§ 7-5.201. Scope.

For the purposes of this chapter only, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted in order to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable application, unless specifically defined in this article.

"A zone" — see special flood hazard area.

"Accessory structure" shall mean a structure that is either:

(a)

Solely for the parking of no more than two (2) cars; or

(b)

A small, low-cost shed for limited storage, less than 150 square feet and $1,500.00 in value.

"Accessory use" shall mean a use which is incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the parcel of land on which it is located.

"Adversely affect" shall mean the cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated development, will increase the water surface elevation of the base flood beyond the tolerance of the flood model. This is considered to be one-tenth of one foot or more at any point off-site of the property that is controlled by the project developer.

"Alluvial fan" shall mean a geomorphologic feature characterized by a cone or fan-shaped deposit of boulders, gravel, and fine sediments that have been eroded from mountain slopes, transported by flood flows, and then deposited on the valley floor, and which is subject to flash flooding, high velocity of flows, debris flows, erosion, sediment movement and deposition, and channel migration.

"Apex" shall mean a point on an alluvial fan or similar landform below which the flow path of the major stream that formed the fan becomes unpredictable, and alluvial fan flooding can occur.

"Appeal" shall mean a request for a review of the Floodplain Administrator's interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.

"Area of shallow flooding" shall mean a designated AO or AH Zone on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The base flood depths range from one to three (3′) feet; a clearly defined channel does not exist; the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; and velocity of flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.

"Area of special flood hazard"— see "special flood hazard area."

"Barn" shall mean a structure designed and constructed to house animals, farm implements and other agricultural products. The structure shall not be a place of human habitation or a place of employment where agricultural products are processed, treated or packaged; nor shall it be a place used by the public.

"Base flood" shall mean the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

"Base flood elevation (BFE)" shall mean the elevation shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map for Zones AE, AH, A1-30, VE and V1-V30 that indicates the water surface elevation resulting from a flood that has a one percent or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

"Basement" shall mean any area of a structure having its floor below ground level on all sides.

"Building" — see "structure."

"Certification" shall mean a certification by a registered professional engineer or other party and does not constitute a warranty or guarantee of performance, expressed or implied. Certification of data is a statement that the data is accurate to the best of the certifier's knowledge. Certification of analyses is a statement that the analyses have been performed correctly and in accordance with sound engineering practices. Certification of structural works is a statement that the works are designed in accordance with sound engineering practices to provide protection from the base flood. Certification of "as build" conditions is a statement that the structure(s) has been built according to the plans being certified, is in place, and is fully functioning.

"City" shall mean the incorporated City of Simi Valley.

"Commission" shall mean the Planning Commission of the City of Simi Valley, also called the "Board," "Board of Appeals," or the "Variance Board" in this chapter.

"County" shall mean the incorporated County of Ventura.

"Critical facilities" shall mean that which is critical to the community's public health and safety, are essential to the orderly functioning of a community, store or produce highly volatile, toxic or water-reactive materials, or house occupants that may be insufficiently mobile to avoid loss of life or injury. For some activities and facilities, even a slight chance of flooding is too great a threat. Typical critical facilities include electric utilities, fire stations, emergency operation centers, police facilities, nursing homes, hospitals, wastewater treatment facilities, water plants, gas/oil/propane storage facilities, hazardous waste handling and storage facilities, and other public equipment storage facilities.

"Design flood" shall mean a hypothetical flood representing a specific likelihood of occurrence (for example the 100-year or one percent probability flood). The design flood may comprise two (2) or more single source dominated floods.

"Development" shall mean any man-made 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. "Development" does not include flood control improvements constructed by the Ventura County Watershed Protection District.

"Encroachment" shall mean the advance or infringement of uses, plant growth, fill, excavation, buildings, permanent structures or development into a floodplain which may impede or alter the flow capacity of the floodplain.

"Existing manufactured home park or subdivision" shall mean a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed, including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads, is completed before the effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted by the City.

"Expansion to an existing manufactured home park or subdivision" shall mean the preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed, including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads.

"Fill" shall mean the placement of fill material at a specified location to bring the ground surface up to a desired elevation.

"Fill material" shall mean natural sand, dirt, soil, rock, concrete, cement, soil cement, brick or other similar material.

"Flood, flooding, or flood water" shall mean a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from: (1) the overflow of waters, (2) the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source, and/or (3) mudflows which are proximately caused by flooding.

"Flood area development permit" shall mean the permit which must be obtained from the Floodplain Administrator prior to the start of any construction or development within any special flood hazard area.

"Flood Boundary and Floodway Map (FBFM)" shall mean the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the floodway.

"Flood elevation determination" shall mean a determination by the Floodplain Administrator of the water surface elevation of the base flood.

"Flood elevation study" shall mean an examination, evaluation, and determination of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations.

"Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)" shall mean 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 City.

"Flood Insurance Study" (FIS) shall mean the official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and the water surface elevation of the base flood.

"Floodplain" or "flood-prone area" shall mean any land area susceptible to flooding.

"Floodplain Administrator" shall mean the individual appointed to administer and enforce these floodplain management regulations.

"Floodplain management" shall mean the operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage.

"Floodplain management regulations" shall mean this chapter and other zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as grading and erosion control) and other application of police power which control development in flood-prone areas. This term describes Federal, State or local regulations in any combination thereof which provide standards for preventing and reducing flood loss and damage.

"Flood protection system" shall mean those physical structural works for which funds have been authorized, appropriated, and expended, and which have been constructed in conformance with sound engineering practices, specifically to modify flooding in order to reduce the extent of the area within the City subject to a special flood hazard and the extent of the depths of associated flooding.

"Floodproofing" shall mean any combination of structural and nonstructural 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.

"Floodway" shall mean 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. Also referred to as the "regulatory floodway."

"Floodway encroachment lines" shall mean the lines marking the limits of floodways on Federal, State and local floodplain maps.

"Floodway fringe" shall mean the areas of a floodplain on either side of the designated floodway where encroachment may be permitted.

"Fraud and victimization" refers to fraud or victimization of the public as it applies to the granting of a variance. The Planning Commission, acting as the Variance Board, shall consider the fact that every newly constructed building adds to government responsibilities and remains a part of the community for fifty (50) to 100 years. Buildings that are permitted to be constructed below the BFE are subject during all those years to increased risk of damage from floods, while future owners of the property and the community as a whole are subject to all the costs, inconvenience, danger, and suffering that those increased flood damages bring. In addition, future owners may purchase the property, unaware that it is subject to potential flood damage, and can be insured only at very high flood insurance rates. The Variance Board must find in granting a variance that it will not cause fraud on or victimization of the public.

"Freeboard" shall mean a margin of safety added to the BFE to account for waves, debris, miscalculations, lack of data, or changes in climate.

"Functionally dependent use" shall mean 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.

"Future conditions flood hazard area" shall mean any area of future conditions flood hazard, the land area that would be inundated by the one-percent annual-chance flood based on future conditions hydrology.

"Garage" shall mean a detached accessory building on the same lot as a dwelling or a portion of a main building for the housing of non-commercial vehicles of the occupants of the dwelling.

"Governing body" shall mean the local governing unit, i.e. county or municipality that is empowered to adopt and implement regulations to provide for the public health, safety and general welfare of its citizenry.

"Hardship" as related to Section 7-5.801(e) of this chapter shall mean the exceptional hardship that would result from a failure to grant the requested variance. The City Council requires that the variance be exceptional, unusual, and peculiar to the property involved. Mere economic or financial hardship alone is not exceptional. Inconvenience, aesthetic considerations, physical handicaps, personal preferences, or the disapproval of one's neighbors likewise cannot, as a rule, qualify as an exceptional hardship. All of these problems can be resolved through other means without granting a variance, even if the alternative is more expensive, or requires the property owner to build elsewhere or put the parcel to a different use than originally intended.

"Highest adjacent grade" shall mean the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.

"Historic structure" shall mean any structure that is: (a) listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places of the Department of the Interior or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register; (b) certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district registered historic district; (c) individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of Interior; or (d) individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either: (1) by an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, or (2) Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states with approved programs.

"Increased cost of compliance" shall mean a flood insurance claim provision that helps fund the cost of bringing a flood-damaged building into compliance with floodplain management standards.

"Levee" shall mean a man-made structure designed and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to contain, control, or divert the flow of water in order to provide protection from temporary flooding.

"Levee maintenance" shall mean routine activities to preserve the operating condition or operating elevation of a levee as established in a final notification issued by the Floodplain Administrator pursuant to Section 7-5.514. These activities include and are limited to:

(a)

Extermination of burrowing rodents and filling burrows;

(b)

Shaping the levee crown;

(c)

Repairing access or patrol roads;

(d)

Repairing minor slip-outs, erosion, or subsidence;

(e)

Removing drift deposits, debris, and litter;

(f)

Cleaning drains and ditches adjacent to the levee toe;

(g)

Cutting, removing, trimming, spraying, and mowing vegetation;

(h)

Repairing or restoring rock protection;

(i)

Removing encroachments; or

(j)

Placing fill to restore the operating elevation of a levee.

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

"Lowest floor" shall mean the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area including basement. (See "basement" definition.)

(a)

An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage, provided it does not meet the definition of "basement," is not considered a building's lowest floor provided it conforms to applicable non-elevation design requirements, including, but not limited to:

(1)

The flood openings standard in Section 7-5.603(3)(5);

(2)

The anchoring standards in Section 7-5.603(a);

(3)

The construction materials and methods standards in Section 7-5.603(b); and

(4)

The standards for utilities in Section 7-5.604.

(b)

For residential structures, all subgrade enclosed areas are prohibited as they are considered to be basements (see "basement" definition). This prohibition includes below-grade garages and storage areas.

"Manufactured home" shall mean 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" shall mean a parcel, or contiguous parcels, of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.

"Map" shall mean the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for the City, issued by the Flood Insurance Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"Market value" shall be determined by estimating the cost to replace the structure in new condition and adjusting that cost figure by the amount of depreciation which has accrued since the structure was constructed.

(a)

The cost of replacement of the structure shall be based on a square foot cost factor determined by reference to a building cost estimating guide recognized by the building construction industry.

(b)

The amount of depreciation shall be determined by taking into account the age and physical deterioration of the structure and functional obsolescence as approved by the Floodplain Administrator, but shall not include economic or other forms of external obsolescence.

(c)

Use of replacement costs or accrued depreciation factors different from those contained in recognized building cost estimating guides may be considered only if such factors are included in a report prepared by an independent professional appraiser and supported by a written explanation of the differences. See Section 7-5.402(b)(1).

"Mean sea level" shall mean the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988 or other datum, to which base BFEs shown on the City's Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.

"Minimum necessary" shall mean the least deviation from the requirements of this chapter necessary to afford relief to the applicant of a variance and still maintain the integrity of this chapter. In the case of variances to an elevation requirement for example, this means the Variance Board need not grant permission for the applicant to build at grade, or even to whatever elevation the applicant proposes, but only to that level that the Board believes will both provide relief and preserve the integrity of this chapter.

"Mudslide" shall mean a condition where there is a river, flow or inundation of liquid mud down a hillside.

"New construction" shall mean structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after September 12, 1991, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

"New manufactured home park or subdivision" shall mean a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed, including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads, is completed on or after September 12, 1991.

"Obstruction" shall include, but is not limited to, any dam, wall, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, protection, excavation, channelization, bridge, conduit, culvert, building, wire, fence, rock, gravel, refuse, fill, structure, vegetation or other material in, along, across or projecting into any watercourse to alter, impede, retard or change the direction and/or velocity of the flow of water, or due to its location, its propensity to snare or collect debris carried by the flow of water or its likelihood of being carried downstream.

"One hundred year flood" or "100-year flood" shall mean a flood which has a one percent annual probability of being equaled or exceeded. It is identical to the "base flood," which is the term used throughout this chapter.

"Person" shall mean any individual, corporation, partnership, association of any type, public agency or any other legal entity.

"Program deficiency" shall mean a defect in a community's floodplain management regulations or administrative procedures that impairs effective implementation of those floodplain management regulations.

"Principal structure" shall mean a structure used for a principal use of the property as distinguished from an "accessory use."

"Public safety and nuisances," as related to Section 7-5.801(e) of this chapter, shall mean any threat to public safety or any nuisances created by the granting of a variance. This chapter is intended to help protect the health, safety, well-being, and property of the local citizens. This is a long-range community effort made up of a combination of approaches such as adequate drainage systems, warning and evacuation plans, and keeping new property above the flood levels. These long-term goals can only be met if exceptions to the requirements of this chapter are kept to a bare minimum.

"Reasonably safe from flooding" shall mean base flood waters will not inundate the land or damage structures to be removed from the SFHA and that any subsurface waters related to the base flood will not damage existing or proposed structures.

"Recreational vehicle" shall mean a vehicle which is:

(a)

Built on a single chassis;

(b)

400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;

(c)

Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and

(d)

Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

"Regulatory floodway" shall mean 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.

"Remedy a violation" shall mean to bring the structure or other development into compliance with State or local floodplain management regulations, or if this is not possible, to reduce the impacts of its noncompliance. Ways that impacts may be reduced include protecting the structure or other affected development from flood damages, implementing the enforcement provisions of this chapter or otherwise deterring future similar violations, or reducing State or Federal financial exposure with regard to the structure or other development.

"Repetitive loss" shall mean any insurable structure for which two (2) or more claims of more than $1,000.00 were paid by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) within any rolling ten-year period since 1978.

"Riverine" shall mean relating to, formed by, or resembling a river (including tributaries), stream, brook, etc.

"Sheet flow area" see "area of shallow flooding."

"Special flood hazard area (SFHA)" shall mean an area having special flood hazards and shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) as Zone A, AO, AH or AE.

"Start of construction" shall include substantial improvement and other proposed new development and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was within 180 days from the date of the permit. The actual start means either:

(a)

The first placement of the permanent 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.

(b)

The placement of a manufactured home on a foundation.

(c)

Permanent construction does not include:

(1)

Land preparation, such as clearing, grading and filling;

(2)

The installation of streets and/or walkways;

(3)

Excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; or

(4)

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 a 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 that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.

"Structure" shall mean 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" shall mean:

(a)

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; or

(b)

Flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two (2) separate occasions during a ten-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each such event, on the average, equals or exceeds twenty-five (25%) percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. This is also known as "repetitive loss."

"Substantial improvement" shall mean any combination of repairs, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure taking place within a ten (10) year period, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty (50%) percent of the market value of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement. For each structure, the ten (10) year period begins on the date of the first improvement or repair of that structure subsequent to the date of this regulation. When the combined total of all improvements or repairs made after the adoption of this regulation equals or exceeds fifty (50%) percent of a structure's market value, that structure is considered to be substantially improved. This term includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage," regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either:

(a)

Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of State or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or

(b)

Any alteration of a "historic structure," provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a "historic structure."

"Variance" shall mean relief from the requirements of this chapter which permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited by this chapter.

"Variance Board" shall mean the Planning Commission of the City in its role as the decision making body for requests for variances from the requirements of this chapter.

"Violation" shall mean the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with this chapter. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in this chapter is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.

"Water surface elevation" shall mean the height, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, or other datum, where specified, of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains.

"Watercourse" shall mean a lake, river, creek, stream, wash, arroyo, channel or other topographic feature on or over which waters flow at least periodically. Watercourse includes specifically designated areas in which substantial flood damage may occur.

(§ 1 (Exh. A), Ord. No. 1268, eff. April 20, 2017)