40B-4.1020. Definitions

(1) “75-Foot Setback” means the front 75 feet of an area immediately adjacent to and including the recognized top of bank of the river.

(2) “100-Year Flood/One Percent Annual Chance of Flood” means that flood which has a one-percent probability of recurrence in any one year. The 100-year flood/one percent annual chance of flood elevation is the highest elevation of flood waters during the 100-year flood/one percent annual chance of flood and is calculated or estimated from the best available information. The 100-year flood/one percent annual chance of flood elevation shall not include coastal storm surge elevations unless such elevations have been developed in an approved Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Insurance Study and such approved storm surge elevations have been accepted for implementation by the appropriate unit of local or state government.

(3) “Commercial” means any place of commerce, business, structure, or activity that generates revenue or income by any means or serves as an accessory activity or facility to any revenue-generating or income-producing operation; and not as a single-family residence.

(4) “Clearing” means removal of either vegetation or residential and non-residential structures for any purpose other than perpetual agricultural or silvicultural activities. Clearing includes, but is not limited to, cutting brush, removal of trees, burning, root-raking, de-stumping, land leveling, earthwork, chopping, grinding, and any other activity intended to convert property from its current condition to a developable condition.

(5) “Conversion” means a man-made change to a wetland as defined in Section 373.019, F.S., or surface water by draining, filling, or other means which results in the permanent change of the wetland or surface water to an upland.

(6) “Deck” means a flat surface on land capable of supporting weight.

(7) “Development” means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate within a Work of the District including but not limited to, construction of surfacewater management systems, works, appurtenant works, residential and non-residential structures, redistribution of onsite material, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, drilling operations, development of sewage disposal systems, or the alteration of the topography of a tract of land for purposes consistent with the occupation of agriculture, silviculture, floriculture, or horticulture including agricultural closed systems.

(8) “Dock” means a fixed or floating structure, including access walkways, terminal platforms, catwalks, mooring pilings, lifts, davits and other associated water-dependent structures, used for mooring and accessing vessels.

(9) “Engineer” means a professional engineer registered in Florida, or other person exempted pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 471, F.S., who is competent in the fields of hydrology and stormwater control.

(10) “Floodway” or “Regulatory Floodway” means the channel of a river, stream, or other watercourse and adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the 100-year flood/one percent annual change of flood without cumulatively increasing the 100-year flood/one percent annual chance of flood elevation more than a designated height. Unless otherwise noted, all regulatory floodways in the Suwannee River Water Management District provide for no more than one-foot rise in water surface elevations.

(11) “Governing Board” means the governing board of a water management district. Unless used in a different context, “governing board” or “board” means the governing board of the Suwannee River Water Management District.

(12) “Landing” means any platform waterward from the top of bank that is accessed by stairs and exited by stairs.

(13) “New Development” means any development as defined herein which:

(a) Was not complete on the effective date of this chapter; or

(b) Involves substantial improvement to any structure in a work of the district; or

(c) Involves alteration of any work or appurtenant works or surfacewater management system in a Work of the District.

(14) “Non-residential Structure” means any structure or building, including but not limited to, any storage facility, pole barn, shed, barn, or any structure used or intended to be used as storage or for parking of vehicles.

(15) “Obstruction” means any redistributed onsite material, fill, residential or non-residential structure, work, appurtenant work, or surfacewater management system placed in waters, a floodway, or a Work of the District which may impede the flow of water or otherwise result in increased water surface elevations.

(16) “Obstruction Shadow” means the bounds created by the largest area of cross-sectional obstruction perpendicular to the flow of any of the regulatory rivers in the floodway.

(17) “Pedestrian Access” means a narrow strip of land that provides access to the river by foot.

(18) “Pier” means a fixed or floating structure extending from land out over water, that is used primarily for fishing or swimming and not designed or used for mooring or accessing vessels.

(19) “Project Area” means the total land area owned or controlled by the applicant which will be serviced or affected by a surfacewater management system or work.

(20) “Registered Professional” means a professional registered or licensed by and in the State of Florida and practicing under Chapter 471, 472, 481 or 492, F.S.

(21) “Residential Structure” means any structure, or building, used, or intended to be used for human occupancy as a single-family residence, whether occupied or not.

(22) “Substantial Improvement” means any repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of a structure, the cost of which exceeds, over a five year period a cumulative total of 50 percent of the market value of the structure either:

(a) Before the improvement or repair is started; or

(b) 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 alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a building commences whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building. The term does not, however, include either any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which are necessary to assure safe conditions or any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

(23) “State-owned submerged lands” or “sovereignty submerged lands” means those lands including but not limited to, tidal lands, islands, sand bars, shallow banks, and lands waterward of the ordinary or mean high water line, beneath navigable fresh water or beneath tidally-influenced waters, to which the State of Florida acquired title on March 3, 1845, by virtue of statehood, and which have not been heretofore conveyed or alienated; and shall include all submerged lands title to which is held by the Board.

(24) “Surveyor” or “Professional Land Surveyor” means a person who is registered to engage in the practice of land surveying under Sections 472.001 through 472.039, F.S.

(25) “Temporary Structure” means any road-ready structure, such as a camper or RV, that is properly licensed and registered with any state department of motor vehicles.

(26) “Top of Bank” means that vertical point of a river bank where there is an abrupt change in slope observed when travelling waterward.

(27) “Water Management District” means any flood control, resource management, or water management district operating under the authority of Chapter 373, F.S. Unless otherwise stated, water management district or district shall refer to the Suwannee River Water Management District.

(28) “Work” or “Works” means all artificial structures, including, but not limited to, ditches, canals, conduits, channels, culverts, pipes, and other construction that connects to, draws water from, drains water into, or is placed in or across the waters in the state and includes all types of dredging and filling to create, remove, or located in, on, or over wetlands or other surface waters.

(29) “Work of the District” means those projects and works including, but not limited to, residential and non-residential structures, impoundments, wells, streams, and other watercourses, together with the appurtenant facilities and accompanying lands, which have been officially adopted by the governing board as Works of the District. Works of the District officially adopted by the board are adopted by rule in Rule 40B-4.3000, F.A.C., of this chapter.

Rulemaking Authority 373.044, 373.113, 373.171 FS. Law Implemented 373.019, 373.403 FS. History–New 9-25-85, Amended 12-22-92, 10-3-95, 5-13-07, 2-28-12, 10-14-13, 1-5-21.