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Unless specifically defined in this section, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the same meaning as they have in common usage so as to give this chapter its most reasonable application.

Accessory structure, low-cost and small” means a structure that is solely for the parking of no more than two cars; or limited storage (small, low-cost sheds).

Appeal” means a request for a review of the Floodplain Administrator’s or Building Official’s interpretation of any provision of this chapter.

Base flood” means a flood which has a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the 100-year flood).

Base flood elevation (BFE)” means the water surface level of a watercourse or waterbody referenced to an established datum, that corresponds to a flood event that has a one percent 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.

Development” means any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, drilling operations, or storage of equipment or materials.

Elevation certificate” means a document of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) used to provide elevation information necessary to ensure compliance with community floodplain management ordinances, to determine the proper insurance premium rate, and to support a request for a Letter of Map Amendment or Revision (LOMA or LOMR-F).

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) was completed before November 14, 1978.

Expansion to an existing manufactured home park or subdivision” means the preparation of additional sites in an existing manufactured home park or subdivision 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).

Encroachment” means the advance or infringement of uses, plant growth, fill, excavation, buildings, permanent structures or development into a floodplain that may impede or alter the flow capacity of a floodplain.

Flood” means a temporary rise in a stream’s flow or stage that results in water overflowing its banks and inundating areas adjacent to the channel, or an unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff or surface waters from any source.

Flood Boundary and Floodway Map (FBFM)” means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the floodway.

Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)” means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

Flood Insurance Study” means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map, the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.

Floodplain” or “flood-prone area” means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source. See “Flood.”

Floodplain Administrator” means the City Engineer.

Floodplain management” means the operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage and preserving and enhancing, where possible, natural resources in the floodplain, including, but not limited to, emergency preparedness plans, flood control works, floodplain management regulations, and open space plans.

Floodproofing” means 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” 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 one foot. See “Regulatory floodway.”

Grading” means any excavating or filling or combination thereof and shall include the land in its excavated or filled conditions.

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

Historic resource” means any structure, site, building, object, or natural feature that is:

1. Listed or determined to be an eligible resource for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of the Interior);

2. Listed in or determined to be an eligible resource for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources;

3. Listed in or determined to be an eligible resource for listing in the Chula Vista register of historic sites; and

4. Any historic resource that the City determines to be historically significant; provided, that the determination of historical significance is supported by substantial evidence in light of the whole record.

For the purposes of this definition, “eligible resource” means a historic resource that is not listed on the National Register, the California Register, or the Chula Vista list register of historic sites and/or is not included in the local historic resources inventory, but appears to meet one or more of the criteria for designation.

Land development permit” means as defined in Chapter 15.04 CVMC.

Letter of Map Revision (LOMR)” is a letter issued by FEMA stating that a particular structure or parcel of land is removed from the 100-year floodplain, generally due to grading or construction of flood control projects. A developer or government agency constructing an eligible project within the 100-year floodplain (as shown on the most recent Flood Insurance Rate Map or subsequent LOMRs) is required to apply for a LOMR.

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 non-elevation design requirements of this chapter.

Manufactured home” means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. For flood management purposes the term “manufactured home” also includes park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles placed on a site for 180 consecutive days or longer. For insurance purposes the term “manufactured home” does not include park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles.

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

Mean sea level” means, for purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988, or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.

New construction,” for floodplain management purposes, means structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after November 14, 1978, 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 November 14, 1978.

Obstruction” includes, but is not limited to, any dam, wall, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, protection, excavation, channelization, bridge, conduit, culvert, building, wire, fence, rock, gravel, refuse, fill, structure, vegetation or other material in, along, across or projecting into any watercourse which may alter, impede, retard or change the direction and/or velocity of the flow of water, or due to its location, its propensity to snare or collect debris carried by the flow of water, or its likelihood of being carried downstream.

One-hundred-year flood” means the condition of flooding having a one percent chance of annual occurrence. See “Base flood.”

Recreational vehicle” means a vehicle that is:

1. Built on a single chassis;

2. Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;

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 flood elevation” means the water surface elevation of the 100-year flood; refer to “Base flood elevation.”

Regulatory 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 one foot. The designated regulatory floodways are depicted on the effective FIRM.

Riverine” means relating to, formed by, or resembling a river (including tributaries), stream, brook, etc.

Special flood hazard area (SFHA)” means an area in the floodplain subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on a Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) or FIRM as Zone A, AO, A1 – A30, AE, A99, or AH.

Start of construction” includes substantial improvement and other proposed new development and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement is 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 structure, including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above the ground, including, but without limitation to, buildings, factories, sheds, cabins, mobile homes, and other similar uses.

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 improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the start of the construction of the improvement. This term includes structures that have incurred substantial damage, regardless of the actual repair work performed. However, the term does not include either:

1. Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or

2. Any alteration of a historic resource; provided, that the alteration would not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a historic resource.

For the purposes of this chapter, 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. The term does not, however, include any alteration to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary, building or safety codes or regulations, or structures listed in national or California registers of historic places.

Variance” means a grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter that permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this chapter.

Violation” means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with this chapter. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in this chapter is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.

Watercourse” means a lake, river, creek, stream, wash, arroyo, channel or other topographic feature on or over which waters flow at least periodically. “Watercourse” includes specifically designated areas in which substantial flood damage may occur.

Zone” means an area delineated on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Flood Hazard Boundary Maps with respect to its potential flood hazard. See “Special flood hazard area.” (Ord. 3477 § 1, 2019; Ord. 3210, 2011; Ord. 3097, 2007).