§ 10-73. Definitions.

As used in this division, the following words and phrases shall have the meaning given in this article.

Adverse impact means causing increased flood stages, increased flood velocity, or increased flows in or near a special or local flood hazard area, to an extent including to but not limited to an increase in base flood elevation equal or greater than foot on upstream, downstream, or adjacent properties.

Anchored means adequately secured to prevent flotation, collapse or lateral movement.

Appeal means a request for a review of the floodplain administrator's determination or action pursuant to, or interpretation of, any provision of this division.

Applicant means any person who submits an application for a permit pursuant to this division.

Appurtentant/accessory structure means a structure which is on the same parcel of property as the principal structure and the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure provided the structure is solely used for parking and storage or access and does not exceed 1,000 square feet. (If exceeds 1,000 square feet, see non-residential.)

Area of future conditions flood hazard means the land area that would be inundated by the one percent annual chance flood based on future conditions hydrology.

Base flood means a designated flood elevation on any property having a one percent annual chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

Base flood elevation (BFE) means the water surface elevation resulting from a flood that has a one percent chance of equaling or exceeding that level in any given year. The BFE is shown on the flood insurance rate map (FIRM) and found in the accompanying flood insurance study (FIS) for zones AE and VE.

Basement means an area of a building having its floor below ground level on all sides.

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 supporting foundation system.

Building means a structure with two or more outside rigid walls and fully secured roof, that is affixed to a permanent site; or a manufactured home built on a permanent chassis, transported to its site in one or more sections, and affixed to a permanent foundation; or a travel trailer without wheels, built on a chassis and affixed to a permanent foundation. Note—Building does not mean a gas or liquid storage tank or a recreational vehicle, a park trailer, or other similar vehicle, except as described above.

Coastal high hazard area means special flood hazard areas (SFHAs) along the coasts that have additional hazards due to wind and wave action. These areas are identified on flood insurance rate maps (FIRMs) as zone VE.

Community rating system (CRS) means a program developed by FEMA to provide incentives for those communities in the regular program that has gone beyond the minimum floodplain management requirements to develop extra measures to provide protection from flooding.

Crawlspace means an under-floor space that has its interior floor area (finished or not) no more than five feet below the top of next-higher floor. Crawlspaces generally have solid foundation walls. See diagram 8 in the elevation certificate instructions.

Critical feature means an integral and readily identifiable part of a flood protection system, without which the flood protection provided by the entire system would be compromised.

Date of construction means the date that the building permit was issued provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction or improvement was within 180 days of the permit date.

Development means any man-made change to improved and 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.

Enclosure or enclosed area means an area below the base flood elevation that is either partially or fully shut with rigid walls.

Flood, flooding, or floodwater means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland or tidal waters, the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.

Flood boundary and floodway map means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the floodway.

Flood hazard boundary map means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated the areas of flood hazards.

Flood insurance rate map (FIRM) means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the parish.

Flood insurance study (FIS) means the official report of the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles, the flood insurance rate map, the flood boundary and floodway map, and the water surface elevation of the FEMA base flood, represented as a flood with a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the "100-year flood").

Floodplain or flood-prone area means any land area susceptible to flooding in the base flood.

Floodplain administrator means the building inspector and code enforcement officer or his/her designee.

Floodplain management means the operation of a program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage and preserving and enhancing, where possible, natural resources in the floodplain.

Floodplain management regulations means this division, zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, special purpose ordinances such as grading and erosion control and other city ordinances and regulations which control development in flood-prone areas.

Flood-proofing means any combination of structural and nonstructural 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.

Freeboard means an additional amount of height above the base flood elevation used as a factor of safely in determining the level at which a structure's lowest flood must be elevated or flood-proofed to be in accordance with state or community floodplain management regulations.

Functionally dependent use means a use which must be located in close proximity to water, including docking facilities, port facilities necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and ship building and repair facilities, and not including long-term storage or manufacturing facilities.

Garage means a building on the same lot as a dwelling or a portion of a main building for the housing of noncommercial vehicles of the occupants of the dwelling. A garage has an opening ten feet or more in width.

(1)

An attached garage is constructed horizontally adjacent to a house or underneath a house.

(2)

A detached garage is not structurally connected to a house.

Grading means the act or result of digging, excavating, transporting, spreading, depositing, filling, compacting, settling, or shaping of land surfaces and slopes, and other operations performed by or controlled by human activity involving the physical movement of rock or soil.

Highest adjacent grade means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed perimeter of a building.

Historic building means a pre-FIRM building or structure that is:

(1)

Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register; or

(2)

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; or

(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.

Letter of map amendment (LOMA) means an amendment to the currently effective FEMA map which establishes that a property is not located in a special flood hazard area (SFHA). A LOMA is issued only by FEMA.

Levee means a man-made structure or earthen embankment, which contains, controls or diverts the flow of water to provide protection from flooding.

Levee system means a flood protection system which consists of a levee, or levees, and associated structures, such as closure and drainage devices, which are constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering practices.

Lowest adjacent grade means the lowest elevation of the ground surface after construction next to the perimeter of a building.

Lowest floor elevation 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 the lowest floor, provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the building in violation of the applicable non-elevation design requirements of this division.

Manufactured home means a building, 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" may include a mobile home that does not constitute 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.

(1)

Existing manufactured home park or subdivision. 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 was completed pre-FIRM.

(2)

Expansion to an existing manufactured home park or subdivision. 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 pads.

(3)

New manufactured home park or subdivision. 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 completed on or after the issuance of the first FIRM.

Market value means the price that the seller is willing to accept and the buyer is to pay on the open market and in an arm's length transaction.

New construction means any construction of a new structure commencing on or after the date of the ordinance from which this division is derived.

Non-residential building means a commercial or mixed-use building where the use is commercial or non-habitational.

North American vertical datum (NAVD) of 1988 means the vertical control datum established for vertical control surveying in the United States of America based upon the general adjustment of the North American datum of 1988. It replaced the NGVD 1929.

Out-as-shown determination means an alternative outcome of the FEMA LOMA review process stating that a specific property is located outside the SFHA on the FIRM.

Post-firm building means a building for which construction or substantial improvement occurred on or after July 9, 1976.

Pre-firm building means a building for which construction or substantial improvement occurred before July 9, 1976.

Recreational vehicle means a vehicle which is:

(1)

Built on a single chassis;

(2)

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

(3)

Self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck; and

(4)

Used for temporary living quarters (less than 180 consecutive days); or for recreation, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

Repetitive loss structure means a structure that has sustained flood-related damages resulting in two or more claim payments of more than $1,000.00 each from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) within any rolling ten-year period for a home or business.

Residential building means a non-commercial building, or portion thereof, designed for habitation by one or more families or a mixed-use building that qualifies as a single-family, two-to-four-family, or other residential building not including trailers, hotels, motels, and motor lodges.

Severe repetitive loss structure means a building that is covered under an NFIP flood insurance policy, having two of the referenced claims within any ten-year period but greater than ten days apart, and either:

(1)

Has at least four NFIP claim payments (including building and contents) over $5,000.00 each, and the cumulative amount of such claims payments exceeds $20,000.00; or

(2)

For which at least two separate claims payments (building payments only) have been made with the cumulative amount of the building portion of such claims exceeding the fair market value of the building.

Special flood hazard area (SFHA) means an area shown in the FEMA flood insurance study and FIRM as zone AE or VE.

Start of construction (for other than new construction or substantial improvements under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (Pub. 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, 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 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 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 (not including water tanks smaller than 5,000 gallons), a manufactured home that is affixed to a permanent site or foundation and a travel trailer without wheels. For floodplain management purposes, a utility box is not a structure unless it is large enough to allow human walk-in access.

Substantial damage means damage of any origin sustained by a building whereby the cost of restoring the building to the before damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the building before the damage occurred.

Substantial improvements means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or alteration of a building, or any part thereof, the cumulative cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the building prior to start of construction. Start of construction is the point at which a building permit for the improvements is issued. The term does not include either:

(1)

Any project for improvement of a building to correct existing violations or 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 building" provided that the alteration would not preclude the building's continued designation as a "historic building."

Surge means the mass of water causing an increase in elevation of water surface at the time of a hurricane or storm.

Vertical datum means the National Geodetic Survey Vertical Datum North American Vertical Datum 1988 (NAVD88) used parish wide for floodplain mapping.

(Note: NAVD88 replaces the previous parish vertical datum NGVD29. All flood insurance rate maps preceding March 23, 1995 are in NGVD29.)

Variance means a grant of relief from the requirements of this division which allows development in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this division.

Violation means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with this division. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in this division is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.

Water surface elevation means the height, in relation to currently adopted vertical datum, where specified, of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in floodplain areas.

Watercourse means a river, stream, creek, tributary, basin, lake, pond, waterway, or channel, natural or man-made having a defined bed and banks on or over which water flows at least periodically.

Zone AE means a special flood hazard area as shown in the FEMA flood insurance study and depicted on the FIRM with an assigned base flood elevation.

Zone VE means a special flood hazard area as shown in the FEMA flood insurance study and depicted on the FIRM with an assigned base flood elevation.

Zone X, X-protected by levee, and 0.2% chance means a local flood hazard area as shown in the FEMA flood insurance study and depicted on the FIRM.

(Ord. No. 1552 , 1-8-2018)