§ 7-26. Definitions.

Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable application.

Accessory structure (appurtenant structure) means a structure which is located on the same parcel of property as the principal structure and the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure. Garages, carports and storage sheds are common urban accessory structures. Pole barns, hay sheds and the like qualify as accessory structures on farms, and may or may not be located on the same parcel as the farm dwelling or shop building.

Addition (to an existing building) means an extension or increase in the floor area or height of a building or structure.

Appeal means a request for a review of the floodplain administrator's interpretation of any provision of this chapter.

Area of shallow flooding means a designated AO zone on a community's flood insurance rate map (FIRM) with base flood depths determined to be from one to three feet. These areas are located 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. See Special flood hazard area (SFHA).

Basement means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.

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

Base flood elevation (BFE) means a determination as published in the flood insurance study of the water surface elevations of the base flood.

Breakaway wall means 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 the supporting foundation system.

Building. See structure.

CAMA means North Carolina's Coastal Area Management Act. This act, along with the Dredge and Fill Law and the federal Coastal Zone Management Act, is managed through North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (NCDENR's) Division of Coastal Management (DCM).

Chemical storage facility means a building, portion of a building, or exterior area adjacent to a building used for the storage of any chemical or chemically reactive products.

Coastal high hazard area means a special flood hazard area extending from offshore to the inland limit of a primary frontal dune along an open coast and any other area subject to high velocity wave action from storms or seismic sources. The area is designated on a FIRM, or other adopted flood map as determined in section 7-37 of this chapter, as zone VE or V1-30.

Development means 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.

Disposal. Defined as in N.C.G.S 130A-290(a)(6).

Elevated building means a non-basement building which has its reference level raised above ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, posts, piers, pilings, or columns.

Encroachment means the advance or infringement of uses, fill, excavation, buildings, permanent structures or development into a floodplain, which may impede or alter the flow capacity of a floodplain.

Existing manufactured home park or manufactured home subdivision means a manufactured home park or 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 pre-FIRM.

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

(1)

The overflow of inland or tidal waters; and,

(2)

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

Flood boundary and floodway map (FBFM) means an official map of a community, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, on which the special flood hazard areas and the floodways are delineated. This official map is a supplement to and shall be used in conjunction with the flood insurance rate map (FIRM).

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

Flood insurance means the insurance coverage provided under the National Flood Insurance Program.

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

Flood insurance study (FIS) means an examination, evaluation, and determination of flood hazard areas, corresponding water surface elevations (if appropriate), flood insurance risk zones, and other flood data in a community issued by FEMA. The flood insurance study report includes flood insurance rate maps (FIRMs) and flood boundary and floodway maps (FBFMs), if published.

Floodplain or flood prone area means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source.

Floodplain management means the operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage and preserving and enhancing, where possible, natural resources in the floodplain, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works, floodplain management regulations, and open space plans.

Floodplain administrator is the individual appointed to administer and enforce the floodplain management regulations.

Floodplain regulations means this chapter and other zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances, and other applications of police power which control development in flood-prone areas. This term describes federal, state or local regulations in any combination thereof, which provide standards for preventing and reducing flood loss and damage.

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 sanitation facilities, or structures with their contents.

Flood prone area. See Floodplain.

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.

Flood zone means a geographical area shown on a flood hazard boundary map or flood insurance rate map that reflects the severity or type of flooding in the area.

Floor. See lowest floor.

Freeboard means the additional amount of height added to the base flood elevation (BFE) to account for uncertainties in the determination of flood elevations. See also Regulatory flood protection elevation.

Functionally dependent facility means a facility which cannot be used for its intended purpose unless it is located in close proximity to water, such as a docking or port facility necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, shipbuilding, or ship repair. The term does not include long-term storage, manufacture, sales, or service facilities.

Hazardous waste management facility means a facility for the collection, storage, processing, treatment, recycling, recovery, or disposal of hazardous waste as defined in N.C.G.S. Article 9 of Chapter 130A.

Highest adjacent grade (HAG) means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior to construction, next to the proposed walls of the structure.

Historic structure means any structure that is:

(a)

Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the U.S. Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the secretary of interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the national register;

(b)

Certified or preliminarily determined by the secretary of interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;

(c)

Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places;

(d)

Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified:

(1)

By an approved state program as determined by the secretary of interior, or

(2)

Directly by the secretary of interior in states without approved programs.

Lowest adjacent grade (LAG) means the elevation of the ground, sidewalk, patio slab, or deck support immediately next to the building after completion of the building. For zone A and AO, use the natural grade elevation prior to construction.

Lowest floor means the subfloor, top of slab or grade of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access, or limited storage in an area other than a basement area is not considered a building's lowest floor provided that such an enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable non-elevation design requirements of this chapter.

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. The term manufactured home does not include a recreational vehicle .

Market value means the building value, excluding the land (as agreed to between a willing buyer and seller), as established by what the local real estate market will bear. Market value can be established by independent certified appraisal, replacement cost depreciated by age of building (actual cash value) or adjusted assessed values.

Mean sea level means, for purposes of the NFIP, the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) as corrected in 1929, the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) as corrected in 1988 or other vertical control datum used as a reference for establishing varying elevations within the floodplain, to which base flood elevations (BFEs) shown on a FIRM are referenced. Refer to each FIRM panel to determine datum used.

New construction means structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of the original version of this chapter and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

Nonconforming building or development means any legally existing building or development which fails to comply with the current provisions of this chapter.

Non-encroachment area 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 as designated in the flood insurance study report.

Obstruction includes, but is not limited to, any dam, wall, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, protection, excavation, channelization, bridge, conduit, culvert, building, wire, fence, rock, gravel, refuse, fill, structure, vegetation or other material in, along, across or projecting into any watercourse which may alter, impede, retard or change the direction and/or velocity of the flow of water, or due to its location, its propensity to snare or collect debris carried by the flow of water, or its likelihood of being carried downstream.

Post-FIRM means construction or other development which started on or after May 15, 1980, the effective date of the initial flood insurance rate map for the area.

Pre-FIRM means construction or other development which started before May 15, 1980, the effective date of the initial flood insurance rate map for the area.

Primary frontal dune means a continuous or nearly continuous mound or ridge of sand with relatively steep seaward and landward slopes immediately landward and adjacent to the beach and subject to erosion and over-topping from high tides and waves during major coastal storms. The inland limit of the primary frontal dune occurs at the point where there is a distinct change from a relatively steep slope to a relatively mild slope.

Public safety and/or nuisance means anything which is injurious to the safety or health of an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, or river, bay, stream, canal, or basin.

Recreational vehicle (RV) means a vehicle, which is:

(a)

Built on a single chassis;

(b)

Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;

(c)

Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and,

(d)

Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling, but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

Reference level is the portion of a structure or other development that must be compared to the regulatory flood protection elevation to determine regulatory compliance of such building. Within special flood hazard areas designated as zones A1-A30, AE, A, A99, AO, or AH, the reference level is the top of the lowest floor. Within special flood hazard areas designated as zones VE or V1-V30, the reference level is the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member.

Regulatory flood protection elevation means the elevation to which all structures and other development located within the special flood hazard areas must be elevated or floodproofed, if non-residential. Within areas where base flood elevations (BFEs) have been determined, this elevation shall be the BFE. In areas where no BFE has been established, all structures and other development must be elevated or floodproofed, if non-residential, to a minimum of two feet above the highest adjacent grade.

Remedy a violation means to bring the structure or other development into compliance with state or community floodplain management regulations, or, if this is not possible, to reduce the impacts of its noncompliance. Ways that impacts may be reduced include protecting the structure or other affected development from flood damages, implementing the enforcement provisions of the ordinance or otherwise deterring future similar violations, or reducing federal financial exposure with regard to the structure or other development.

Retrofitting means measures, such as floodproofing, elevation, construction of small levees, and other modifications, taken on an existing building or its yard to protect it from flood damage.

Riverine means relating to, formed by, or resembling a river (including tributaries), stream, brook, etc.

Salvage yard means property used for the storage, collection, and/or recycling of any type of equipment whatsoever, whether industrial or noncommercial, and including but not limited to vehicles, appliances and related machinery.

Special flood hazard area (SFHA) is the land in the floodplain subject to a one percent or greater chance of being flooded in any given year as determined in section 7-37 of this chapter.

Solid waste disposal facility means any facility involved in the disposal of solid waste, as defined in N.C.G.S. 130A-290(a)(35).

Solid waste disposal site defined as in N.C.G.S. 130A-290(a)(36).

Start of construction includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition 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 (including a manufactured home) on a site, such as the pouring of slabs or footings, installation of piles, 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 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 the building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.

Structure means a walled and roofed building, a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.

Substantial damage means damage of any origin sustained by a structure during any one year period whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. See Substantial improvement .

Substantial improvement means any combination of repairs, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, taking place during any one year period whereby 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 either:

(a)

Any correction of existing violations of state or community health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the community code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or,

(b)

Any alteration of a historic structure, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a historic structure.

Variance is a grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter.

Violation means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in articles IV and V is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.

Watercourse means 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.

Water surface elevation (WSE) means the height, in relation to mean sea level, of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.

(Ord. of 7-14-03, Art. 2, § A)