Torrance Municipal Code § 79.2 Definitions

Unless specifically defined in this Section, words or phrases used in this Chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this Chapter its most reasonable application.

a) "Appeal" means a request for a review of the Floodplain Administrator’s interpretation of any provisions of this Chapter or a request for an exception.

b) "Area of shallow flooding" means a designated AO, AH or VO 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.

c) Area of Special Flood Hazard. See "special flood hazard area."

d) "Base flood" means the flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the "one hundred (100) year flood").

e) "Basement" means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.

f) "Breakaway walls" are any type of walls, whether solid or lattice, and whether constructed of concrete, masonry, wood, metal, plastic or any other suitable building material which is not part of the structural support of the building and which is designed to break away under abnormally high tides or wave action without causing any damage to the structural integrity of the building on which they are used or any buildings to which they might be carried by floodwaters. A breakaway wall shall have a safe design loading resistance of not less than ten (10) and no more than twenty (20) pounds per square foot. Use of breakaway walls must be certified by a registered engineer or architect and shall meet the following conditions:

1. Breakaway wall collapse shall result from water load less than that which would occur during the base flood; and

2. The elevated portion of the building shall not incur any structural damage due to the effects of wind and water loads acting simultaneously in the event of the base flood.

g) "Coastal high hazard area" means the area subject to high velocity waters, including coastal and tidal inundation or tsunamis. The area is designated on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) as Zone V1-V30, VE or V.

h) "Development" means 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.

i) "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 either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before 1979.

j) "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).

k) "Flood or flooding" means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:

1. The overflow of floodwaters;

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

3. The collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated force of nature, such as flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in this definition.

l) "Flood Boundary and Floodway Map" means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of flood hazard and the floodway.

m) "Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)" means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

n) "Flood Insurance Study" means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles, the FIRM, the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, and water surface elevation of the base flood.

o) "Floodplain or flood-prone area" means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source (see definition of "flooding").

p) "Floodplain management" means the operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works and floodplain management regulations.

q) "Floodplain management regulations" means zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as floodplain ordinance, grading ordinance and erosion control ordinance) and other applications of police power. The term describes such State or local regulations in any combination thereof which provide standards for the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.

r) "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.

s) "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. Also referred to as "regulatory floodway."

t) "Functionally dependent use" means a use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term includes only docking facilities that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and ship building and ship repair facilities, but does not include long-term storage or related manufacturing facilities.

u) "Highest adjacent grade" means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.

v) "Historic structure" means any structure that is:

1. Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of the 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 in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or

4. Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either by an approved State program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.

w) "Lowest floor" means 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 Chapter.

x) "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.

y) "Manufactured home park or subdivision" means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for sale or rent.

z) "Mean sea level" means, for purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.

aa) "New construction" means, for floodplain management purposes, structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by this community.

bb) "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 18, 1979.

cc) "One-hundred-year-flood" or "100-year-flood" means a flood which has a one percent (1%) annual probability of being equaled or exceeded. It is identical to the "base flood," which will be the term used throughout this Chapter.

dd) "Person" means an individual or his agent, firm, partnership, association or corporation, or agent of the aforementioned groups, or the State or its agencies or political subdivisions.

ee) "Recreational vehicle" means a vehicle which is:

1. Built on a single chassis;

2. Four hundred (400) 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 a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

ff) "Remedy a violation" means to bring the structure or other development into compliance with State or local floodplain management regulations, or, if this is not possible, to reduce the impacts of its noncompliance. Ways that impacts may be reduced include protecting the structure or other affected development from flood damages, implementing the enforcement provisions of this Chapter or otherwise deterring future similar violations, or reducing federal financial exposure with regard to the structure or other development.

gg) "Riverine" means relating to, formed by, or resembling a river (including tributaries), stream, brook, etc.

hh) "Sand dunes" means naturally occurring accumulations of sand in ridges or mounds landward of the beach.

ii) "Special flood hazard area (SFHA)" means an area having special flood or flood-related erosion hazards, and shown on an FHBM or FIRM as Zone A, AO, A1-30, AE, A99, AH, VO, V1-V30, VE or V.

jj) "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 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 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.

kk) "Structure" means a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.

ll) "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 percent (50%) of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

mm) "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 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:

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.

nn) "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. In this Chapter such procedures shall be known as an exception.

oo) "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 certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in this Chapter is presumed to be a violation until such time as that documentation is provided.