“Base flood” means the flood having a one (1) percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also referred to as the “one hundred (100) year flood”). The area subject to the base flood is the special flood hazard area designated on flood insurance rate maps as Zones “A” or “AE.”

“Base flood elevation” means the elevation of the base flood in relation to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988.

“Basement” means any area of the structure having its floor sub-grade (below ground level) on all sides.

“Critical facility” means a facility necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare during a flood. “Critical facilities” include, but are not limited to, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, police, fire and emergency operations installations, water and wastewater treatment plants, electric power stations, and installations which produce, use, or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste (other than consumer products containing hazardous substances intended for household use).

“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 or storage of equipment or materials located within the area of special flood hazard.

“Elevated building” means a nonbasement building that has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, posts, piers, pilings, or columns. A building on a slab on grade foundation is not considered an elevated building.

“Elevation Certificate” means the official form (FEMA Form 81-31) used to provide elevation information necessary to ensure compliance with provisions of this chapter and determine the proper flood insurance premium rate.

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

“Flood insurance rate map (FIRM)” means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the special flood hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

“Flood insurance study” means the official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that includes the flood insurance rate map, floodway data, and base flood elevations.

“Floodplain administrator” means the community development director or the director’s designee.

“Floodway” means the channel of a stream or other nontidal 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 (1) foot at any point.

“Historic structure” means a structure that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Washington Heritage Register, or the Washington Heritage Barn Register, or has been certified to contribute to the historical significance of a registered historic district.

“Lowest floor” means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement or crawlspace). 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 structure’s lowest floor; provided, that such enclosure is compliant with Sections 15.55.270(F) and (H).

“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 a “recreational vehicle.”

“Manufactured home park or subdivision” means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.

“NAVD88” means the North American Vertical Datum of 1988. Unless otherwise noted, all elevations referred to in this chapter are in relation to NAVD88.

“New construction” means structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after the effective date of this chapter.

“Recreational vehicle” means a vehicle which meets all four (4) of the following criteria:

“Special flood hazard area (SFHA)” means the land subject to inundation by the base flood. Special flood hazard areas are designated on the flood insurance rate map with the letters “A,” “AE,” or “AH” and may include additional flood-prone areas designated in this chapter.

“Start of construction” includes substantial improvement, and means the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement or other improvement that occurred before the permit’s expiration date. The actual start is 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.

“Structure” means a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank 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 before damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. “Substantial damage” also means flood-related damage sustained by a structure on two (2) separate occasions during a ten (10) year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds twenty-five (25) percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

“Substantial improvement” means any repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, replacement, or other improvement of a structure, taking place during a five (5) year period, the cumulative cost of which equals or exceeds fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure before the “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 include any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been previously identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions.