§ 26-701. Definitions.

44 Code of Federal Regulations (44 CFR): The National Flood Insurance Program regulations pertaining to floodplain management.

Accessory structure: A subordinate structure, the use of which is customarily accessory to and incidental to that of the principal structure and which is located on the same lot.

Alluvial fan flood: Flooding occurring on the surface of an alluvial fan or similar landform that originates at the apex and is characterized by high-velocity flows, active processes of erosion, sediment transport and deposition, and unpredictable flow paths.

APEX: A point on an alluvial fan or similar landform below which the flow path of the major stream that formed the fan becomes unpredictable and alluvial fan flooding can occur.

Appeal: A request for a review of the floodplain administrator's determination of certain provisions of this division. The director of the development and planning department shall hear all such appeals and render judgment.

Area of shallow flooding: A designated AO, AH zone on a community's flood insurance rate map (FIRM), with a one percent chance or greater annual chance of flooding to an average depth of one to three feet, where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.

Area of special flood hazard: The land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. The area may be designated as Zone A on the Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM). After detailed ratemaking has been completed in preparation for publication of the FIRM, Zone A usually is refined into Zones A, AE, AH, AO, A1-99, VI-30, VE or V.

Base flood: The flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year, also referred to as the 100-year flood.

Base flood elevation (BFE): The water surface elevation of the base flood in relation to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) or other datum where specified.

Base flood elevation determination: An engineering evaluation of a flooding source performed through detailed methods of study of the floodplain geometry or topography, hydrology and hydraulic analyses to determine the base flood elevation as a result of the peak flood discharges during the base flood event or the flooding having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The determination should provide the basic information on the scope and methodology of the topographic, hydrologic and/or hydraulic analyses that are prepared in support of the existing conditions of the area of special flood hazard designated as "Zone A". All analyses must be completed in accordance with the applicable sections of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulations.

Community rating system (CRS): A program developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide incentives for those communities in the Regular Program of the NFIP that has gone beyond the minimum floodplain management requirements to develop extra measures to provide protection from flooding.

Critical feature: An integral and readily identifiable part of a flood protection system, without which the flood protection provided by the entire system would be compromised.

Development: Any manmade change in improved and unimproved real estate, including but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage equipment and materials.

Development and planning: The Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government Development and Planning Department.

Development and planning director: The Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government Development and Planning Department Director.

Elevated building: A non-basement building:

(1)

Built, in the case of a building in Zone A1-30, AE, A, A99, AO, AH, B, C, X and D, to have the top of the elevated floor, or, in the case of a building in Zones V1-30, VE or V, to have the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member of the elevated floor, elevated above the ground level by means of pilings, columns (posts and piers) or shear walls parallel to the flow of the water; and

(2)

Adequately anchored so as not to impair the structural integrity of the building during a flood of up to the magnitude of the base flood. In the case of Zones A1-30, AE, A, A99, AO, AH, B, C, X and D, the term "elevated building" also includes a building elevated by means of fill or solid foundation perimeter walls with openings sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded movement of floodwaters. In the case of Zones V1-30, VE or V, the term "elevated building" also includes a building otherwise meeting the definition of "elevated building," even though the lower area is enclosed by means of breakaway walls, if the breakaway walls meet the standards of section 60.3 (e)(5) of the National Flood Insurance Program regulations.

Existing construction: For the purpose of determining insurance rates, structures for which the start of construction commenced before the effective date of the flood insurance rate map (FIRM) or before January 1, 1975, for FIRM's effective before that date. Existing construction may also be referred to as "existing structures."

Existing manufactured home park or subdivision: 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).

Expansion to an existing manufactured home park or subdivision : The preparation of additional sites by 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).

Five hundred (500)-year flood zone: The flood having a 0.2 percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year, also referred to as the 500-year flood. Identified as "Zone X" on the Federal Emergency Management Agency, flood insurance rate map (FIRM), an officially designated land area that is likely to be flooded by a storm equal to or greater in intensity than the 500-year storm event.

Flood and flooding: 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 or runoff of surface waters from any source.

Flood insurance rate map ("FIRM"): An official map of a community, on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

Flood insurance study (FIS): The official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This report contains flood profiles and the water surface elevation of the base flood, as well as the flood hazard boundary floodway map.

Flood protection system: Those physical structural works, for which funds have been authorized, appropriated and expended, and which have been constructed specifically to modify flooding in order to reduce the extent of the areas within a community subject to a special flood hazard and the extent of the depths of associated flooding. Such a system typically includes hurricane tidal barriers, dams, reservoirs, levees or dikes. These specialized flood-modifying works are those constructed in conformance with sound engineering standards.

Floodplain and floodprone area: Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source (see definition of "flooding").

Floodplain administrator: The development and planning department director, or his/her designee. Such officer shall have and shall exercise such powers as are necessary to effectively perform the duties assigned to him/her in this division.

Floodplain development permit: A permit for any development determined by the floodplain administrator to be in a special flood hazard area and subject to the provisions of this division, including the placement of manufactured homes.

Floodplain management: The operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing and preventing flood damage, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works and floodplain management regulations.

Floodplain management regulations: Zoning Regulations, Subdivision Regulations, Building Codes, Health Regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as a floodplain ordinance, grading ordinance or 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.

Floodproofing: 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.

Floodway: Land identified on the Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Insurance Rate Map as a floodway. Development, fill, overlays, etc. shall not occur on land identified as a floodway unless hydrologic and hydraulic HEC-RAS data or other model acceptable to the applicable regulatory agency prepared by a Louisiana licensed engineer is presented certifying that no increased flood levels will occur upstream, downstream or on the development site as a result of the proposed improvements. The data must be reviewed and subsequently approved by the floodplain administrator prior to development, and other applicable regulatory agencies. Also see Regulatory Floodway.

Floodway and regulatory floodway : 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 a designated height.

Freeboard: Freeboard is a factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for purposes of floodplain management. "Freeboard" tends to compensate for the many unknown factors that could contribute to flood heights greater than the height calculated for a selected size flood and floodway conditions, such as wave action, bridge openings, and the hydrological effect of urbanization of the watershed. Required freeboard for:

(1)

Residential construction: New construction or substantial improvement of any residential building (or manufactured home) shall:

a.

Have the lowest floor, including basement mechanical and utility equipment, and ductwork, elevated no lower than one foot above the base flood elevation.

(2)

Non-residential construction: New construction or substantial improvement of any commercial, industrial, or non-residential building (or manufactured home) shall:

a.

Have the lowest floor, including basement, mechanical and utility equipment, and ductwork, elevated no lower than one foot above the level of the base flood elevation; or

b.

Be floodproofed to a level no lower than one foot above the level of the base flood elevation, provided that all areas of the building (including mechanical and utility equipment) below the required elevation are watertight with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water and use structural components having the capability of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and the effects of buoyancy.

Functionally dependent use: 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 shipbuilding and ship repair facilities, but does not include long term storage or related manufacturing facilities.

HEC-RAS: A computer program that models the hydraulics of water flow through natural rivers and other channels. The Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) in Davis, California developed the River Analysis System (RAS) to aid hydraulic engineers in channel flow analysis and floodplain determination.

Highest adjacent grade: The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of the structure.

Historic structure: Any structure that is:

(1)

Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places, a listing maintained by the United States Department of the Interior, or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the national register; or

(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; or

(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:

a.

By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or

b.

Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.

Lafayette Consolidated Government (LCG) : The Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government.

Levee: A manmade 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: A flood protection system which consists of levees and associated structures, such as closure and drainage devices, which are constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering practices.

Lowest floor: 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 non-elevation design requirements of section 60.3 of the National Flood Insurance Program regulations. For purposes of the application of this division to manufactured homes the lowest floor for a manufactured home shall mean and be the bottom of the longitudinal chassis frame of the manufactured home located in all flood zones that begins with the letter A.

Manufactured home: A moveable or portable dwelling built on a permanent chassis, designed without a permanent foundation for year-round living, which may or may not be titled through and/or with a state agency, division, department and/or unit. It may consist of one or more units that can be telescoped when towed and expanded later for additional capacity, or of two or more units, separately towable but designed to be joined into one integral unit bearing the permanently affixed seal of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Manufactured home park: Any tract of land developed or used for the purpose of accommodating more than four manufactured homes occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes, whether or not a charge is made for such accommodation and/or whether the space is sold, rented, leased and/or occupied. For the purpose of this definition an existing manufactured home park is any park for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed is completed before the effective date of the floodplain management regulations. A new manufactured home park must have completed this construction on or after the effective date of the floodplain management regulations being adopted by the community.

Manufactured home subdivision: Any tract of land developed or used for the purpose of accommodating more than four manufactured homes occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes, whether or not a charge is made for such accommodation and/or whether the space is sold, rented, leased and/or occupied. For the purpose of this definition an existing manufactured home subdivision is any subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed is completed before the effective date of the Floodplain Management Regulations. A new manufactured home subdivision must have completed the construction on or after the effective date of the Floodplain Management Regulations being adopted by the community.

Mean sea level: For the purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD 88) of 1988 or other datum where specified to which base flood elevations shown on a community's flood insurance rate map are referenced.

Modular home: A structure consisting of two or more prefabricated components built to conform to all state, local or regional building codes and designed to be transported to a lot and placed on a permanent foundation.

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP): The program of flood insurance coverage and floodplain management administered under the Act and applicable federal regulations promulgated in Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Subchapter B.

New construction: For the purpose of determining insurance rates, structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of an initial FIRM or after December 31, 1974, whichever is later, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures. For floodplain management purposes, "new construction" means structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by the community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

Planning commission: The Planning Commission of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government as duly constituted by law, referred to herein as the Planning Commission.

Recreational vehicle: A vehicle which is:

(1)

Built on a single chassis; and

(2)

Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections; and

(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 temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal use.

Regulatory floodway: 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 a designated height.

Special flood hazard area or one hundred (100)-year flood zone: Identified with an "A, AE, V or VE and AH" with or without a suffix, an officially designated land area on the latest Federal Emergency Management Agency, flood insurance rate map that is likely to be flooded by a storm equal to or greater in intensity than the 100-year storm event.

Start of construction: Shall mean:

(1)

Other than new construction or substantial improvements under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (PL 97-348), includes substantial improvement 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 180 days of the permit date.

(2)

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.

(3)

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 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.

Structure: A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground, including a manufactured home.

Substantial damage: Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

Substantial improvement : Shall mean:

(1)

Any repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the fair market value of the structure, either before the damage or repair is started, or if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred; and/or

(2)

Substantial improvement shall also include the increase in area of a structure under roof where the square footage of the proposed increase equals or exceeds 50 percent of the original square footage. Note that in either case, monetary or area, the repair, reconstruction or improvement of the structure shall be, cumulative and the 50 percent threshold shall be calculated on a cumulative basis for a rolling ten year period (i.e., a substantial improvement occurring in year one and year eight will be cumulated, as will a substantial improvement in year eight and year sixteen). 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.

(3)

The term does not, however, include either any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state of local health, sanitary or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to ensure safe living conditions or 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 continued historic designation.

Variance : A grant of relief by the floodplain administrator to a person from the requirements of this division when specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship.

Violation: 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 by the National Flood Insurance Program regulations(44 CFR) in section 60.3(b)(5), (c)(4), (c)(10), (d)(3), (e)(2), (e)(4) or (e)(5) is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.

Water surface elevation: The height in relation to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) (or other datum, where specified), of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.

(Ord. No. O-195-2018, § 2, 11-5-18)