Appomattox County Unincorporated

no encroachments, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements, or other development shall be permitted unless it has been demonstrated through hydrologic and hydraulic analysis... that the proposed encroachment will not result in any increase in flood levels

no new construction, substantial improvements, or other development (including fill) shall be permitted within the areas of special flood hazard, designated as Zones A1-30, AE, or AH on the FIRM, unless it is demonstrated that the cumulative effect... will not increase the water surface elevation of the base flood more than one foot

the lowest floor shall be elevated to or above the base flood level plus 18 inches

All new construction and substantial improvements of residential structures shall have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated to or above the flood depth specified on the FIRM... If no flood depth number is specified, the lowest floor... shall be elevated no less than two feet above the highest adjacent grade.

All uses, activities, and development occurring within any floodplain district... shall be undertaken only upon the issuance of a permit.

FLOOD HAZARD AREAS — The maximum area of the floodplain which is likely to be flooded once every 100 years or for which mudslides can be reasonably anticipated.

HEIGHT — For the purpose of determining the height limits in all zones as set forth in this article and shown on the Zoning Map, the datum shall be mean sea level (MSL) elevation unless otherwise specified.

LOT WIDTH — The distance between side lot lines measured at the required minimum building setback line in that district. In the case of lots on a curve in the street, the lot width measured along the minimum setback line shall not be less than 80% of the required lot width in the district. In the case of lots on the turning circle of a cul-de-sac, the width measured along the minimum setback line shall not be less than 60% of the required lot width in the district.

LOT AREA — The total horizontal land area within the lot lines of a lot, excluding any area within existing or proposed public street rights-of-way.

LOT COVERAGE — The ratio of the horizontally projected area of the main and accessory buildings on a lot to the lot, except where otherwise defined herein.

FLOOR AREA RATIO — The ratio of gross floor area of all buildings on the lot to the total lot area.

FLOOR AREA (GROSS FLOOR AREA) — The sum of the gross horizontal areas of each covered floor of a building, measured from the outside faces of exterior walls or from the centerline of party walls separating two buildings, but not including areas devoted to vehicle parking, uninhabitable basements, attics, or service/mechanical equipment rooms.

OPEN AREA — The portion of a lot not used for buildings, structures, parking, loading, or streets, which may be set aside for landscaping and/or recreation.

OPEN SPACE — Any parcel or area of land or water essentially unimproved and set aside, dedicated, or reserved for public or private use or enjoyment, or for the use and enjoyment of owners and occupants of land adjoining or neighboring such open space; a yard area which is not used for or occupied by a driveway, off-street parking, loading space, or refuse storage space.

LANDSCAPING — The improvement of the appearance of an area by the planting of trees, grass, shrubs, or other plant materials, or by the alteration of the contours of the ground.

OFF-STREET PARKING AREA — Space provided for vehicular parking outside the dedicated street right-of-way.

LOADING SPACE, OFF-STREET — Space for bulk pickups and deliveries, scaled to delivery vehicles expected to be used and accessible to such vehicles when required off-street parking spaces are filled.

GLARE — The effect produced by brightness sufficient to cause annoyance, discomfort, or loss in visual performance and visibility.

FOOT CANDLE — A quantitative unit of measure referring to the measurement of illumination incident to a single point. One foot-candle is equal to one lumen uniformly distributed over an area of one square foot.

LUMENA — Standard unit of measurement referring to the amount of light energy emitted by a light source without regard to the effectiveness of its distribution.