§ 28-2. Definitions.

For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms, words, phrases and derivations shall have the meaning given herein. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.

Applicant shall mean a person applying for a stormwater management permit to proceed with a project.

Aquifer shall mean an underground formation permeable enough to transmit, store, or yield quantities of salt or fresh water.

Best management practice shall mean a practice or combination of practices that are the most effective, practical means of preventing or reducing the amount of pollution generated by the project to a level compatible with Florida water quality standards found in Chapter 17-3, Florida Administrative Code; or in the case of an Outstanding Florida Waters, those standards prescribed in Chapter 17-4, Florida Administrative Code.

Clearing shall mean the removal of vegetation from the land, but shall not include mowing of grass.

Construction shall mean any on-site activity which will result in the change of natural or existing drainage patterns including alterations of existing contours of the property, erection of buildings and other structures on any part thereof, or land clearing.

Development or development activity shall mean:

(a)

The construction, installation, demolition or removal of a structure, impervious surface, or drainage facility; or

(b)

Clearing, scraping, grubbing, killing or otherwise removing the vegetation from a site;

(c)

Adding, removing, exposing, excavating, leveling, grading, digging, furrowing, dumping, piling, dredging, or otherwise significantly disturbing or altering soil, mud, sand, or rock of a site.

(d)

The modification or redevelopment of a site.

Discharge shall mean the outflow of water from a project, site, aquifer, drainage basin, or facility.

Discharge point shall mean the point, location or structure at which stormwater runoff discharges from a storm sewer or stormwater management system to a receiving conveyance facility or body of water.

Drainage shall mean the removal or conveyance of water from an area.

Duration shall mean the period from beginning of a rainfall event to the end of a rainfall event.

Enforcement officer shall mean the building official or his duly authorized representative.

Erosion shall mean the wearing or washing away of soil by the action of wind or water.

Event shall mean the specific storm which is, or is to be, considered in the design of a stormwater management system.

Existing shall mean the average condition at the project site prior to development or redevelopment.

Fill shall mean soil, consolidated or unconsolidated material, deposited on land or in water.

Groundwater shall mean water beneath the surface of the ground whether or not flowing through known and definite channels.

Hydrograph shall mean a graph of discharge versus time for a selected outfall point or drainageway.

Hydroperiod shall mean the cyclical changes (daily or seasonal) in the amount or stage of water in a wetland or deepwater habitat.

Impervious surface shall mean a surface which has been compacted or covered with a layer of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by water. It includes most conventionally surfaced streets, roofs, sidewalks, parking lots, wet pond surface areas at normal or control elevation, and other similar nonporous surfaces.

Land shall mean the earth that lies above mean high tide for land subject to tidal inundation and mean high water for land adjacent to freshwater bodies.

Maintenance shall mean the action taken to preserve the functional intent of any facility or system; normal custodial work needed to sustain original plans or permits.

Natural system shall mean the biological and physical components of the undeveloped land and water which predominantly consist of or use those communities of plants, animals, bacteria, and other life systems which naturally occur on the land, in the soil or in the water.

Operational entity shall mean an acceptable legally bound, responsible entity which agrees to operate and maintain the stormwater management system.

Person shall mean an individual, firm, corporation, government agency, business trust, estate trust, partnership, association, two (2) or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal entity.

Project shall mean the particular structure and improvements to a site proposed by an applicant on a particular land area which may be part of a common plan of development and shall include the subdivision of land.

Project initiation shall mean all acts antecedent to actual construction activities and includes, but is not limited to, permit application and plan development.

Rate shall mean volume per unit of time.

Recharge shall mean net downward percolation of water to an aquifer either by artificial means or naturally by infiltration.

Record drawings shall mean the site plans specifying the locations, dimensions, elevations, capacities and capabilities of structures or facilities as they have been constructed. Record drawings must be signed and sealed by a professional engineer, registered in the state.

Retention shall mean the prevention of a given volume of stormwater runoff from leaving the project site and discharging into receiving waters.

Retrofitting shall mean the improving of the quality of urban stormwater runoff to whatever degree is achievable. The improvement can include the existing system modification, or the addition of new, structures or stormwater management practices, or changes in activities or land uses.

Sediments shall mean solid material, whether mineral or organic, that is in suspension, is being transported, or has moved from its site of origin by air, water, or gravity.

Sediment facility shall mean any structure or area which is designed to hold runoff water until suspended sediments have settled.

Site plan shall mean the plan which shows the means by which the developer will conform with the applicable ordinances.

Spreader swale shall mean a swale positioned parallel to the receiving water body which allows for indirect discharge of stormwater which is in excess of the retained or detained volume.

Storage capacity shall mean the volume of water which can be impounded by the structure below the emergency spillway crest and above the wet season water table.

Stormwater management plan shall mean the detailed analysis which describes how the proposed stormwater management system for the development has been planned, designed, and will be constructed to meet the requirements of this chapter.

Stormwater management system shall mean the designed features of the property which collect, convey, channel, hold, inhibit or divert the movement of stormwater to insure the proper treatment and storage of these waters.

Stormwater runoff shall mean the flow of water which results from, and which occurs during and immediately following, a rainfall event.

Structure shall mean anything constructed, installed or portable, the use of which requires a location on a parcel of land. It includes a movable building, either temporary or permanent. "Structure" also includes roads, walkways, paths, swimming pools, tennis courts, pipelines, underground transmission lines, sheds and other accessory structures.

Subsurface drain or underdrain shall mean a conduit, such as perforated pipe, installed beneath the ground surface and which collects and/or conveys water by gravity to an outfall.

Vegetation shall mean all plant growth, especially trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, mosses, and grasses.

Vegetation buffer strip shall mean areas retained in their natural state or replanted along the banks of watercourses, water bodies, or wetlands. The width of the buffer should be sufficient to prevent erosion, trap the sediment in overland runoff, provide access to the water body, and allow for periodic flooding without damage to structures.

Volume shall mean occupied space and is measured in cubic units.

Water body shall mean any natural or artificial pond, lake, reservoir, or other area which ordinarily contains water and which usually has a discernible shoreline.

Watercourse shall mean any natural or artificial stream, creek, slough, channel, ditch, canal, waterway, gully, ravine or wash in which water flows in a definite direction, either continuously or intermittently, and which has a definite, physical or vegetatively distinct channel, bed or banks.

Water table shall mean the boundary between the zone of saturation and the zone of aeration. The water table varies with such factors as tides, amount of rainfall, and evapotranspiration.

Wetlands shall mean those areas saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a dominance of vegetation adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.

For the purposes of these regulations, wetlands are those areas which meet the criteria of those areas which support a dominance of wetland vegetation types listed in the Rules of the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, Chapter 17-3022.

Wet season water table shall mean the level of groundwater during the time of year when the greatest amount of rainfall normally occurs.

(Ord. No. 943, § 1, 10-18-1990)