Trinity County Municipal Code Art. VIII Definitions

Unless specifically defined below, words or phases 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. For purposes of this chapter only, the following definitions apply:

"Accessory use" means use that is incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the parcel of land on which it is located.

"Appeal" means a request for review of the floodplain administrator's interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.

"Area of Shallow Flooding" means a designated AO or AH zone on the flood insurance rate map (FIRM). The base flood depths range from one to three feet; a clearly defined channel does not exist; the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; and velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.

Area of Special Flood Hazard. See definition for "special flood hazard area."

"Base flood" means the flooding having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the "one hundred-year flood"). Base flood is the term used throughout this document.

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

"Building" means any structure built entirely of frame or a more lasting type of construction, having a roof supported by columns or by walls and intended for the shelter, housing, or enclosure of any person(s), animal or chattel, but not including any tent or trailer; see definition for "structure."

"Building site" means all or a portion of a parcel of land which is less than thirty percent slope, with adequate area to be suitable as a location for structures and the necessary infrastructure to support the proposed development allowed by the zoning district and other applicable standards and requirements wherein such parcel is located, including adequate area for sewage disposal, according to existing health department standards and guidelines.

"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, or storage of equipment or materials.

"Encroachment" means the advance or infringement of uses, plant growth, fill, excavation, buildings, permanent structures or development into a floodplain, which may impede or alter the flow capacity of a floodplain.

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

"Flood insurance rate map (FIRM)" means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the area of special flood hazards and risk premium zones applicable to the county.

"Flood insurance study" means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles, the flood insurance rate map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.

"Flood proofing" means any combination of structural and non-structural 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 (refer to FEMA Technical Bulletins TB 1-93, TB 3-93, and TB 7-93 for guidelines on dry and wet flood proofing).

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

"Floodplain administrator" is the individual appointed to administer and enforce the floodplain management regulations.

"Floodplain management" means the operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage and preserving and enhancing, where possible, natural resources in the floodplain, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works, floodplain management regulations, and open space plans.

"Floodplain management regulations" means this chapter and other zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as grading ordinance and erosion control ordinance) and other applications of police power which control development in flood-prone areas. This term describes federal, state or local regulations, in any combination thereof, which provide standards for the preventing and reducing flood loss and damage.

"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 foot. (Also referred to as "regulatory floodway.")

"Floodway encroachment lines" means the lines marking the limits of floodways on federal, state and local floodplain maps.

"Floodway fringe" is that area of the floodplain on either side of the regulatory floodway where encroachment may be permitted.

"Fraud and victimization" as related to Article VII, (Variance Procedures) of this chapter, means that the variance granted must not cause fraud on or victimization of the public. In examining this requirement, the County will consider the fact that every newly constructed building adds to government responsibilities and remains a part of the community for fifty to one hundred years. Buildings that are permitted to be constructed. Below the base flood elevation are subject during all those years to increased risk of damage from floods, while future owners of the property and the community as a whole are subject to all the costs, inconvenience, danger, and suffering that those increased flood damages bring. In addition, future owners may purchase the property, unaware that it is subject to potential flood damage, and can be insured only at very high flood insurance rates.

"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, port facilities that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and ship building and ship repair facilities, and does not include long-term storage or related manufacturing facilities.

"Governing body" means the local governing unit, i.e. county or municipality that is empowered to adopt and implement regulations to provide for the public health, safety and general welfare of its citizenry.

"Hardship" as related to Article VII, (Variance Procedures) of this chapter, means the exceptional hardship that would result from a failure to grant a requested variance. The county requires that the variance is exceptional, unusual, and peculiar to the property involved. Mere economic or financial hardship alone is not 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 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 structure.

"Historic structure" means any structure that is:

1. Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the 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 in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of 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 Interior in states without approved programs.

"Levee" means a man-made structure, usually an earthen embankment, designed and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to contain, control or divert the flow of water so as to provide protection from temporary flooding.

"Levee system" means a flood protection system, which consists of a levee, or levees, and associated structures, such as closure, and drainage devices, which are constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering practices.

"Lowest floor" means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood-resident 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 non-elevation design requirements of this chapter.

"Manufactured home" means a structure, transportable in one 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, but excludes recreational vehicles on site for less than one hundred eighty days per year, and licensed and ready for highway use.

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

"Market value" shall be determined by estimating the cost to replace the structure in new condition and adjusting that cost figure by the amount of depreciation that has accrued since the structure was constructed.

1. The cost of replacement of the structure shall be based on a square foot cost factor determined by reference to a building cost estimating guide recognized by the building construction industry.

2. The amount of depreciation shall be determined by taking into account the age and physical deterioration of the structure and functional obsolescence as approved by the floodplain administrator, but shall not include economic or other forms of external obsolescence.

Use of replacement costs or accrued depreciation factors different from those contained in recognized building cost estimating guides may be considered only if such factors are included in a report prepared by an independent professional appraiser and supported by a written explanation of the differences.

"Maximum fishery flow" means the flow in the Trinity River during an eleven thousand cubic feet per second release from Lewiston Dam plus one hundred ten-year spring tributary flow inputs.

"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 community's flood insurance rate map are referenced.

"New construction" means, for floodplain management purposes, structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after August 16, 1988, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

One Hundred-Year Flood or 100-Year Flood. See "base flood."

"Open space parcel" means a parcel of land created pursuant to the requirements of the California Subdivision Map Act and the Trinity County Subdivision Ordinance which is created for the principal purpose(s) of open space for public or private use, or fish, wildlife, wetland or floodplain protection and/or restoration. Construction of permanent buildings shall not be allowable on open space parcels, but agricultural uses without permanent buildings shall be allowable.

"Person" means an individual or his/her agent, firm, partnership, association or corporation, or agent of the aforementioned groups, or this state or its agencies or political subdivisions.

"Public safety and nuisance" as related to Article VII, (Variance Procedure) of this chapter means that the granting of a variance must not result in anything which is injurious to safety or health of an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary manner of any navigable lake, or river, bay, stream, canal, or basin.

"Ready for highway use" means that a recreational vehicle is on its wheels or jacking system, is attached to the site only by quick disconnect type utilities and security devices, and has no permanently attached additions.

"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 towed 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.

"Regulatory 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 foot.

"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 the ordinance or otherwise deterring future similar violations, or reducing federal financial exposure with regard to the structure or other development.

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

"Special flood hazard area (SFHA)" means an area having special flood or flood-related erosion hazards, as shown on a flood insurance rate map (FIRM) as zone A, zone AE, zone O, zone A1-A30, zone A99, or zone AH, or as shown by studies approved by the board of supervisors upon a recommendation from the floodplain administrator.

"Start of construction" includes substantial improvement and other proposed new development, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was within one hundred eighty 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 system. 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 structure. 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, including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.

"Substantial damage" means:

1. Damage of any origin sustained by a structure if the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred; or

2. 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 event, on the average, equals or exceeds twenty-five percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. This is also known as "repetitive loss."

"Substantial improvement" means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other proposed new development of a structure the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent of the market value of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement. This term includes structures that have incurred "substantial damage," regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either:

1. Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or county health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or

2. Any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structures continued designation as a "historic structure."

"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.

"Violation" means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the county'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 in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.

"Water surface elevation" means the height, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, (or other datum, where specified) of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.

"Watercourse" means a lake, river, creek, stream, wash, arroyo, channel or other topographic feature on or over which waters flow at least periodically. Watercourse includes specifically designated areas in which substantial flood damage may occur.

(Ord. No. 315-776A, § 1, 10-20-09)