floor elevation documentation, floodproofing certificates or required floodway encroachment calculations is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
Water surface elevation means the height, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 (or other datum, where specified), of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.
Wet floodproofing means measures designed to minimize damage to a structure or its contents by water that is allowed into a building.
(Ord. No. 2014-07, 6-25-14)