Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable application.
"A-Zone" or "Zone A" means those areas shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) as that area of land within the floodplain which would be inundated by the Base Flood (one hundred-year or one percent annual chance) flood.
"Accessory structure" means nonresidential structures such as detached garages, sheds, garden buildings, pole buildings, and barns which are considered normal for farming and ranching activities.
"Administrator" means the director of the Mason County department of community development or designee.
"Appeal" means the right to request for a review of the administrator's interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
"Area of shallow flooding" means a designated AO or AH Zone on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The base flood depths range from one to three feet; a clearly defined channel does not exist; the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; and, velocity flow may be evident. AO is characterized as sheet flow and AH indicates ponding.
"Area of special flood hazard" means the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding on any given year. In Mason County, the designation of these areas on FIRM maps always includes the letter A. Areas of special flood hazard are designated as frequently flooded areas.
"Avulsion" means a sudden cutting off of land by flood, currents, or change in course of a body of water.
"Avulsion risk areas" are the areas which have been determined to have too high a risk of avulsion to permit new structures or expansion of existing structures.
"Base flood" means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Also referred to as the "one hundred-year flood." In Mason County, the designation on FIRM maps always includes the letter A.
"Basement" means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
"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.
"Critical facility" means a facility for which even a slight chance of flooding might be too great. Critical facilities include, but are not limited to schools, nursing homes, hospitals, police, fire and emergency response installations, installations which produce, use, or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste.
"Development" means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, diking, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials. The area contained within ring levees is considered to be part of the development area due to its impact on floodwaters.
Development Permit. See definition for "Permit" under this chapter.
"Elevated building" means for insurance purposes, a nonbasement building which has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, post, piers, pilings, or columns.
"Emergency" means an unanticipated and imminent threat to public health, safety, or the environment which requires immediate action within a time period too short to allow for normal development permit application and review. All emergency development shall be consistent with all Mason County development regulations.
"Engineering reports" are reports compiled under this chapter to address flood-related issues shall be by an engineer licensed in the state of Washington with knowledge and experience in hydrology. The method and rigor of all investigation, analysis and design shall be in accordance with current generally accepted engineering standards.
"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 or tidal waters and/or (2) The unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters from any source.
"Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)" means the official map on which the 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 boundary-floodway map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
"Flood proofing" means any combination of structural and non-structural 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.
"Flood protection elevation" means one foot above the base flood elevation.
"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.
"Footprint" means the total area of the first floor of a structure, regardless of how the structure is supported, or the total perimeter of any development other than a structure.
"Frequently flooded areas" are critical areas designated by Mason County in its resource ordinance.
"Lot" means a designated parcel, tract, or area of land established by plat, subdivision or as otherwise permitted by law, to be used, developed or built upon as a unit.
"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 found at Section 14.22.160(1)(B).
"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 connected to the required utilities. The term "manufactured home" does not include a "recreational vehicle."
"New construction" means structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of this chapter.
"Permit" means a written authorization from Mason County for any construction or development activity on all lands regulated by this chapter. Such permits shall include but are not limited to excavation and grading, permits for fills and excavations under Chapter 70 of the Uniform Building Code, shoreline permits for developments regulated by the Mason County shoreline master program, building permits for all structures under the Uniform Building Code or Title 14, Mason County Code, or written authorization for development under this chapter.
"Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, organization, cooperative, public or municipal corporation, or any agency of the state or local government unit however designated.
"Reasonable use exception" means the public review process undertaken to allow a proposed development which is a reasonable use of a site and is consistent with the general purposes of this chapter and the public interest.
"Recreational vehicle" means a vehicle which 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.
"Repetitive loss" means flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two occasions during a ten-year period for which the costs of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds twenty-five percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
"Special flood risk zone" means the Zones A and A2 floodplain of the Skokomish River, Vance Creek and tributaries, as identified on Flood Insurance Rate Maps 530115 0175 D and 530115 0180 D, both dated December 8, 1998, or as amended.
"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 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 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 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 the alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.
"Structure" means a walled and roofed building including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
"Substantial damage" means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
"Substantial improvement" means any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, taking place during a ten-year period, in which the cumulative cost equals or exceeds fifty percent of the market value of the structure either:
(1)
Before the improvement or repair is started, or
(2)
If the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. For the purpose of this definition "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.
This term includes structures which have incurred "repetitive loss" or "substantial damage" regardless of the actual amount of repair work performed.
The term does not, however, include either:
(1)
Any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official, and which was in existence prior to the damage event or improvement, and which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions, or
(2)
Any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places.
"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.
"Wetlands" refer to the definition in the Mason County resource ordinance.
Table of Acronyms Used in the Ordinance Sections
| FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency |
| FIRM | Flood Insurance Rate Map |
| NRCS | Natural Resources Conservation Service |
| RCW | Revised Code of Washington |
| WAC | Washington Administrative Code |
| WSDOT | Washington State Department of Transportation |
(Ord. 87-08 Attach. A (part), § 2.0, 2008: Ord. 81-07, Attach. A, § 2.0, 2007: Ord. 9-03, Attach. B8, § 2.0, 2003: Ord. 10-02, Attach. B, § 2.0, 2002: Ord. 16-00, Attach. B, § 2.0, 2000: Ord. 59-91, § 2.0, 1991).