A. “Alteration of watercourse” means any action that will change the location of the channel occupied by water within the banks of any portion of a riverine waterbody.

B. “Appeal” means a request for a review of the building official’s interpretation of any provisions of this chapter or a request for a variance.

C. “Area of shallow flooding” means a designated zone AO, AH, AR/AO or AR/AH (or VO) 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. Also referred to as the sheet flow area.

D. “Area of special flood hazard” means the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the flood insurance rate map (FIRM) as zone A, AO, AH, A1-30, AE, A99, AR (V, VO, V1-30, VE). “Special flood hazard area” is synonymous in meaning with the phrase “area of special flood hazard.”

E. “Base flood” means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Also referred to as the “one-hundred-year flood.” Designated on flood insurance rate maps by the letters A or V.

F. “Basement” means any area of the building having its floor sub-grade (below ground level) on all sides.

G. “Best available information” means in absence of official flood insurance rate map data, communities can use data from federal, state, or other sources provided this data has either been generated using technically defensible methods or is based on reasonable historical analysis and experience.

H. “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 or storage of equipment or materials located within the area of special flood hazard or removal of substantial amounts of vegetation, or alteration of the natural site characteristics.

I. “Elevation certificate” means the official form (FEMA Form 086-0-33) used to track development, provide elevation information necessary to ensure compliance with community floodplain management ordinances, and determine the proper insurance premium rate with Section B completed by community officials.

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

K. “Flood damages” includes harmful inundation, water erosion of soil, stream banks and beds, stream channel shifting and changes, harmful deposition by water of eroded and shifting soils and debris upon property or in the beds of streams or other bodies of water, damages by high water to public roads, highways, bridges, utilities and to works built for protection against floods or inundation, the interruption by floods of travel, communication and commerce, and all other high water influences and results which injuriously affect the public health and the safety of property.

L. “Flood elevation study” means an examination, evaluation and determination of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations, or an examination, evaluation and determination of mudslide (i.e., mudflow) and/or flood-related erosion hazards. Also known as a flood insurance study (FIS).

M. Flood Hazard Area. See “Area of special flood hazard.”

N. “Flood insurance rate map (FIRM)” means the official map on which the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community. A FIRM that has been made available digitally is called a digital flood insurance rate map (DFIRM).

O. “Flood insurance study” means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration that includes flood profiles and the water surface elevation of the base flood.

P. “Floodplain administrator” means the community official designated by title to administer and enforce the floodplain management regulations.

Q. “Floodproofing” means any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate risk of flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures, and their contents. Floodproofed structures are those that have the structural integrity and design to be impervious to floodwater below the base flood elevation (BFE).

R. “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. Also referred to as “regulatory floodway.”

S. “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, and does not include long-term storage or related manufacturing facilities.

T. “Highest adjacent grade” means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.

U. “Historic structure” means any structure that is:

V. “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 nonelevation design requirements of this chapter (i.e., provided there are adequate flood ventilation openings).

W. “Mean sea level” means, for the purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the vertical datum to which base flood elevations shown on a community’s flood insurance rate map are referenced.

X. “New construction” means, 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 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.

Y. “Protected area” means the lands that lie within the boundaries of the floodway, and the riparian habitat zone, and the channel migration area. Because of the impact that development can have on flood heights and velocities and habitat, special rules apply in the protected area.

Z. “Recreational vehicle” means a vehicle:

AA. “Replacement residential structure” means a residential structure built as a substitute for a previously existing residential structure of equivalent use and size.

BB. “Start of construction” includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, placement or other improvement was within one hundred eighty days of the permit date. The actual start means either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site beyond the state of excavation. 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, footing, 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. 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.

CC. “Structure” means a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above ground. Manufactured homes are considered structures.

DD. “Substantial damage” means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

EE. “Substantial improvement” means any repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent of the market value of the structure either:

The term does not, however, include either:

FF. “Variance” means a grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this chapter. (Ord. 1654 §1, 2023; Ord. 1505 §29, 2017; Ord. 1398 §1, 2012; Ord. 1375 §18, 2011; Ord. 1265 §1, 2006; Ord. 861 §2 (part), 1989).