V.I. Code tit. 29, § 293 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 5 - Building Code|Subchapter I - Title and General Provisions|§ 293. Definitions

 Unless it is otherwise provided or the context require a different construction, the following terms when used in this subchapter shall have the meanings as herein defined: Accepted engineering practice—That which conforms to accepted principles, tests, or standards of nationally recognized technical or scientific authorities. Additions—Enlargements, whether by extending on a side or by increasing in height or depth. Alterations—Any changes or additions or rearrangements in the construction of a building or structure, including any changes, additions, or rearrangements in the structural elements such as bearing walls, column, beams and roofs. Apartment—A room or suite of rooms used or intended to be used as the home or residence of an individual, family, or household. Apartment house—A structure containing five (5) or more dwelling units. A.C.I.—The American Concrete Institute. A.S.A.—The American Standards Association. A.S.M.E.—The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. A.S.R.E.—The American Society of Refrigerating Engineers. A.S.T.M.—The American Society of Testing Materials. Bearing wall—A wall which supports any load in addition to its own weight. Board of Land Use Appeals [See note below]—Created by section 125 of Title 3, Virgin Islands Code, as amended. Building—Structure of any kind to be used permanently or temporarily by persons, animals, or property. Commissioner—Commissioner of Planning and Natural Resources. Conversion—Change of use or purpose to which a structure or building is put. Dead load—The weight of walls, partitions, floors, roofs and all other permanent components of a building. Dwelling—A building occupied or intended to be occupied exclusively for residence purposes by not more than four families. Dwelling unit—Any room or group of rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, and cooking. Existing building—A building erected prior to the effective date of this subchapter or one for which a valid building permit has been issued to the effective date of this subchapter and which permit has not yet expired. Foundation wall—A wall below the first floor extending below the adjacent ground level and serving as a support of walls, columns, or other structural parts of a building. Habitable room—A room occupied by one or more persons for living, eating or sleeping purposes. It does not include toilets, laundries, serving and storage pantries, corridors, cellars, and spaces that are not used frequently or during extended periods. It does not include kitchens or kitchenettes. Height of building—In the case of buildings with flat roofs, the vertical distance from the lowest adjacent grade level to the highest point of any roof, excluding cornices, parapet walls, or railings and, in the case of sloping roofs, the vertical distance from the lowest adjacent grade level to the highest point of the highest roof. Height of a wall—The vertical distance to the top measured from the foundation wall or other immediate support of such wall. Hollow masonry unit—A masonry unit whose net cross sectional area in any plan parallel to the bearing surface is less than seventy-five (75) percent of its gross cross sectional area measured in the same plane. Hotel—Any building containing more than nine (9) guest rooms used, or intended to be used, rented or hired out to be occupied or which are occupied for sleeping purposes by guests, whether rent is paid in money, goods, labor or otherwise. It does not include buildings in which sleeping accommodations are provided for persons who are harbored or detained to receive medical, charitable, or other care or treatment or provided for persons who are involuntarily detained under legal restraint. Housing unit—Any building containing one or more dwelling units. Live load—All loads except dead load. Masonry—That form of construction composed of stone, brick, hollow or solid blocks or other similar building units or materials, or a combination of these materials, laid up unit by unit and set in mortar. For the purposes of this subchapter plain monolithic concrete shall be considered as masonry, but reinforced concrete shall not be classed as masonry. Nonbearing wall—A wall which supports no load other than its own weight. Owner—The person or persons who own or control a property or part of it and includes his duly authorized agent or attorney, purchaser, devisee, fiduciary and a person or persons having a vested or a contingent interest in the property in question. Permit official—The Commissioner of Planning and Natural Resources or the official to whom he delegates the powers and duties as conferred by this subchapter. Places of assembly—Rooms or spaces in which provisions are made for the assembly of fifty or more persons for religious, recreational, educational, political, or social or amusement purposes, or for the consumption of food or drink. Plumbing system—The water supply and distribution pipes; plumbing fixtures and traps, soil, waste, and vent pipes; building drains and building sewers, including their respective connections, devices, and appurtenances within the property lines of the premises, and water treating or water using equipment. Prefabricated—Building units composed of sections or panels fabricated prior to erection on the building site. Property line—The dividing line between two lots or other property. Reconstruction—The re-building or renewal of any part or parts of a building or structure. Rental—The granting of the right to use and occupancy in consideration of a payment, including any bonus, benefit, or gratuity of money, goods, or labor demanded or received per day, week, month, year, or other period of time, as the case may be, by the owner for the use of the property for residential purposes. Repair—The replacement of existing work in a building or structure not including additional work that constitute a structural alteration of the building, or that may constitute an enlargement in area, height, or depth. Residential occupancy—The occupancy or use of a building or any portion thereof by persons for whom sleeping accommodations are provided but who are not harbored or detained to receive medical, charitable, or other care or treatment, or are not involuntarily detained under legal restraint. Rooming house—Any dwelling, or part thereof, containing not more than nine rooming units, in which space is rented by the owner to three or more persons who are not relatives of the owner. Rooming unit—Any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking or eating purposes. Sign—Anything whatsoever placed, erected, constructed, posted, affixed in any manner whatsoever on the ground or to any post, fence, building, or structure for out-of-doors advertising, but not including devices, structures, or representations installed by any government authority. Story—That part of a building included between the surface of a floor and the surface of the floor above, or, in its absence, the roof or ceiling above. Street line—The dividing line between street, road, or other thoroughfare and the adjacent lots. Structural alterations—Any material or dimensional changes in the structural elements of a building such as bearing walls, columns, beams, and roofs. Structure—Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires location on or in the ground, but not including a trailer or tent. Use—The purpose for which a building or structure is designed, or intended, or for which it is, or may be, occupied or maintained. Written notice—Service of written notice shall be considered to have been made if delivered in person to the individual or to the parties intended, or if delivered at, or sent by registered or certified mail to the last business address known to the party giving the notice. In the event no address can be established, notice may be made by publication of said notice in two newspapers printed and distributed in the judicial district of the Virgin Islands wherein such property is located once a week for a period of three consecutive weeks.