As used in this Chapter:

ADMINISTRATING OFFICIAL shall mean the Township Engineer.

ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY FOR APPEALS shall mean the Township Planning Board.

APPEAL shall mean a request for review of the Township Engineer's interpretation of any provision of this Chapter or request for a variance.

AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING shall mean a designated AO Zone on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The base flood depths range from one (1') to three (3') feet; a clearly defined channel does not exist; the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; and, velocity flow may be evident.

AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD shall mean the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one (1%) percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

BASE FLOOD shall mean the flood having a one (1%) percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

BASEMENT shall mean any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.

BREAKAWAY WALL shall mean 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.

DEVELOPMENT shall mean any manmade 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 located within the area of special flood hazard.

ELEVATED BUILDING shall mean a non-basement building:

a. Built in the case of a building in an Area of Special Flood Hazard to have the top of the elevated floor or in the case of a building in a Coastal High Hazard Area to have the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member of the elevated floor elevated above the ground level by means of piling, columns (posts and piers), or shear walls parallel to the flow of the water, and;

b. Adequately anchored so as not to impair the structural integrity of the building during a flood of up to the magnitude of the base flood. In an Area of Special Flood Hazard "elevated building" also includes a building elevated by means of fill or solid foundation perimeter walls with openings sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded movement of flood waters. In Areas of Coastal High Hazard "elevated building" also includes a building otherwise meeting the definition of "elevated building" even though the lower area is enclosed by means of breakaway walls.

ENFORCING OFFICER shall mean the Township Engineer.

FLOOD OR FLOODING shall mean a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:

a. The overflow of inland or tidal waters; and/or

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

FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM) shall mean the official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY shall mean the official report provided in which the Federal Insurance Administration has provided flood profiles, as well as the Flood Boundary-Floodway Map and the water surface elevation of the base flood.

FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS shall mean zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as a floodplain ordinance, grading ordinance and erosion control ordinance) and other applications of police power. The term describes such State or local regulations, any combination, thereof, which provides standards or the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.

FLOODWAYS shall mean 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 two-tenths (0.2') foot.

HISTORIC STRUCTURES shall mean any structure that is:

a. Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of Interior) as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;

b. Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of Interior as contributing to the historic district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;

c. Individually listed on a local inventory of 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 program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or

2. Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.

LOWEST FLOOR shall mean the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, usable solely for the parking of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other than a basement is not considered a building's lowest floor provided that such enclosure is not built so to render the structure in violation of other applicable non-elevation design requirements.

MANUFACTURED HOME shall mean a structure, transportable in one (1) 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.

MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR MANUFACTURED HOME subdivision shall mean a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.

NEW CONSTRUCTION shall mean structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain regulation adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

NEW MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION shall mean 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 the floodplain management regulations adopted by the Municipality.

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

START OF CONSTRUCTION (for other than new construction or substantial improvements under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. 97-348) shall mean and include substantial improvement and mean the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, placement, or other improvement was within one hundred eighty (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 a slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of 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 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 effects the external dimensions of the building.

STRUCTURE shall mean a walled and roofed building, a mobile home, or a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above ground.

SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE shall mean 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 (50%) percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT shall mean any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which exceeds fifty (50%) percent of the market value of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage", regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either:

a. Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing State or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement officer and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or

b Any alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as an historic structure.

VARIANCE shall mean a grant of relief from the requirements of this Chapter which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this Chapter. (Ord. #440; Ord. #796; 1976 Code § 110-3, Ord. #985, § II; Ord. #993, § I; Ord. #1016, § I; Ord. #1192, § II)