§ 1-2. Definitions – "Accessory structure" to "Floodplain District".
(a) Accessory structure.
"Accessory structure" means a detached structure:
(1) that is usable solely for parking vehicles or limited storage;
(2) that is on the same parcel of property as the principal structure;
(3) that is no larger than 300 square feet and 1 story; and
(4) the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure.
(b) Actual start of construction.
See "new construction".
(c) ASCE 24.
"ASCE 24" means the most current of ASCE/SEI 24, "Flood Resistant Design and Construction" (American Society of Civil Engineers).
(d) Base flood.
"Base flood" means a flood that has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
(e) Base-flood elevation.
(1) In general.
"Base-flood elevation" means the elevation of surface water resulting from a flood that has a 1% chance of equaling or exceeding that level in any given year.
(2) Areas of shallow flooding.
In areas of shallow flooding, "base-flood elevation" means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior to construction, that is adjacent to the proposed foundation of a structure; plus:
(i) the depth number specified in feet on the Flood Insurance Rate Map; or
(ii) if the depth number is not specified, 4 feet.
(f) Basement.
"Basement" means any area of the building, including any sunken room or sunken portion of a room, having its floor below ground level on all sides.
(g) Coastal A Zone.
"Coastal A Zone" means an area within a special flood hazard area, landward of a coastal high hazard area (V Zone) or landward of a shoreline without a mapped coastal high hazard area, in which the principal source(s) of flooding are astronomical tides and storm surges, and in which, during base flood conditions, the potential exists for breaking waves with heights greater than or equal to 1.5 feet. The inland limit of the Coastal A Zone may be delineated on FIRMs as the Limit of Moderate Wave Action (LiWMA).
(h) Design flood.
"Design flood", as used in ASCE 24, is the greater of the following two flood events:
(1) area within a floodplain subject to a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any year as identified on the Flood Insurance Rate Map as a Special Flood Hazard Area; or
(2) area designated as a flood hazard area on a community's flood hazard map or otherwise legally designated.
(i) Design-flood elevation.
"Design-flood elevation", as used in ASCE 24 for application to the City, means the elevation of the design flood, including wave height, relative to the datum specified on the flood hazard map.
(j) Development.
(1) In general.
"Development" means:
(i) any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate; or
(ii) the subdivision of land.
(2) Inclusions.
"Development" includes any construction, reconstruction, modification, extension, or expansion of structures, placement of fill or concrete, construction of new or replacement infrastructure, temporary development, placement of manufactured homes or buildings, dumping, mining, dredging, grading, paving, drilling operations, storage of equipment, vehicles, materials, or products, land excavation, land clearing, land improvement, land fill operation, or any combination of these.
(k) Dry floodproofing.
See "floodproofing".
(l) Elevation Certificate.
(1) In general.
"Elevation Certificate" means a certification, in the form and containing the information required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, of the elevations of a structure and its improvements.
(2) By whom and how prepared.
An Elevation Certificate may only be prepared and certified by a licensed land surveyor or professional engineer, using Mean Sea Level as established by the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 ("NAVD").
(m) Fair market value.
(1) In general.
"Fair market value" means the price at which the improvement portion of the property will change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither of which is under compulsion to buy or sell and both of which have reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.
(2) By whom determined.
For purpose of this Division I, the fair market value of a structure is determined by:
(i) a licensed real estate appraiser; or
(ii) the most recent, fully phased-in assessed value of the structure, as determined by the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation.
(n) FEMA.
"FEMA" means the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(o) FIRM.
See "Flood Insurance Rate Map".
(p) FIS.
See "Flood Insurance Study".
(q) Flood.
"Flood" means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(1) the overflow of inland or tidal waters; or
(2) the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
See also "base flood" and "design flood".
(r) Flood elevation.
See "base-flood elevation", "design-flood elevation", and "flood-protection elevation".
(s) Flood hazard area.
See "Regulated Flood Hazard Area" and "Special Flood Hazard Area".
(t) Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
"Flood Insurance Rate Map" or "FIRM" means an official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated special flood hazard areas to indicate the magnitude and nature of flood hazards, to designate applicable flood zones, and to delineate floodways, if applicable. FIRMs that have been prepared in digital format or converted to digital format are referred to as Digital FIRMs (DFIRM).
(u) Flood Insurance Study (FIS).
"Flood Insurance Study" or "FIS" means the official report in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided flood profiles, floodway information, and water surface elevations.
(v) Flood-protection elevation.
"Flood-protection elevation" is:
(1) the base flood elevation plus 2 feet of freeboard in the non-tidal floodplain; and
(2) the modeled elevation of the 0.2% chance of flood plus 2 feet of freeboard in the tidal floodplain as listed on the Flood Insurance Study (Table 4).
(w) Floodplain.
"Floodplain" means any land area and watercourse susceptible to partial or complete inundation by water from any source, including::
(1) a relatively flat or low land area adjoining a river, stream, or watercourse that is subject to partial or complete inundation;
(2) an area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; or
(3) an area subject to tidal surge or extreme tides.
(x) Floodplain District.
"Floodplain District" means the District, and its constituent subdistricts, established under Subtitle 2 {"Floodplain District"} of this article.