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Unless specifically defined below or elsewhere in this Code, words or phrases used in this Chapter shall be interpreted as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this Chapter it’s most reasonable application.

A. Appeal means a request for a review of the Building Official’s interpretation of any provision of this Section or a request for a variance.

B. Area of Shallow Flooding means a designated AO or AH zone on the Flood Insurance Rate Map. The base flood depths range from one (1) to three (3) feet; clearly defined channel does not exist; the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; and, velocity flow may be evident. AO is characterized as sheet flow and AH indicates ponding.

C. Area of Special Flood Hazard means the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year. Designation on maps always includes the letters A or V.

D. Base Flood means the flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Also referred to as the “100-year flood.” Designation on flood maps always includes the letters A or V.

E. Basement, for the purposes of this chapter, means the portion of a structure with its floor sub-grade (below ground level) on all sides, or the definition provided in Section 18.08.078 of the Ashland Municipal Land Use code, whichever is more restrictive.

F. Below-Grade Crawl Space means an enclosed area below the base flood elevation in which the interior grade is not more than two feet below the lowest adjacent exterior grade and the height, measured from the interior grade of the crawlspace to the top of the crawlspace foundation, does not exceed 4 feet at any point.

G. Building Code means the combined specialty codes adopted under ORS 446.062, 446.185, 447.020(2), 455.020(2), 455.610, 455.680, 460.085, 460.360, 479.730(1) or 480.545, but not include regulations adopted by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to ORS chapter 476 or ORS 479.015 to 479.200 and 479.210 to 479.220.

H. Critical Facility means 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.

I. Development means any man-made 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 located within the area of special flood hazard.

J. 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 waters; and/or

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

K. Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) means the official map of a community issued by the Federal Insurance Administration delineating the areas of special flood hazards and/or the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

L. Flood Insurance Study means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles, the Flood Boundary - Flood way Map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.

M. Flood-way means that 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.

O. 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 enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable nonelevation design requirements of this ordinance found in Section 15.10.080.B.1.b.

P. Manufactured Home means 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 connected to the required utilities. For floodplain management purposes the term “manufactured home” also includes park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days. For insurance purposes the term “manufactured home” does not include park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles.

Q. 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.

R. New Construction means structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after the effective date of this Ordinance and includes new mobile home parks and mobile home subdivisions.

S. Recreational Vehicle, as it pertains to the provisions of this chapter, means 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.

T. Start of Construction includes substantial improvement, and means 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 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 permanent basement, footings, piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory erection or 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.

U. Structures as it pertains to the provisions of this Chapter is a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.

V. Substantial Damage means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to it’s before damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

W. Substantial Improvement means any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure either:

1. Before the improvement or repair is started; or

2. If the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. For the purpose 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:

a. Any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions, or

b. Any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places.

X. Variance means 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. 3046, amended, 03/15/2011; Ord. 2925, amended, 04/18/2006)