§ 58-26. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.

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 fire wall. Any walled and roofed addition which is connected by a fire wall or is separated by independent perimeter load-bearing walls shall be considered new construction.

Appeal means a request for a review of the director's interpretation of any provision of this article or a request for a variance or review by writ of certiorari to the superior court, as the case may be.

Area of shallow flooding means a designated AO or AH zone on a community's flood insurance rate map (FIRM) with base flood depths from one to three feet, and/or where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate, and where velocity flow may be evident.

Area of special flood hazard is the land subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. This includes all floodplain and floodprone areas at or below the base flood elevation (including A, A1-A30, A-99, AE, AO, AH, and AR on the FHBM or the FIRM), all floodplain and floodprone areas at or below the future-conditions flood elevation, and all other floodprone areas as referenced in section 58-34. All streams with a drainage area of 100 acres or greater shall have the area of special flood hazard delineated.

Base flood means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year, also known as the 100-year flood.

Base flood elevation means the highest water surface elevation anticipated at any given point during the base flood.

Basement (for the purposes of this chapter) means that portion of a building having its floor subgrade (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 the supporting foundation system.

Building. See "structure."

Department means the community development agency.

Development means any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, clearing, grubbing, grading, paving, any other installation of impervious cover, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.

Development permit means any permit issued by the board of commissioners or any department of county government relating to the use or development of real property.

Director means the director of community development, his/her designee and county employees designated to enforce and interpret the provisions of this article.

Elevated building means a non-basement building built to have the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area elevated above the ground by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter walls, pilings, columns, piers, or shear walls adequately anchored so as not to impair the structural integrity of the building during a base flood event.

Existing construction means any structure for which the "start of construction" commenced before June 12, 1973.

Existing manufactured home park or subdivision means 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 final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before June 12, 1973.

Expansion to an existing manufactured home park or subdivision means 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.

FEMA means the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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

Flood control works means any manmade construction such as a dam, levee, groin or jetty, designed to alter the flood potential of the body of water on or adjacent to which it is built.

Flood fringe area means that area of the floodplain lying outside the floodway but still lying within the area of special flood hazard, i.e., within the base floodplain.

Flood hazard boundary map or FHBM means an official map of a community, issued by the Federal Insurance Administration, where the boundaries of areas of special flood hazard have been defined as Zone A.

Flood insurance rate map (FIRM) means the official map of a community, on which FEMA has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the community (note: the FHBM is included with the county's FIRM—one combined map).

Flood insurance study for Cobb County, Georgia or flood insurance study means the official report by the Federal Insurance Administration evaluating flood hazards and containing flood profiles and water surface elevations of the base flood.

Floodplain means any land area susceptible to flooding.

Floodproofing 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.

Floodway or regulatory floodway means the channel of a stream or other watercourse and the adjacent areas of the floodplain which is necessary to contain and discharge the base flood flow without cumulatively increasing the base flood elevation more than one foot. For the purposes of this article impoundments (lakes and ponds) and impoundment structures (dams) are by definition all contained within the regulatory floodway.

Functionally dependent facility means a facility which cannot be used for its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water, such as a docking or port facility necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, shipbuilding, ship repair, or seafood processing facilities. The term does not include long-term storage, manufacture, sales or service facilities.

Future-conditions flood means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year based on future-conditions hydrology. Also known as the 100-year future-conditions flood.

Future-conditions flood elevation means the flood standard equal to or higher than the base flood elevation. The future-conditions flood elevation is defined as the highest water surface anticipated at any given point during the future-conditions flood.

Future-conditions floodplain means any land area susceptible to flooding by the future-conditions flood.

Future-conditions hydrology means the flood discharges associated with projected land-use conditions based on a community's zoning map, comprehensive land-use plans, and/or watershed study projections, and without consideration of projected future construction of flood detention structures or projected future hydraulic modifications within a stream or other waterway, such as bridge and culvert construction, fill and excavation.

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

Historic structure means any structure that is:

(1)

Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the U.S. Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the secretary of the interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;

(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;

(3)

Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places and determined as eligible by states historic preservation programs which have been approved by the secretary of the interior; or

(4)

Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places and determined as eligible by 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.

Lowest floor means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area, including basement, crawlspace, or enclosure. An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, used solely for 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 as to render the structure in violation of other provisions of this article.

Manufactured home means a building, transportable in one or more sections, built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The term includes any structure commonly referred to as a "mobile home" regardless of the date of manufacture. The term also includes park trailers, travel trailers, mobile homes, and similar transportable structures placed on a site for 180 consecutive days or longer and intended to be improved property.

Manufactured home park or subdivision is a parcel, or contiguous parcels of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for lease, rent or sale. This definition also includes what is commonly called a mobile home park.

Mean sea level means the average height of the sea for all stages of the tide. It is used as a reference for establishing various elevations within the floodplain. For purposes of this article, the term is synonymous with the latest National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) and/or the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988.

National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD), as corrected in 1929, is a vertical control used as a reference for establishing varying elevations within the floodplain.

New construction means structures for which the start of construction commenced after June 12, 1973, and includes any subsequent improvements to the structure.

New manufactured home park or subdivision means 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 June 12, 1973.

North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 is a vertical control used as a reference for establishing varying elevations within the floodplain.

Owner means the legal or beneficial owner of a site, including but not limited to, a mortgagee or vendee in possession, receiver, executor, trustee, lessee or other person, firm or corporation in control of the site.

Permit means the permit issued by the county community development agency to the applicant which is required for undertaking any development activity.

Recreational vehicle means a vehicle which is:

(1)

Built on a single chassis;

(2)

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

(3)

Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and,

(4)

Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

Repetitive loss means flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a ten-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on the average, equals, or exceeds 25 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

Site means the parcel of land being developed, or the portion thereof on which the development project is located.

Start of construction means the date the permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, or improvement was within 180 days of the permit date. The actual start means the first placement of permanent construction of the structure such as the pouring of slabs or footings, installation of piles, construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation, and includes the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include initial 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 buildings appurtenant to the permitted structure, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or part of the main structure. (Note: Accessory structures are not exempt from any ordinance requirements.) 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 a walled and roofed building that is principally above ground, a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank, or other manmade facility or infrastructure.

Subdivision means the division of a tract or parcel of land resulting in one or more new lots or building sites for the purpose, whether immediately or in the future, of sale, other transfer of ownership or development, and includes divisions of land resulting from or made in connection with the layout or development of a new street or roadway or a change in an existing street or roadway.

Substantial damage means 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.

Substantial improvement means any combination of repairs, reconstruction, alteration, or improvements to a building, taking place during a ten-year period, in which the cumulative cost equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure prior to the improvement. The market value of the building means (1) the appraised value of the structure prior to the start of the initial repair or improvement, or (2) in the case of damage, the value of the structure prior to the damage occurring. This term includes structures which have incurred "repetitive loss" or "substantial damage": regardless of the actual amount of repair work performed. For the 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 building. The term does not, however, include those improvements of a building required to comply with existing health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions, which have been pre-identified by the code enforcement official, and not solely triggered by an improvement or repair project.

Substantially improved existing manufactured home park or subdivision is where the repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of the streets, utilities and pads equals or exceeds 50 percent of the value of the streets, utilities and pads before the repair, reconstruction or improvement commenced.

Variance means a grant of relief to a person from the requirements of this article which permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this article where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship, and where an applicant meets the criteria set forth in this article.

Violation means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certificates, or other evidence of compliance required in this article is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.

(Ord. of 10-11-88, art. II; Code 1977, § 3-14-4; Ord. of 4-13-04; Ord. of 2-27-07; Amd. of 10-23-18)

Cross reference

Definitions generally, § 1-2.