“Area of shallow flooding” means a designated Zone AO, AH, AR/AO or AR/AH (or VO) on a community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with a one percent (1%) or greater annual chance of flooding to an average depth of one (1) to three (3) 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 (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) as Zone A, AO, AH, A1-30, AE, A99, AR (V, VO, V1-30, VE). “Special flood hazard area” is synonymous in meaning with the phrase “area of special flood hazard.”

“Base flood” means the flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

“Base flood elevation (BFE)” means the elevation to which floodwater is anticipated to rise during the base flood.

“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.

“Clearing” means the act of removing trees or vegetation on a cumulative twenty percent (20%) or more of a given parcel of land.

“Coastal high hazard area” means the area subject to high velocity waters due to wind, tidal action, storm, tsunami or any similar force, acting singly or in any combination, resulting in a wave or series of waves of sufficient magnitude, velocity or frequency to endanger property and lives. The area designated on the FIRM as Zone V1-30, VE or V.

“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 or drilling operations located within the area of special flood hazard.

“Federal Emergency Management Agency” is the agency responsible for administration of the National Flood Insurance Program.

“Flood hazard area” means the land area covered by the flood, having a one percent (1%) chance of occurring in any given year. See also “One hundred (100) year or one percent (1%) annual exceedance probability flood.” The land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) as Zone A, AO, AH, A1-30, AE, A99, AR (V, VO, V1-30, VE). “Flood hazard area” is synonymous in meaning with the phrase “area of special flood hazard.”

“Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)” and “Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM)” mean the official map of a community on which the Federal Insurance Administrator has delineated both the special hazard areas and risk premium zones applicable to the community. A FIRM that has been made available digitally is called a Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map.

“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 a designated height. Also referred to as “regulatory floodway.”

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

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

“Logging” means the process, work, or business of cutting down trees, storage of logs and transporting the logs to sawmill(s), or for sale or export.

“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 the 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 nonelevation design requirements of this chapter.

“Manufactured home” means a structure, transportable in one (1) or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. For floodplain management purposes the term “manufactured home” also includes park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days. For insurance purposes the term “manufactured home” does not include park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles.

“New construction,” for the purposes of determining insurance rates, means structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after the effective date of an initial Flood Insurance Rate Map 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 a floodplain management regulation adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

“One hundred (100) year or one percent (1%) annual exceedance probability flood” (also called “regulatory flood,” “base flood,” “base flood depth,” or “special flood hazard area”) means a flood with a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any year. Statistical analysis of available streamflow or storm records, or analysis of rainfall and runoff characteristics of the watershed, or topography and storm characteristics are used to determine the extent and depth of the one hundred (100) year or one percent (1%) annual exceedance probability flood.

“Planning Department” means the Planning Department of the City of Kenai.

“Primary structure” means a dwelling, a building suitable for commercial use, or any structure which will be served by water or wastewater disposal systems or a fuel storage tank. This definition is applicable only in the SMFDA.

“Recreational vehicle” means a vehicle which is: (1) built on a single chassis; (2) four hundred (400) 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 a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal use.

Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). See “Flood hazard area.”

“Start of construction” includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, placement or other improvement was within one hundred eighty (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 foundation or 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.

“Structure” means a walled and roofed building including liquid or gas storage tank, as well as a manufactured home that is principally above ground.

“Substantial damage” means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its pre-damage condition would equal or exceed fifty percent (50%) of the assessed value of the structure before damage occurred.

“Substantial evidence” means evidence a reasonable mind might accept to support a conclusion.

“Substantial improvement” means any remodeling, repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the assessed value of the structure before the improvement or repair is started or, if the property has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. This term does not, however, include either:

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