Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in these regulations shall be interpreted to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give these regulations the most reasonable application.

"Act" means the Montana Floodplain and Floodway Management Act, Sections 76-5-101 through 406, MCA.

"Alteration" means any change or addition to a structure that either increases its external dimensions or increases its potential flood hazard.

"Appeal" means a request for a review of the floodplain administrator’s interpretation of any provisions of these regulations or a request for a variance.

"Area of special flood hazard" means the land in the floodplain within the community subject to inundation by a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year, i.e., the one-hundred-year floodplain.

"Artificial obstruction-development" means any obstruction which is not natural and includes any dam, diversion, wall, riprap, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, projection, revetment, excavation, channel rectification, bridge, conduit, culvert, building, refuse, automobile body, fill or other analogous structure or matter in, along, across or projecting into any one-hundred-year floodplain which may impede, retard or alter the pattern of flow of water, either in itself or by catching or collecting debris carried by the water, or that is placed where the natural flow of water would carry the same downstream to the damage or detriment of either life or property.

"Base flood" means a flood having a one percent chance of being equalled or exceeded in any given year. A base flood is the same as a one-hundred-year flood.

"Base flood elevation" means the elevation above sea level of the base flood in relation to National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 unless otherwise specified in the flood hazard study.

"Channelization project" means the excavation and/or construction of an artificial channel for the purpose of diverting the entire flow of a stream from its established course.

"Establish" means to construct, place, insert or excavate.

"Existing manufactured home park or subdivision" means a manufactured home park or subdivision where the construction of facilities for servicing the manufactured homes lots is completed before the effective date of the floodplain management regulations. This includes, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads.

"FEMA" means the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"Flood" or "flooding" means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry lands from the overflow of a stream, or the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.

"Flood Insurance Rate Map" means the map on which FEMA has delineated both the one-hundred-year floodplains and the risk premium zones.

"Flood insurance study" means the report in which FEMA has provided flood profiles, as well as the flood boundary/floodway map and the water surface profiles.

"Floodplain" means the areas subject to these regulations, generally adjoining a stream, that would be covered by floodwater of a base flood except for designated shallow flooding areas that receive less than one foot of water per occurrence. The floodplain consists of a floodway and floodway fringe.

"Floodway" means the channel of a stream and the adjacent overbank areas that must be reserved in order to discharge a base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than one-half foot.

"Floodway fringe" means that portion of the floodplain outside the limits of the floodway.

"Levee" means a man-made embankment, usually earthen, designed and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to contain, control or divert the flow of water to provide protection from temporary flooding.

"Levee system" means a flood protection system that consists of a levee, or levees, and associated structures, such as drainage and closure devices, which are constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering practices.

"Lowest floor" means any floor used for living purposes, storage or recreation. This includes any floor that could be converted to such a use.

"Manufactured home" means a structure that is transportable in one or more sections, built on a permanent chassis, and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. This does not include "recreational vehicles."

"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.

"Mean sea level" means the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum to which base flood elevations are referenced.

"New construction" means structures for which construction, substantial improvement, or alteration commences on or after the effective date of these regulations.

"Official floodplain maps" mean the Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Flood Boundary/Floodway maps provided by FEMA for Columbia Falls, dated October 15, 1985 and September 5, 1984.

"One-Hundred-Year flood" means a flood having a one percent chance of being equalled or exceeded in any given year. A one-hundred-year flood has nearly a twenty-three percent chance of occurring in a twenty-five-year period. A one-hundred-year flood is the same as a base flood.

"Permit issuing authority" means the city building official.

"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 projections; (3) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and (4) designed primarily for use as temporary living quarters for recreation, camping, travel, or seasonal use, not for use as a permanent dwelling.

"Riprap" means stones, rocks, concrete blocks or analogous material that is placed along the banks or bed of a stream to alleviate erosion.

"Start of construction" means commencement of clearing, grading, filling or excavating to prepare a site for construction.

"Structure" means a walled and roofed building, manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank, bridge, culvert, dam, diversion, wall, revetment, dike or other projection that may impede, retard or alter the pattern of flow of water.

"Substantial damage" means damage sustained by a structure where the cost of restoring the structure to its condition before damage 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, the cost of which 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 purposes of this definition, substantial improvement is considered to occur when the first construction to any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the building commences. The term does not include:

1. Any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications 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 state inventory of historic places.

"Suitable fill" means fill material which is stable, compacted, well graded, pervious, generally unaffected by water and frost, devoid of trash or similar foreign matter, devoid of tree stumps or other organic material, and is fitting for the purpose of supporting the intended use and/or permanent structure.

"Variance" means a grant of relief from the requirements of these regulations that would permit construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by these regulations.

"Violation" means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with these regulations. A structure or other development without elevation certificate, certification by a licensed engineer or architect of compliance with these regulations, or other evidence of compliance is presumed to be in violation until such time as documentation is provided. (Ord. 576 § 3, 1994: Ord. 526 § 2, 1989: Ord. 453 § 2.0, 1985)