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For the purpose of this Chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

(1) Appeal. A request for a review of the interpretation of any provision of this ordinance or a request for a variance.

(2) Areas of Special Flood Hazard. The land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Designation on maps always includes the letters A or V.

(3) Base Flood. That level of water reached by a flood within the city which has a one (1) percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year, as depicted by or represented by the Flood Insurance Study.

(4) Basement. Any floor level below the first story in a building, except that a floor level in a building having only one (1) floor level shall be classified as a basement unless such floor level qualifies as a first story as defined in the State Building Code.

(5) Critical Facility. A facility for which even a slight chance of flooding might be too great. Critical facilities include, but are not limited to schools, nursing homes, hospitals, police, fire and emergency response installations, installations which produce, use, or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste.

(6) Development. Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, or drilling operations, or storage of equipment or materials, located within the floodway or floodplain as defined in this Chapter. Development specifically includes the placement of manufactured homes on land, whether or not placement is within an existing or new manufactured home park.

(7) Director. The Director of Public Works of the city of Pullman or his or her authorized representative.

(8) Elevated Building. For insurance purposes, a nonbasement building which has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, posts, piers, pilings or columns.

(9) 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) is completed before the effective date of the adopted floodplain management regulations.

(10) 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).

(11) Flood or Flooding. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from

(a) the overflow of inland waters; and/or

(b) the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface water from any source.

(12) Floodplain Development Permit. The development permit required for any and all construction and/or development of land or buildings within the floodplain. It may also be referred to as “development permit.”

(13) Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration has delineated the base flood level and the risk premium zones applicable to the city.

(14) Flood Insurance Study. That document compiled by the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) entitled Flood Insurance Study, including flood profiles and the water surface elevation of the base flood and as hereafter revised or amended.

(15) Floodplain. The relatively flat areas or lowlands adjoining the channel of a river, stream, watercourse, lake, or other body of water, which have been or may be covered by flood water. For the purpose of this Chapter, “floodplain” includes those areas now or hereafter included within the city which is defined as “land within a community subject to a one (1) percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year” and as indicated on the Flood Profiles and the Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps included in the Flood Insurance Study. In the areas not included in said study, the floodplain includes all areas subject to floods at stream flow rates comparable to those set forth in the Flood Insurance Study as constituting the base flood level. The location of the floodplain may be revised by the director based on conditions which may alter its location. Any such revisions may be based upon

(a) data utilized in the Flood Insurance Study; and

(b) changes in elevations of areas within the floodplain occurring since the last revision affecting such areas; or,

(c) channel changes.

(16) Floodplain Variance. A variance granted from the requirements of 17.100.050(3) and (8) of this Chapter. It does not include any variance granted under Chapter 17.130.

(17) Flood Season. That period of time from the first day of December to the first day of April, or any other period of time based upon meteorological conditions which the Council by resolution may provide upon recommendation of the director.

(18) Floodway. 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) foot at any point. For the purpose of this Chapter the present limits of the floodway are those designated on the Floodway Maps contained in the Flood Insurance Rate Maps. The location of the floodway may be revised by the director with concurrence from the FEMA regional office based on conditions which may alter its location. Any such revisions may be based upon

(a) data utilized by the Flood Insurance Study; and,

(b) changes in elevations of areas within the floodway occurring since the last revision affecting such area; or

(c) channel changes.

(19) Lowest Floor. 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 enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable non-elevation design requirements of this Chapter.

(20) Manufactured Home. 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 a “recreational vehicle.”

(21) Manufactured Home Park or Subdivision. A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.

(22) New Construction. Structures for which the start of construction was on or after December 21, 1978.

(23) 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 of adopted floodplain management regulations.

(24) Recreational Vehicle. A vehicle which is:

(a) built on a single chassis;

(b) 400 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.

(25) Start of Construction. The date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, placement or other substantial 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 cleaning, grading, or filling, the installation of streets or sidewalks, the excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations, the erection of temporary forms, or the installation of accessory buildings on property such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not a part of the main structure.

(26) Structure. A walled and roofed building including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.

(27) Substantial Damage. Damage of any origin sustained by a structure 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.

(28) Substantial Improvement. Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty (50) percent of the value of the structure either:

(a) before the improvement or repair is started; or

(b) before the damage occurred, if the structure has been damaged and is being restored.

For the purposes of this definition, “substantial improvement” is considered to occur when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other part of the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure. The term does not, however, include either:

(i) 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

(ii) any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places.

(29) Variance. A grant of relief from the requirements of this ordinance which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this ordinance.

(30) Water Dependent. A structure for commerce or industry which cannot exist in any other location and is dependent on the water by reason of the intrinsic nature of its operations. (Ord. 10-2 §1, 2010; Ord. 01-5 §11, 2001; Ord. 89-1 §1, 1989; Ord. 87-9 §1, 1987).