§ 2. DEFINITIONS

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

2.1.1. Addition (to an existing building) means any walled and roofed expansion to the perimeter of a building in which the addition is connected by a common load-bearing wall other than a firewall. Any walled and roofed addition which is connected by a firewall or is separated by independent perimeter load-bearing walls is new construction.

2.1.2. Administrator means the city engineer of the City of Bristol or his designated representative.

2.1.3. Appeal means a request for a review of the administrator's interpretation of any provision of this ordinance or a request for a variance.

2.1.4. Applicant means that the owner or authorized agent of the owner of land partially or wholly located in an area of special flood hazard and on which land development is proposed. His/her name shall appear on the floodplain development permit application and will be responsible for assuring that the provisions of this ordinance are met and any stipulations or conditions placed at the time of approval are adhered to.

2.1.5. Area of Shallow Flooding (for a community with AO or AH Zones only) —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.

2.1.6. Area of special flood hazard is the land in the floodplain within a community subject to one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

2.1.7. Base flood means the flood having a one (1%) percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year also referred to as the one hundred (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).

2.1.8. Base flood elevation (BFE) —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 base flood at pertinent points in the floodplains of coastal and riverine areas.

2.1.9. Basement means that portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.

2.1.10. Building means any structure built for support, shelter, or enclosure for any occupancy or storage.

2.1.11. 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.

2.1.12. Designated representative means the inland/wetlands enforcement officer of the City of Bristol or other person designated, in writing, by the flood and erosion commission to enforce the terms and provisions of this ordinance.

2.1.13. 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.

2.1.14. Elevated building means a non-basement building built to have the lowest floor elevated above the ground level by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter walls, pilings, columns (posts and piers), shear walls, or breakaway walls.

2.1.15. 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 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.

2.1.16. 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 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).

2.1.17. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) —The federal agency that administers the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

2.1.18. Finished living space —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. A fully enclosed area below the base flood elevation (BFE) cannot have finished living space and needs to be designed for exposure to flood forces. These spaces can only be used for parking, building access or limited storage.

2.1.19. 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 water;

(2)

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

2.1.20. Flood and erosion commission means the conservation commission of the City of Bristol.

2.1.21. Flood fringe area means that area outside of the floodway and within the limits of the base flood.

2.1.22. Flood boundary and floodway map (FBFM) —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.

2.1.23. 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. FIRM published after January 1990 may also show the limits of the regulatory floodway.

2.1.24. Flood insurance study (FIS) —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.

2.1.25. Floodplain development permit means the formal granting of permission to an applicant for land development in areas of special flood hazard including permitted uses, and special exceptions as herein described and specified.

2.1.26. Flood proofing means any combination of structural and non-structural additions, changes or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water or sanitary facilities, structures and their contents.

2.1.27. 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 (1.0′) foot. For the purposes of these regulations, the term "Regulatory Floodway" is synonymous in meaning with the term "Floodway".

2.1.28. Floor means the top surface of an enclosed area in a building (including basement) i.e., top of slab in concrete slab construction or top of wood flooring in wood frame construction. The term does not include the floor of a garage used solely for parking vehicles.

2.1.29. Functionally dependent utility 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 and ship repair. The term does not include seafood processing facilities, long-term storage, manufacture, sales, or service facilities.

2.1.30. Highest adjacent grade means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior to construction, next to the proposed walls or a structure.

2.1.31. Historic structure —Any structure that is: (a) 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; (b) 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; (c) 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 (d) Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either: (1) By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or (2) Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.

2.1.32. Lowest floor 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 a building's lowest floor, provided that such an area meets the design requirements specified in Section 5.3.1.3 of this ordinance.

2.1.33. 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 also includes park trailers, travel trailers, recreational vehicles and similar transportable structures placed on a site for one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days or longer and intended to be improved property.

2.1.34. Manufactured home park or subdivision means a parcel, or contiguous parcels, of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.

2.1.35. Mean sea level (MSL) —The North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) are referenced.

2.1.36. National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) as corrected in 1988 is a vertical control used a reference for establishing varying elevations within the floodplain.

2.1.37. New construction means structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of this ordinance (not the revision date) and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

2.1.38. 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 effective date, (not the revision date), of the floodplain management regulation adopted by the community.

2.1.39. Permitted uses means those types of development in areas of special flood hazard which do not require a floodplain development permit from the city but, do require a certificate of approval from the administrator.

2.1.40. Recreational vehicle means a vehicle which is (i) built on a single chassis, (ii) four hundred (400) square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections; (iii) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck; and (iv) designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

2.1.41. Regulated uses means those types of development which require a floodplain development permit from the administrator provided that, in the opinion of the administrator, the proposed development will not have a significant impact on the floodplain or does not alter more than forty (40) percent of the floodplain designated on the subject property in which cases the proposed development shall be classified a special exception.

2.1.42. Special exception means those types of development which require a floodplain development permit directly from the Bristol Flood and Erosion Commission.

2.1.43. Special flood hazard area (SFHA) —The land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one (1) 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.

2.1.44. 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 one hundred eighty (180) 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 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 structures. 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.

2.1.45. Structure means a walled and roofed building that is principally above ground, a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank, or other man-made facilities or infrastructures.

2.1.46. Substantial damage —Damage of any origin sustained by a structure, whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its pre-damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

2.1.47. Substantial improvement —Any combination of repairs, reconstruction, rehabilitation, alterations, additions or other improvements to a structure, taking place during a ten (10) year period, in which the cumulative cost equals or exceeds fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure as determined at the beginning of such ten (10) 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."

2.1.48. Variance is a grant of relief from the requirements of this ordinance which permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this ordinance where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship.

2.1.49. Variance —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.

2.1.50. Watercourse means stream, river, brook or channel which conveys surface runoff for a majority of the year. These may or may not be part of designated floodway areas.

2.1.51. 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.

(Ord. of 8-12-08)