“Adjacent/regulated slopes” means within 100 feet of the project site boundaries.

“Administrator” means the Director of Community Development.

“Alteration of watercourse” means any action that will change the location of the channel occupied by water within the bans of any portion of a riverine waterbody.

“Appeal” means a request for a review of the interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.

“Area of shallow flooding” means a designated Zone AO, AH, AR/AO or AR/AH or (VO) on a community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with a one percent 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. Also referred to as “sheet flow area.”

“Area of special flood hazard” means the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) as Zone A, AO, AH, A1-A30, AE, A99, AR, (V, VO, V1-V30, VE). “Special flood hazard area” is synonymous in meaning with the phrase “area of special flood hazard.”

“Base flood” means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Also referred to as the “100-year flood.” Designation on maps always includes the letters A or V.

“Base flood elevation (BFE)” means the elevation to which floodwater is anticipated to rise during the base flood.

“Basement” means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (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 supporting foundation system.

“Buffer” means a naturally vegetated area or vegetated area established or managed to protect nontidal wetlands or other areas from human disturbances.

“Channel” means the geographical area within either the natural or artificial banks of a watercourse or drainway.

“Coastal high hazard area” means an area of special flood hazard extending from offshore to the inland limit of a primary frontal dune along an open coast and any other area subject to high velocity wave action from storms or seismic sources. The area is designated on the FIRM as Zone V1-30, VE or V.

“Creation, wetland” means a human activity bringing a wetland into existence at a site in which it did not formerly exist.

“Critical facility” means a facility for which even a slight chance of flooding might be too great. Critical facilities include, but are not limited to, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, police, fire and emergency response installations, and installations which produce, use or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste.

“Development” means any human-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 located within the area of special flood hazard.

“Drainway” means any depression below the surrounding land serving to give direction to a regular current of water and having a bed and well-defined banks.

“Elevated building” means, for insurance purposes, a nonbasement building which has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, post, piers, pilings, or columns.

“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 the effective date of the adopted floodplain management regulations.

“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).

“Flood” or “flooding” means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:

“Flood Elevation Study” means an examination, evaluation, and determination of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations or an examination, evaluation, and determination of mudslides (i.e., mudflow) and or flood-related erosion hazards. Also known as a “Flood Insurance Study (FIS).”

“Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)” means the official map on which the Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community. A FIRM that has been made available digitally is called a “Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM).”

“Flood Insurance Study” means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles, the flood boundary-floodway map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.

“Flood proofing” means any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate risk of flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures, and their contents. Flood-proofed structures are those that have the structural integrity and design to be impervious to floodwater below the base flood elevation.

“Floodplain” or “flood prone area” means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source. See “Flood” or “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 a designated height. Also referred to as “regulatory floodway.”

“Function/wetlands” means the beneficial roles nontidal wetlands serve, including storage, conveyance, and attenuation of floodwaters and stormwaters; groundwater recharge and discharge; protection of water quality and reduction of sediment and erosion; production of waterfowl, game and nongame birds, mammals, and other living resources; protection of habitat for rare, threatened, and endangered species; food chain support for a broad range of wildlife and fisheries; educational, historical, and archaeological value protection; and scenic, aesthetic, and recreational amenities.

“Functional 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 repair facilities, and does not include long-term storage or related manufacturing facilities.

“Highest adjacent grade” means the highest natural elevation of the ground prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.

“Historic structure” means any structure that is:

“Hydrophytic vegetation” means macrophytic plant life growing in water or on a substrate that is at least periodically deficient in oxygen as a result of excessive water content.

“In-kind construction, wetland” means the restoration or creation of a wetland with vegetation and other characteristics closely approximating those of a specified wetland.

“Lowest floor” means 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 nonelevation design requirements of this chapter found at AMC 19.74.050(B)(1)(b).

“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 attached to the required utilities. The term “manufactured home” does not include a “recreational vehicle.”

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

“Mean sea level” for purpose of the National Flood Insurance Program means the vertical datum to which base flood elevations shown on community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.

“New construction,” for the purpose of determining insurance rates, means structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after the effective date of an initial Flood Insurance Rate Map 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 a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

“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 the effective date of adopted floodplain management regulations.

“Nontidal wetland” means an area that is inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions (commonly known as hydrophytic vegetation).

“Off-site construction, wetland” means restoration or creation of a wetland at a location not adjacent to a previously specified wetland.

“Out-of-kind, wetland” means the restoration or creation of a wetland with vegetation or other characteristics not resembling those of a specified wetland.

“Partially developed lot” means a lot or parcel of land on which a building is located, and which is of sufficient area so as to be capable of subdivision into two or more lots in accordance with city standards.

“Practicable alternative, wetland” means an alternative to the proposed project that would accomplish the basic purpose of the project and avoid or have less adverse impact on a nontidal wetland.

“Recreational vehicle” means a vehicle which is:

“Regulated activity, wetlands” means an activity with a significant impact on nontidal wetlands, including:

“Regulated slopes” means slopes that average 15 percent or greater over a vertical interval of 10 feet.

“Restoration, wetland” means a human activity that returns a wetland or former wetland from a disturbed or altered condition with lesser acreage or functions to a previous condition with greater wetland acreage or functions.

“Scientist, professional wetland” means a professional wetland scientist shall be certified through the Society of Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program.

“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 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 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.

“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 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

“Substantial improvement” means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the “start of construction” of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred “substantial damage” regardless of actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either:

“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.

“Water dependent” means a structure for commerce or industry which cannot exist in any other location and is dependent on the water by reason of the intrinsic nature of its operations. (Ord. 4016 § 2 (Att. A), 2022; Ord. 3064 § 2 (Att. A), 2021; Ord. 3040 § 2 (Att. A), 2019; Ord. 2794 § 1 (Att. A), 2008; Ord. 2702 § 3, 2005; Ord. 2316 § 3, 1994. Formerly 17.70.030)