New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 19 - OTHER AGENCIES › NEW JERSEY MEADOWLANDS COMMISSION › Chapter 4 - DISTRICT ZONING REGULATIONS › Subchapter 9 - FLOOD PLAIN MANAGEMENT › Section 19:4-9.3 - Words and phrases defined

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
Unless specifically defined in N.J.A.C. 19:4-2 or below,
					 words or phrases used in this subchapter shall be interpreted, so as to give
					 them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most
					 reasonable application.
"AH Zone" means an area subject to inundation by one
					 percent annual-chance shallow flooding (usually areas of ponding) where average
					 depths are between one and three feet. Base flood elevations (BFEs) derived
					 from detailed hydraulic analyses are shown in this zone.
"AO Zone" means an area subject to inundation by one
					 percent annual-chance shallow flooding (usually sheet flow on sloping terrain)
					 where average depths are between one and three feet.
"Area of shallow flooding" means a designated AO or AH zone
					 on the Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) with a one percent annual or
					 greater 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" means the land in the
					 floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of
					 flooding in any given year, which is shown on the FIRM as zone V, VE, V1-30, A,
					 AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, or AH.
"Base flood" means the flood having a one percent chance of
					 being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
"Base flood elevation (BFE)" means the flood elevation
					 shown on a published Flood Insurance Study (FIS), including the Flood Insurance
					 Rate Map (FIRM). For zones AE, AH, AO, and A1-A30, the elevation represents the
					 water surface elevation resulting from a flood that has a one percent or
					 greater chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
"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.
"Best available flood hazard data" means the most recent
					 available flood risk guidance FEMA has provided. The best available flood
					 hazard data may be depicted on, but is not limited to, Advisory Flood Hazard
					 Area Maps, Work Maps, or Preliminary FIS and FIRM.
"Best available flood hazard data elevation" means the most
					 recent available flood elevation FEMA has provided. The best available flood
					 hazard data elevation may be depicted on an Advisory Flood Hazard Area Map,
					 Work Maps, or Preliminary FIS and FIRM.
"Community" means any state or area or political
					 subdivision thereof, or any Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, or
					 Alaska Native village or authorized native organization, which has authority to
					 adopt and enforce flood plain management regulations for the areas within its
					 jurisdiction.
"Development" means any man-made change to improved or
					 unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, building 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.
"Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM)" 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.
"Elevated building" means a non-basement building that
					 is:
1. In the case of a building in an area of special flood
					 hazard, built to have the top of the lowest floor, or in the case of a building
					 in a coastal high hazard area, built to have the bottom of the lowest
					 horizontal structural member of the elevated floor, elevated at or above the
					 base flood elevation plus freeboard by means of piling, 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.
3. In an area of special flood hazard, 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 flood waters.
"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 floodplain management regulations
					 adopted by a community.
"Expansion to an existing mobile home park or mobile home
					 subdivision" means the preparation of additional sites by the construction of
					 facilities for servicing the lots on which the mobile homes are to be affixed
					 (including the installation utilities, either final site grading or pouring of
					 concrete or the construction of streets).
"FIA" means the Federal Insurance Administration.
"Flood insurance study" or "FIS" means the official report
					 provided in which the FIA has provided flood profiles, as well as the FIRM's
					 and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
"Floodplain Management Regulations" means the zoning and
					 subdivision regulations, building codes, and other applicable rules and
					 regulations. The term describes State rules that provide standards for the
					 purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.
"Floodproofing" means any combination of structural and
					 nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures that reduce or
					 eliminate flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water, and
					 sanitary facilities, structures, and their contents.
"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 0.2 foot.
"Freeboard" means the 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 select size flood and floodway
					 conditions, such as wave action, bridge openings, and the hydrological effect
					 of urbanization of the watershed.
"Highest adjacent grade" means the highest natural
					 elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed or
					 existing 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 the 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 the Interior in the states without
					 approved programs.
"Lowest floor" means the lowest floor of the lowest
					 enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure,
					 useable solely for the parking of vehicles, building access, or storage in an
					 area other than a basement is not considered a building's lowest floor provided
					 that such enclosure is not built so to render the structure in violation of
					 other applicable non-elevation design requirements of
					 44 CFR
					 60.3.
"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 recreational vehicles.
"Manufactured home park or manufactured home subdivision"
					 means a parcel, or contiguous parcels, of land divided into two or more
					 manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
"New construction" means structures for which the start of
					 construction commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain
					 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 the floodplain
					 management regulations adopted by a community.
"Recreational vehicle" means a vehicle that is:
1. Built on a single chassis;
2. 400 square feet or less when measured at the longest
					 horizontal projections;
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.
"Start of construction" (for other than new construction or
					 substantial improvements under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act ( P.L. 97-348
					 )) includes substantial improvements 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. The actual start means either the first placement of
					 permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of a slab
					 or footings, the installation of pilings, 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
					 clearings, grading, and filling, nor does it include the installation of
					 streets and/or sidewalks; 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, a
					 manufactured home or a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above
					 ground.
"Substantial damage" means damage of any origin sustained
					 by a structure, such that the cost of restoring the structure to its condition
					 before damage 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
					 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 local health, sanitary, or safety code
					 specifications that have been identified by the local code enforcement officer
					 and that are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
2. Any alteration of a historic structure provided that the
					 alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a
					 historic structure.
"Variance" means a grant of relief from the requirements of
					 this subchapter, that permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be
					 prohibited by this subchapter.
"Violation" means the failure of a structure or other
					 development to be fully compliant with this subchapter. A new or substantially
					 improved structure or other development without the elevation certificate,
					 other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in
					 44 CFR
					 60.3(b)(5), (c)(4), (c)(10), (e)(2), (e)(4), or
					 (e)(5) is presumed to be in violation, until
					 such time as that documentation is provided.