“Accessory structure” means structure that 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. Additions to existing buildings shall comply with the requirements for new construction regardless as to whether the addition is a substantial improvement or not. Where a firewall or load-bearing wall is provided between the addition and the existing building, the addition(s) shall be considered a separate building and must comply with the standards for new construction.
“Agricultural structure” means a structure used solely for agricultural purposes in which the use is exclusively in connection with the production, harvesting, storage, drying, or raising of agricultural commodities, including the raising of livestock. Agricultural structures are not exempt from the provisions of this chapter.
“Appeal” means a request for a review of the local administrator’s interpretation of any provision of this chapter.
“Area of shallow flooding” means a designated AO or VO zone on a community’s flood insurance rate map (FIRM) with base flood depths of one to three feet 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” means the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
“Base flood” means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
“Basement” means any enclosed area of a building that is below grade on all sides.
“Building” means any structure built for support, shelter, or enclosure for any occupancy or storage.
Not applicable (V-zones only).
“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.
“Elevated building” means a nonbasement building built to have the lowest floor elevated above the ground level by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter walls, pilings, columns, piers, or shear walls parallel to the flow of water.
“Existing construction” means, for the purposes of determining rates, structures for which the start of construction commenced before the effective date of the FIRM, or before January 1, 1975, for FIRMs effective before that date.
“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) if completed before 1997.
“Expansion to an existing manufactured home park or subdivision” means the preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete slabs).
“Flood” means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland or tidal waters, or 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 boundaries of the areas of special flood hazard have been defined 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 hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
“Flood insurance study” means the official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The report contains flood profiles, as well as the flood boundary floodway map and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
“Flood-resistant material” means any building material capable of withstanding direct and prolonged contact (minimum seventy-two hours) with floodwaters without sustaining damage that requires more than low-cost cosmetic repair. Any material that is water-soluble or is not resistant to alkali or acid in water, including normal adhesives for above-grade use, is not flood-resistant. Pressure-treated lumber or naturally decay-resistant lumbers are acceptable flooring materials. Sheet-type flooring coverings that restrict evaporation from below and materials that are impervious, but dimensionally unstable are not acceptable. Materials that absorb or retain water excessively after submergence are not flood-resistant. Please refer to Technical Bulletin 2-93, Flood-Resistant Materials for Buildings Located in Special Flood Hazard Areas in Accordance with the National Flood Insurance Program, document number FIA-TB-2, dated 4/93, and available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Class 4 and 5 materials, referenced therein, are acceptable flood-resistant materials.
“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.
“Functionally dependent facility” means a facility which cannot be used for its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water, such as a docking or port facility necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, shipbuilding, ship repair, or seafood processing facilities. The term does not include long-term storage, manufacture, sales or service facilities.
“Highest adjacent grade” 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 the Interior (DOI)) or preliminarily determined by the secretary of the interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register; (b) certified or preliminarily determined by the secretary of the 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. Some structures or districts listed on the state or local inventories may not be “Historic” as cited above, but have been included on the inventories because it was believed that the structures or districts have the potential for meeting the “Historic” structure criteria of the DOI. In order for these structures to meet NFIP historic structure criteria, it must be demonstrated and evidenced that the South Carolina Department of Archives and History has individually determined that the structure or district meets DOI historic structure criteria.
“Limited storage” means an area used for storage and intended to be limited to incidental items that can withstand exposure to the elements and have low flood damage potential. Such an area must be of flood-resistant or breakaway material, void of utilities except for essential lighting and cannot be temperature controlled. If the area is located below the base flood elevation in an A, AE and Al-A30 zone it must meet the requirements of Section 4.08.180(e) of this chapter. If the area is located below the base flood elevation in a V, VE and V1-V30 zone it must meet the requirements of Section 4.08.180(i) of this chapter.
“Lowest floor” means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area. Any 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 an enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of other provisions 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.”
“Manufactured home park or subdivision” means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
“Mean sea level” means the average height of the sea for all stages of the tide. It is used as a reference for establishing various elevations within the floodplain. For purposes of this chapter, the term is synonymous with national geodetic vertical datum (NGVD).
“National geodetic vertical datum (NGVD)” means as corrected in 1929, elevation reference points set by national geodetic survey based on mean sea level.
“New construction” means structure for which the start of construction commenced after (the effective date of the first floodplain management code, ordinance, or standard based upon specific technical base flood elevation data which establishes the area of special flood hazard) or (specific date). The term also includes any subsequent improvements to such structure.
“New manufactured home park or 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 slabs) is completed on or after. (Insert effective date of the INITIAL flood damage prevention regulations adopted by community.)
“North American vertical datum (NAVD)” means datum point established at Pointe-au-Pere on the St. Lawrence River, Quebec Province, Canada, based on the mass or density of the earth. The datum listed as the reference datum on flood insurance rate maps should be used for elevation certificate and floodproofing certificate completion.
“Recreational vehicle” 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.
“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, or improvement was within one hundred eighty days of the permit date. The actual start means 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 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, including a gas or liquid storage tank, or other man-made facility or infrastructure that is principally above ground.
“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. Please refer to the definition of “substantial improvement.”
“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 before the start of construction of the improvement. This term includes structures that have incurred substantial damage, regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either: (1) any project of improvement to 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 (does not include American with Disabilities Act Compliance Standards); or, (2) any alteration of a historic structure, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a historic structure. Permits shall be cumulative for a period of five years. If the improvement project is conducted in phases, the total of all costs associated with each phase, beginning with the issuance of the first permit, shall be utilized to determine whether “substantial improvement” will occur.
“Substantially improved existing manufactured home park or subdivision” means where the repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of the streets, utilities and pads equals or exceeds fifty percent of the value of the streets, utilities and pads before the repair, reconstruction, or improvement commenced.
“Variance” means the grant of relief from a term or terms of this chapter. (Ord. O-13-06 (part), 2006)