NR 116.03(30m) (30m) “Mobile recreational vehicle” means a recreational vehicle that is carried, towed or self-propelled; is licensed for highway use, if registration is required; and is always capable of being driven or towed by a licensed vehicle.

NR 116.03(31) (31) “Municipality” or “municipal” means a county, city or village.

NR 116.03(32) (32) “NGVD” or “National Geodetic Vertical Datum” means elevations referenced to mean sea level datum, 1929 adjustment.

NR 116.03(33) (33) “Nonconforming building” means an existing lawful building which is not in conformity with the dimensional or structural requirements of the floodplain zoning ordinance for the area of the floodplain which it occupies.

NR 116.03(34) (34) “Nonconforming use” means an existing lawful use or accessory use of a structure, building or development which is not in conformity with the provisions of the floodplain zoning ordinance for the area of the floodplain which it occupies.

NR 116.03(35) (35) “Obstruction to flow” means any development which physically blocks the conveyance of flood waters such that this development by itself or in conjunction with any future similar development will cause an increase in regional flood height.

NR 116.03(36) (36) “Official floodway lines” means those lines which have been approved by the department, adopted by the municipality, and which are shown on the official floodplain zoning maps and used for regulatory purposes. The official floodway lines are established assuming that the area landward of the floodway lines will not be available to convey flood flows.

NR 116.03(37) (37) “Open space use” means a use which has a relatively low flood damage potential, such as uses associated with agriculture, recreation, parking, storage yards, or certain sand and gravel operations.

NR 116.03(38) (38) “Private sewage system” means a sewage treatment and disposal system serving a single structure with a septic tank and soil absorption field located on the same parcel as the structure. This term also means an alternative sewage system approved by the department of industry, labor and human relations including a substitute for the septic tank or soil absorption field, a holding tank, a system serving more than one structure or a system located on a different parcel than the structure.

NR 116.03(39) (39) “Public utilities” means those utilities which employ underground or overhead transmission lines such as electric, telephone and telegraph, and distribution and collection systems such as water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer.

NR 116.03(40) (40) “Rapidly urbanizing watershed” means a watershed where more than 20% of the land area of the watershed has been developed for residential, commercial or industrial uses or where development of the watershed is projected to grow at a rate of 10% or more in the next 10-year period.

NR 116.03(41) (41) “Regional flood” means a flood determined to be representative of large floods known to have occurred in Wisconsin or which may be expected to occur on a particular lake, river or stream once in every 100 years.

NR 116.03 Note Note: The regional flood is based upon a statistical analysis of lake level or streamflow records available for the watershed or an analysis of rainfall and runoff characteristics in the watershed or both. The flood frequency of the regional flood is once in every 100 years. In any given year, there is a 1% chance that the regional flood may occur or be exceeded. During a typical 30-year mortgage period, the regional flood has a 26% chance of occurring.

NR 116.03(42) (42) “Shallow depth flooding areas” means those areas where the maximum depth of flooding does not exceed one foot in depth nor 6 hours in duration during the regional flood.

NR 116.03(43) (43) “Special exception” or “conditional use” has the meaning designated in sub. (5).

NR 116.03(44) (44) “Stormwater management” means public policy and action to control stormwater runoff associated with development within a rapidly urbanizing watershed in order to prevent the occurrence of, or an increase in, flood damage potential. It includes, but is not limited to, development of stormwater runoff data, flood profiles and enactment and administration of ordinances regulating land use in a watershed.

NR 116.03(45) (45) “Structure” means any man-made object with form, shape and utility, either permanently or temporarily attached to or placed upon the ground, river bed, stream bed or lakebed.

NR 116.03(46) (46) “Study” means any analysis that results in the calculation of discharge or elevation of the regional flood or the determination or delineation of boundary lines for any area within a floodplain.

NR 116.03(47) (47) “Undeveloped area” means an area which is not a developed area.

NR 116.03(48) (48) “Unnecessary hardship” means that circumstance where special conditions affecting a particular property, which were not self-created, have made strict conformity with restrictions governing areas, setbacks, frontage, height or density unnecessarily burdensome or unreasonable in light of the purposes of the ordinance.

NR 116.03(49) (49) “Variance” means an authorization by the board of adjustment or appeals under s. NR 116.21 (4), for the construction or maintenance of a building or structure in a manner which is inconsistent with dimensional standards contained in the floodplain zoning ordinance.

NR 116.03 Note Note: A variance can only be granted by the board of adjustment or appeals. A variance may not permit a use of property otherwise prohibited by the floodplain zoning ordinance or allow construction not protected to the flood protection elevation; it may, however, permit deviations from dimensional standards.

NR 116.03(50) (50) “Watershed” means the entire region or area contributing runoff or surface water to a particular watercourse or body of water.

NR 116.03(51) (51) “Water surface profile” means a graphical representation showing the elevation of the water surface of a watercourse for each position along a reach of river or stream at a certain flood flow. A water surface profile of the regional flood is used in regulating floodplain areas.

NR 116.03(52) (52) “Well” means an excavation or opening in the ground made by digging, boring, drilling, driving or other methods, for the purpose of obtaining groundwater regardless of its intended use.

NR 116.03(53) (53) “Zoning agency” means a commission, board, committee or agency created or designated by the governing body of a municipality which acts on matters pertaining to planning or zoning. Under the provisions of s. 62.23 (7) (d) 2., Stats., the term “zoning agency” also includes the governing body of a city or village.

NR 116.03 History History: Cr. Register, February, 1986, No. 362, eff. 3-1-86; cr. (1e), (1s), (30m), Register, June, 1996, No. 486, eff. 7-1-96; CR 03-091: cr. (6m) Register August 2004 No. 584, eff. 9-1-04.

NR 116.05 NR 116.05 Adoption and upgrading of floodplain zoning ordinances.

NR 116.05(1) (1) Adoption. Municipalities shall adopt, administer and enforce reasonable floodplain zoning ordinances for all floodplains where serious flood damage may occur within their respective jurisdictions. These ordinances shall meet or exceed the standards in this chapter.