§ 23-601.1. Definitions.  


Latest version.
  • The following terms are defined for use in carrying out the provisions of this section.

    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 firewall. Any walled and roofed addition which is connected by a firewall or is separated by independent perimeter load-bearing walls, is new construction.

    Appeal means a request for a review of the administrative official's interpretation of any provision of this section or a request for a variance.

    Area of shallow flooding means a designated AO or VO Zone on a Community's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with base flood depths from one (1) to three (3) feet 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 in the floodplain within a community subject to a one (1) percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

    Base flood means the flood having a one (1) percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the "100-year flood" and the "regulatory flood"). Base flood is the term used throughout this section.

    Base flood elevation means the highest water-surface elevation associated with the base flood.

    Basement means that portion of a building having its floor sub-grade (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

    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, excavating, drilling operations, or storage of materials or equipment.

    Elevated building means a non-basement building built to have the lowest floor elevated above the ground level by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter walls, pilings, columns (posts and piers), shear walls, or breakaway walls.

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

    Flood Boundary and Floodway (FBFM) means the official map of the Lake Wales area on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) has delineated the areas of flood hazards and regulatory floodway.

    Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) means an official map of the Lake Wales area on which FEMA has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

    Flood Insurance Study (FIS) is the official hydraulic and hydrologic report provided by FEMA. The report contains flood profiles, as well as the FIRM, FHBM (where applicable) and the water surface elevation of the base flood.

    Floodplain means any land area susceptible to flooding.

    Floodway means 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.

    Floor means the top surface of an enclosed area in a building (including basement), i.e. top of slab in concrete slab construction or top of wood flooring in wood frame construction. The terms does not include the floor of a garage used solely for parking vehicles.

    Freeboard means a factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for purposes of flood plain management.

    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.

    Hardship, (as relating to variances of the provisions of this section) means the exceptional hardship associated with the land that would result from a failure to grant the requested variance. A hardship must be unusual and peculiar to the property involved. Financial hardship alone is not considered exceptional. Inconvenience aesthetic considerations, physical handicaps, personal preferences, or the disapproval of one's neighbors likewise cannot, as a rule, qualify as an exceptional hardship. All of these problems can be resolved through other means without granting a variance, even if the alternative is more expensive, or requires the property owner to build elsewhere or put the parcel to a different use than originally intended.

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

    Lowest floor means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). 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 the non-elevation design standards of this ordinance.

    Manufactured home means a building, transportable in one (1) or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The term also includes part trailers, travel trailers, and similar transportable structures placed on a site for one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days or longer and intended to be improved property.

    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.

    Existing—A manufactured home park or subdivision is considered "existing" if the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the homes are to be affixed were complete (including at minimum the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) was completed before 1988, the effective date of the first floodplain management regulations adopted by the City of Lake Wales. Such a park or subdivision is considered "new" if it was or is commenced after that date.

    Expansion of 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 or streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads.)

    Market value means the building value, excluding the land as established by what the local real estate market will bear. Market value can be established by independent certified appraisal, replacement cost depreciated by age of the building, or adjusted assessed values.

    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 chapter, the term is synonymous with national vertical datum (NGVD).

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

    Recreational vehicle means a vehicle that is: built on a single chassis, four hundred (400) square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection, designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck, and designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

    Start of construction refers to substantial improvement and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, or improvement was within one hundred eighty (180) days of the permit date.

    The "actual start" of construction means the first placement of permanent construction of a building (including manufactured home) on a site, such as the pouring of slabs or footings, installation of piles, construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation or 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 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 building.

    For substantial improvements, 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, including gas or liquid storage tanks and manufactured homes, that are principally above ground.

    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 fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. The administrative official may require verification of the "market value" in making a determination of "substantial improvement" or "substantial damage."

    Substantial improvement means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, taking place within a calendar year, the cumulative cost of which equals or exceeds fifty (50) percent of the "market value" of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement or, in the case of repairs, before the damage occurred. The administrative official may require verification of the "market value" in making a determination of "substantial improvement" or "substantial damage." The term "substantial improvement" also includes structures that have incurred "substantial damage" or "repetitive loss" regardless of the actual repair work performed. This term does not, however, include any repair or improvement of a structure to correct violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications, which have been identified by the local code enforcement official prior to the application for, permit for improvement and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions.

    Variance is a grant of relief from the requirements of this ordinance, which permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this section and which is based on a finding that specific enforcement of the provisions of this section would result in a hardship.