§ 17.56.2.010. Definitions.

Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and the most reasonable application. For the purposes of this chapter only, the following definitions are adopted:

"100-year flood" See: floodplain.

"Alteration" means any change or addition to an artificial obstruction that either increases its external dimensions or increases its potential flood hazard. See also: Substantial improvement.

"Artificial obstruction" means any obstruction which is not natural and includes any development, dam, diversion, wall, riprap, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, projection, revetment, excavation, channel rectification, road, bridge, conduit, culvert, building, refuse, automobile body, fill or other analogous structure or matter in, along, across, or projecting into any regulated flood hazard area that may impede, retard, or change the direction of the flow of water, either in itself or by catching or collecting debris carried by the water, or that is placed where the natural flow of the water would carry the same downstream to the damage or detriment of either life or property. See also: development.

"Base flood" means a flood having a one (1) percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. See also: flood of 100-year frequency.

"Base flood elevation (BFE)" means the elevation above sea level of the base flood in relation to the National Geodic Vertical Datum of 1929 or the North American Vertical Datum of 1988, unless otherwise specified.

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

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

"Crawl space" means any area below the ground level and below the lowest floor having an interior dimension of four (4) feet or less measured from the interior ground surface to the top of the stem wall.

"DNRC" means the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

"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. See also: artificial obstruction.

"Encroachment" means activities or construction within the floodplain including fill, new construction, substantial improvements, and other development.

"Encroachment analysis" means an analysis performed by an engineer to assess the impacts of the proposed artificial obstruction or nonconforming use to the 100-year floodplain, base flood elevation and velocity.

"Establish" means to construct, place, insert, or excavate.

"FEMA" means the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"Flood fringe" means the identified portion of the regulated flood hazard area outside the limits of the floodway.

"Flood of 100-year frequency" means a flood magnitude expected to recur on the average of once every 100-years or a flood magnitude that has a one (1) percent chance of occurring in any given year. Also referred to as "base flood."

"Floodplain" means the area including and adjoining the watercourse or drainway that would be covered by the floodwater of a flood of 100-year frequency.

"Floodplain Administrator" means a community official or representative appointed to administer and implement the provisions of this chapter.

"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, HVAC systems, structures and their contents.

"Floodway" means the identified portion of the regulated flood hazard area and is the channel and the areas adjoining the channel that are reasonably required to carry the discharge of the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface by more than one-half (½) foot.

"Lowest floor" means any floor of a building including a basement used for living purposes, storage, or recreation. This includes any floor that could be converted to such a use.

"Manufactured home park or subdivision" means the construction of facilities for servicing the manufactured home lots that, at a minimum, includes the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads.

"Manufactured or mobile home" means a structure that is transportable in one (1) or more articles, built on a permanent chassis, and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. It includes park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days.

"New construction" means structures for which the commencement of clearing, grading, filling, or excavating to prepare a site for construction occurs on or after the effective date of this chapter 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, and is completed on or after the effective date of floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.

"Owner" means any person who has dominion over, control of, or title to an artificial obstruction.

"Recreational vehicle" means a park trailer, travel trailer, or other similar vehicle which is:

a.

Built on a single chassis;

b.

Four hundred (400) square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections;

c.

Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a truck; and,

d.

Designed primarily for use as temporary living quarters for recreation, camping, travel, or seasonal use, not for use as a permanent dwelling.

"Regulated flood hazard area" means a floodplain whose limits have been designated pursuant to Part 2, Chapter 5 of Title 76, MCA, and is determined to be the area adjoining the watercourse that would be covered by the floodwater of a base flood, a flood of a 100-year frequency. The regulated flood hazard area consists of the floodway and flood fringe where specifically designated.

"Residential" means a building for living purposes or place of assembly or permanent use by human beings. All other buildings are non-residential.

"Riprap" means stone, rocks, concrete blocks, or analogous material that is placed within the floodplain for the purpose of preventing or alleviating erosion.

"Scour depth" means the maximum depth of streambed scour caused by erosive forces of the base flood discharge.

"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. A structure is also a bridge, culvert, dam, diversion, wall, revetment, dike, or other projection that may impede, retard, or alter the pattern of flow of water.

"Substantial damage" means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damage condition would exceed fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

"Substantial improvement" means any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure where the cost equals or exceeds fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure either:

a.

Before the improvement or repair is started; or

b.

Before the damage occurred, if the structure has been damaged and is being restored. For the purposes of this definition, substantial improvement is considered to occur when the first construction of any wall ceiling, floor or other structural part of the building commences.

The term does not include:

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 State Inventory of Historic Places.

"Suitable fill" means fill material which is:

a.

Stable, compacted, well graded, and pervious;

b.

Not adversely affected by water and frost;

c.

Devoid of trash or similar foreign matter, tree stumps or other organic material; and,

d.

Fitting for the purpose of supporting the intended use and/or permanent structure.

"Violation" means a failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with these regulations.

(Ord. No. 3102, § 3(Attach. A), 3-5-2013)