§ 36-779. Definitions.

Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this article must be interpreted according to common usage and so as to give this article its most reasonable application.

Accessory use or structure means as defined in section 36-10.

Base flood elevation means the elevation of the "regional flood." The term "base flood elevation" is used in the flood insurance survey.

Basement means any area of a structure, including crawl spaces, having its floor or base subgrade (below ground level) on all four sides, regardless of the depth of excavation below ground level.

Conditional use means as defined in section 36-10.

Critical facilities means facilities necessary to a community's public health and safety, those that store or produce highly volatile, toxic or water-reactive materials, and those that house occupants that may be insufficiently mobile to avoid loss of life or injury. Examples of critical facilities include hospitals, correctional facilities, schools, daycare facilities, nursing homes, fire and police stations, wastewater treatment facilities, public electric utilities, water plants, fuel storage facilities, and waste handling and storage facilities.

Development means any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations, or storage of equipment or materials.

Equal degree of encroachment means a method of determining the location of floodway boundaries so that floodplain lands on both sides of a stream are capable of conveying a proportionate share of flood flows.

Flood means a temporary increase in the flow or stage of a stream or in the stage of a wetland or lake that results in the inundation of normally dry areas.

Flood frequency means the frequency for which it is expected that a specific flood stage or discharge may be equaled or exceeded.

Flood fringe means the portion of the special flood hazard area (one-percent annual chance flood) located outside of the floodway. Flood fringe is synonymous with the term "floodway fringe" used in the Flood Insurance Study for Hennepin County, Minnesota.

Flood insurance rate map means an official map on which the federal insurance administrator has delineated both the special hazard areas 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).

Floodplain means the beds proper and the areas adjoining a wetland, lake or watercourse which have been or hereafter may be covered by the regional flood.

Floodprone area means any land susceptible to being inundated by water from any source (see "Flood").

Floodproofing means a combination of structural provisions, changes, or adjustments to properties and structures subject to flooding, primarily for the reduction or elimination of flood damages.

Floodway means the bed of a wetland or lake and the channel of a watercourse and those portions of the adjoining floodplain which are reasonably required to carry or store the regional flood discharge.

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 "manufactured home" does not include the term "recreational vehicle."

New construction means structures, including additions and improvements, and placement of manufactured homes, for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of this article.

Obstruction means any dam, wall, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, projection, excavation, channel modification, culvert, building, wire, fence, stockpile, refuse, fill, structure, or matter in, along, across, or projecting into any channel, watercourse, or regulatory floodplain which may impede, retard, or change the direction of the flow of water, either in itself or by catching or collecting debris carried by such water.

One-hundred-year floodplain means lands inundated by the "regional flood" (see definition).

Principal use or structure means as defined in section 36-10.

Reach means a hydraulic engineering term to describe a longitudinal segment of a stream or river influenced by a natural or manmade obstruction. In an urban area, the segment of a stream or river between two consecutive bridge crossings would most typically constitute a reach.

Recreational vehicle means a vehicle that is built on a single chassis, is 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection, is designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck, and is designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use. For the purposes of this article, the term recreational vehicle is synonymous with the term "travel trailer/travel vehicle."

Regional flood means a flood which is representative of large floods known to have occurred generally in Minnesota and reasonably characteristic of what can be expected to occur on an average frequency in the magnitude of the one-percent chance or 100-year recurrence interval. Regional flood is synonymous with the term "base flood" used in a flood insurance study.

Regulatory flood protection elevation (RFPE) means an elevation not less than two feet above the elevation of the regional flood plus any increases in flood elevation caused by encroachments on the floodplain that result from designation of a floodway.

Special flood hazard area means a term used for flood insurance purposes synonymous with "one-hundred-year floodplain."

Start of construction includes substantial improvement, and means the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement or other improvement that occurred before the permit's expiration date. The actual start is 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 a basement, footings, piers, 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 anything constructed or erected on the ground or attached to the ground or on-site utilities, including, but not limited to, buildings, factories, sheds, detached garages, cabins, manufactured homes, recreational vehicles not meeting the exemption criteria specified in section 36-922(1) of this article and other similar items.

Substantial damage means damage of any origin sustained by a structure where 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.

Substantial improvement means within any consecutive 365-day period, any reconstruction, rehabilitation (including normal maintenance and repair), repair after damage, addition, or other improvement of a structure, 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 that have incurred "substantial damage," regardless of the actual repair work performed. 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.

(2)

Any alteration of a "historic structure," provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a "historic structure." For the purpose of this article, "historic structure" is as defined in 44 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 59.1.

( Ord. No. 2016-14 , § 2.9, 10-18-2016)