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Sec. 10-241. - Definitions.#
Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in this article pertain to floodplain management, and have the same meaning as they have in common usage and to give this article it's most reasonable application. 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: 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 Special flood hazard area.
Base flood means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year, also referred to as the 100-year flood, as published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as part of a flood insurance study (FIS) and depicted on a flood insurance rate map (FIRM).
Base flood elevation (BFE) means the elevation of the crest of the base flood or 100-year flood. The height in relation to mean sea level expected to be reached by the waters of the baseflood 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 Structure.
Cost, 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, 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 existing 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 to 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 or flooding 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. FIRM published after January 1990 may also show the limits of the regulatory floodway.
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.
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."
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 shipbuilding and ship repair facilities. The term does not include seafood processing facilities, long-term storage, manufacturing, sales or service facilities.
Highest adjacent grade (HAG) (only for community with AO/AH zones) 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.
Lowest floor means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).
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 also includes park trailers, travel trailers, recreational vehicles and other similar vehicles or transportable structures placed on a site for 180 consecutive days or longer and intended to be improved property.
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 a community floodinsurance rate map (FIRM) are referenced.
New construction means structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of floodplain regulations, 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 Floodway.
Sand dunes means 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 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. SFHAs are determined utilizing the base flood elevations (BFE) provided on the flood profiles in the flood insurance study (FIS) for a community. BFEs provided on flood insurance rate map (FIRM) are only approximate (rounded up or down) and should be verified with the BFEs published in the FIS for a specific location. SFHAs include, but are not necessarily limited to, the land shown as zones A, A1—30, AE, AO, AH, and the coastal high hazard areas shown as zones V, V1—30, and VE on a FIRM. The SFHA is also called the area of special flood hazard.
Start of construction, 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 in include excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations or the erections of temporary forms; not 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 a walled and roofed building which is principally above ground, including a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank, or other manmade facilities or infrastructures.
Substantial damage means damage of any origin sustained by a structure, whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its predamaged 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 complaint with the community's floodplain management ordinance. A structure or other development without required permits, lowest floor elevation documentation, floodproofing certificates or required floodway encroachment calculations is resumed 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. of 2-27-2009, § 17.03; Ord. of 9-14-2015(2), § 1)
Sec. 10-242. - Purpose.#
The purpose of this article is to ensure public safety; minimize hazards to persons and property from flooding, to protect watercourses from encroachment and to maintain the capability of floodplains to retain and carry off floodwaters.
(Ord. of 2-27-2009, § 17.01; Ord. of 9-14-2015(2), § 1)
Sec. 10-243. - Applicability.#
(a)
The city elects to comply with the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-488, as amended). The national flood insurance program, established in the aforesaid act, provides that areas of the city having a special flood hazard be identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and that floodplain management measures be applied in such flood hazard areas. The requirements of this article shall apply to any construction or other development which lies wholly or partly within an area of special flood hazard, as identified as zone A, AE, AH, AO, A1—30, A99, V, V1—30, or VE on the county flood insurance rate map (FIRM) and digital FIRM issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program. The map panels of the county FIRM that are wholly or partially within the city are panel numbers: 44007C0193H and 44007C0194J dated October 2, 2015. The exact boundaries of the district may be defined by the 100-year base flood elevations shown on the FIRM and further defined by the flood insurance study booklet revised October 2, 2015.
(b)
The degree of flood protection required by this article is considered reasonable but does not imply total flood protection. If any section, provision, or portion of this article is adjudged unconstitutional or invalid by a court, the remainder of this article shall control.
(c)
For the purposes of this section, the term "other development" shall be defined as any action exclusive of that which requires the issuance of a building permit under the state building code. Such other development shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following:
(1)
Earth, gravel or mineral removal or extraction.
(2)
Alteration of the topography by cutting, filling or grading.
(3)
Storage of bulk materials outside of a structure.
(4)
Construction or placement of facilities or improvements not normally requiring a building permit.
(d)
The requirements set forth in this article shall be in addition to any applicable requirements in this chapter and in any other regulation which may be applicable. Additionally, more stringent requirements shall apply to coastal high-hazard areas which are defined as those special flood hazard areas along the city's coastline which are subject to high-velocity waters from hurricane wave wash and wave run-up as designated as zone V1—30 on the flood map (hereinafter referred to as the "V-zone").
(Ord. of 2-27-2009, § 17.02; Ord. of 9-14-2015(2), § 1; Ord. of 8-19-2019(1))