Special definitions. For the purpose of this district, the following definitions shall apply:
BASE FLOOD ELEVATIONThe expected whole foot water surface elevation of the base one-hundred-year flood.
COMPLETELY DRY SPACEA space which will remain totally dry during flooding; the structure is designed and constructed to prevent the passage of water and water vapor. (Reference is made to the Flood-Proofing Regulations, Office of the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, EP 1165-2-314.)
DEVELOPMENTAny man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, the placement of mobile homes, streets and other paving, utilities, filling, grading, excavation, mining, dredging, or drilling operations and the subdivision of land.
ESSENTIALLY DRY SPACEA space which will remain dry during flooding, except for the passage of some water vapor or minor seepage; the structure is substantially impermeable to the passage of water. (Reference is made to the Flood-Proofing Regulations, Office of the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, EP 1165-2-314.)
FLOOD or FLOODINGA general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of streams, rivers, other inland waters or from the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface water from any source.
FLOODPROOFING(1) 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.
(2) Where floodproofing is required, a registered professional engineer or architect shall certify that the floodproofing methods are reasonably adequate to withstand the flood depths, pressures, velocities, impact and uplift forces and other factors associated with the one-hundred-year flood, and the Zoning Officer shall maintain in his office a record of such certifications.
FLOODWAYThe channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land area that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than one foot.
RESIDENTIALThe term "residential" or "residence" is applied herein to any lot, plot, parcel, tract, area or piece of land or any building used exclusively for family dwelling purposes or intended to be so used.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTAny repair, reconstruction, or improvement of structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of a structure either before the improvement is started or, if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. 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 structure. The term does not, however, include either 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 any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATIONThe heights in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 expected to be reached by floods of various magnitudes and frequencies at pertinent points in the floodplains of riverine areas.
ZONE DESIGNATION(1) For the purposes of this chapter, the areas considered to be flood-prone within the Borough shall be those areas identified as being subject to the one-hundred-year flood in the Flood Insurance Study prepared for the Borough of Mount Union by the Federal Insurance Administration dated January 17, 1977.
(2) For the purposes of this chapter, the following nomenclature is used in referring to the various kinds of flood-prone areas:
(a) FW (Floodway Area): the areas identified as "Floodway" in the Flood Insurance Study prepared by the FIA.
(b) FF (Flood-Fringe Area): the areas identified as "Floodway Fringe" in the Flood Insurance Study prepared by the FIA.