§ 26-22. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

100-year flood see "base flood."

Accessory structure means the same as "appurtenant structure."

Actuarial rates see "risk premium rates."

Administrator means the Federal Insurance Administrator.

Agency means the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Appeal means a request for review of the floodplain administrator's interpretation of any provision of this ordinance or a request for a variance.

Appurtenant structure means a structure that is on the same parcel of property as the principle structure to be insured and the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure.

Area of shallow flooding means a designated AO or AH zone 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.

Area of special flood hazard is the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

Base flood means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

Basement means any area of the structure having its floor subgrade below ground level on all sides.

Best management practices (BMPs) means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention and educational practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly to stormwater, receiving waters, or stormwater conveyance systems. BMPs also include treatment practices, operating procedures, and practices to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or water disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.

Building see "structure."

Car means any vehicle meeting the definition for passenger car, bus, motorcycle or recreational vehicle given in the standard traffic ordinance incorporated into chapter 68.

Chief engineer means the chief engineer of the division of water resources, Kansas Department Of Agriculture.

Chief executive officer or "chief elected official" means the official of the community who is charged with the authority to implement and administer laws, ordinances, and regulations for that community.

Clean Water Act means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 USC 1251 et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.

Code means the Code of Ordinances, City of Merriam, Kansas, also known as the Merriam Code.

Community means any state or area or political subdivision thereof, which has authority to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations for the areas within its jurisdiction.

Community development director means the community development director or the community development director's authorized representative.

Development means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, levees, levee systems, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations, or storage of equipment or materials.

Discharge means the addition or introduction, directly or indirectly, of any pollutant, stormwater, or any other substance into the MS4 or surface waters.

Domestic sewage means human excrement, gray water (from home clothes washing, bathing, showers, dishwashing, and food preparation), other wastewater from household drains, and waterborne waste normally discharged from the sanitary conveniences of dwellings (including apartment houses and hotels), office buildings, retail and commercial establishments, factories, and institutions, that is free from industrial waste.

Elevated building means for insurance purposes, a non-basement building which has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, posts, piers, pilings, or columns.

Eligible community or participating community means a community for which the administrator has authorized the sale of flood insurance under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Existing construction means for the purposes of determining rates, structures for which the "start of construction" commenced before the effective date of the FIRM or before January 1, 1975, for FIRMs effective before that date. "Existing construction" may also be referred to as "existing structures."

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 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).

Extremely hazardous substance means any substance listed in the appendices to 40 CFR 355, Emergency Planning and Notification.

Fertilizer means a substance or compound that contains a plant nutrient element in a form available to plants and is used primarily for its plant nutrient element content in promoting or stimulating growth of a plant or improving the quality of a crop, or a mixture of two or more fertilizers.

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

(1)

The overflow of inland waters;

(2)

The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; and

(3)

The collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly caused by an unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied by a severe storm, or by an unanticipated force of nature, such as flash flood, or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined above in item (1).

Flood boundary and floodway map (FBFM) means an official map of a community on which the administrator has delineated both special flood hazard areas and the designated regulatory floodway.

Flood elevation determination means a determination by the administrator of the water surface elevations of the base flood, that is, the flood level that has a one percent or greater chance of occurrence in any given year.

Flood elevation study means an examination, evaluation and determination of flood hazards.

Flood fringe means the area outside the floodway encroachment lines, but still subject to inundation by the regulatory flood.

Flood hazard boundary map (FHBM) means an official map of a community, issued by the administrator, where the boundaries of the flood areas having special flood hazards have been designated as (unnumbered or numbered) A zones.

Flood hazard map means the document adopted by the governing body showing the limits of:

(1)

The floodplain;

(2)

The floodway;

(3)

Streets;

(4)

Stream channel; and

(5)

Other geographic features.

Flood insurance rate map (FIRM) means an official map of a community, on which the administrator has delineated both the special flood hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

Flood insurance study (FIS) means an examination, evaluation and determination of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations.

Floodplain or flood-prone area means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source (see "flooding").

Floodplain management means the operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works, and floodplain management regulations.

Floodplain management regulations means zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as floodplain and grading ordinances) and other applications of police power. The term describes such state or local regulations, in any combination thereof, 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, or structures and their contents.

Floodway or 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.

Floodway encroachment lines means the lines marking the limits of floodways on federal, state and local floodplain maps.

Freeboard means a 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 selected size flood and floodway conditions, such as bridge openings and the hydrological effect of urbanization of the watershed.

Functionally dependent use means a use that cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. This term includes only docking facilities and facilities that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, but does not include long-term storage or related manufacturing facilities.

Hazardous household waste (HHW) means any material generated in a household (including single and multiple residences) by a consumer which, except for the exclusion provided in 40 CFR 261.4(b)(1), would be classified as a hazardous waste under 40 CFR 261 or K.A.R. 28-29-23b.

Hazardous substance means any substance listed in Table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302.

Hazardous waste means any substance identified or listed as a hazardous waste by the EPA pursuant to 40 CFR 261.

Highest adjacent grade means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed 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:

1.

By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or

(2)

Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.

Industrial waste means any waterborne liquid or solid substance that results from any process of industry, manufacturing, mining, production, trade, or business.

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 floodproofing design requirements of this article.

Manufactured home means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, that 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 (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.

Map means the flood hazard boundary map (FHBM), flood insurance rate map (FIRM), or the flood boundary and floodway map (FBFM) for a community issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Market value or "fair market value" means an estimate of what is fair, economic, just and equitable value under normal local market conditions.

Mean sea level means, for purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community's flood insurance rate map (FIRM) are referenced.

Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) means the system of conveyances, (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, private streets, catchbasins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains) owned and operated by the city and designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater, and which is not used for collecting or conveying sewage.

New construction means, for the purposes of determining insurance rates, structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of an initial FIRM 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 the floodplain management regulations 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 lot 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 floodplain management regulations adopted by the community.

(NFIP) means the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

NPDES means the national program for issuing, modifying, revoking and reissuing, terminating, monitoring and enforcing permits, and imposing and enforcing pretreatment requirements under sections 307, 402, 318 and 405 of the Federal Clean Water Act.

NPDES permit means, for the purpose of this chapter, a permit issued by United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the state that authorizes the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States, whether the permit is applicable on an individual, group, or general area-wide basis.

Oil means any kind of oil in any form, including, but not limited to, petroleum, fuel oil, crude oil, synthetic oil, motor oil, bio-fuel, cooking oil, grease, sludge, oil refuse, and oil mixed with waste.

Participating community also known as an "eligible community," means a community in which the Administrator has authorized the sale of flood insurance.

Permit means a signed document from a designated community official authorizing development in a floodplain, including all necessary supporting documentation such as:

(1)

The site plan;

(2)

An elevation certificate; and

(3)

Any other necessary or applicable approvals or authorizations from local, state or federal authorities.

Person includes any individual or group of individuals, corporation, partnership, association, or any other entity, including federal, state, and local governments and agencies.

Principally above ground means that at least 51 percent of the actual cash value of the structure, less land value, is above ground.

Recreational vehicle means a vehicle which is:

(1)

Built on a single chassis;

(2)

400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections;

(3)

Designed to be self-propelled or permanently able to be towed 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.

Pesticide means a substance or mixture of substances intended to prevent, destroy, repel, or migrate any pest, or substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.

Petroleum product means a product that is obtained from distilling and processing crude oil and that is capable of being used as a fuel or lubricant in a motor vehicle, boat or aircraft including motor oil, motor gasoline, gasohol, other alcohol blended fuels, aviation gasoline, kerosene, distillate fuel oil and No. 1 and No. 2 diesel fuel.

Pollutant means any substance or material which contaminates or adversely alters the physical, chemical or biological properties of the waters including changes in temperature, taste, odor, turbidity, or color of the water. Such substance or material may include, but is not limited to, dredged spoil, spoil waste, incinerator residue, sewage, pet and livestock waste, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical waste, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, soil, yard waste, hazardous household wastes, oil and petroleum products, used motor oil, anti-freeze, litter, pesticides, and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water.

Property owner means the named property owner as indicated by the records of the Johnson County Kansas Records and Tax Administration.

Release means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing into the MS4 or surface waters.

Remedy a violation means to bring the structure or other development into compliance with federal, state, or local floodplain management regulations; or, if this is not possible, to reduce the impacts of its noncompliance.

Risk premium rates means those rates established by the administrator pursuant to individual community studies and investigations, which are undertaken to provide flood insurance in accordance with Section 1307 of the National Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and the accepted actuarial principles. "Risk premium rates" include provisions for operating costs and allowances.

Sanitary sewer means the system of pipes, conduits, and other conveyances which carries industrial waste and domestic sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, to a sewage treatment plant and to which stormwater, surface water, and groundwater are not intentionally admitted.

Septic tank waste means any domestic sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks.

Sewage means the domestic sewage or industrial waste that is discharged into the sanitary sewer system and passes through the sanitary sewer system to a sewage treatment plant for treatment.

Special flood hazard area. See "area of special flood hazard."

Special hazard area means an area having special flood hazards and shown on an FHBM, FIRM or FBFM as zones (unnumbered or numbered) A, AO, AE, or AH.

Start of construction 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 improvements were 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 slabs or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, 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, the installation of streets and/or walkways, excavation for a basement, footings, piers, foundations, the erection of temporary forms, nor installation on the property of accessory structures, 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.

State coordinating agency means the Division of Water Resources, Kansas Department of Agriculture, or other office designated by the governor of the state or by state statute at the request of the Administrator to assist in the implementation of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in that state.

Stormwater means stormwater runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.

Structure means, for floodplain management purposes, a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home. "Structure" for insurance purposes, means a walled and roofed building, other than a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground and affixed to a permanent site, as well as a manufactured home on a permanent foundation. For the latter purpose, the term includes a building while in the course of construction, alteration or repair, but does not include building materials or supplies intended for use in such construction, alteration or repair, unless such materials or supplies are within an enclosed building on the premises.

Substantial-damage means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to pre-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 "start of construction" of the improvement. This term includes structures, which 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 official and which 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."

Surface waters means any body of water classified as "surface waters" by the state, including streams, rivers, creeks, brooks, sloughs, draws, arroyos, canals, springs, seeps, cavern streams, alluvial aquifers associated with these surface waters, lakes, manmade reservoirs, oxbow lakes, ponds, and wetlands, as well as any other body of water classified by the federal government as a "water of the United States."

Variance means a grant of relief by the community from the terms of a floodplain management regulation. Flood insurance requirements remain in place for any varied use or structure and cannot be varied by the community.

Violation means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required by this ordinance is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.

Waste means any garbage, refuse, sludge or other discarded material which is abandoned or committed to treatment, storage or disposal, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous materials resulting from industrial, commercial mining, community and agricultural activities. Waste does not include solid or dissolved materials in domestic sewage or irrigation return flows or solid or dissolved materials or industrial discharges which are point sources subject to permits under the state. The federal definition of solid waste is found at 40 CFR 257.2.

Water quality standard means the law or regulation that consists of the beneficial designated use of a water body, the numeric and narrative water quality criteria that are necessary to protect the use of that particular water body, and an antidegradation statement.

Water surface elevation means the height, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 (or other datum where specified) of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplain.

(Code 1967, ch. 7, art. 2, § 7-19; Ord. No. 1729, § 1, 1-12-2015 )