Virginia Code 36-97: Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 36-97
- Board: means the Board of Housing and Community Development. See Virginia Code 36-97
- Building: means a combination of any materials, whether portable or fixed, having a roof to form a structure for the use or occupancy by persons or property. See Virginia Code 36-97
- Building Code: means the Uniform Statewide Building Code and building regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant thereto. See Virginia Code 36-97
- Building regulations: means any law, rule, resolution, regulation, ordinance, or code, general or special, or compilation thereof, enacted or adopted by the Commonwealth or any county or municipality, including departments, boards, bureaus, commissions, or other agencies of such state or local governments, relating to construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, repair, maintenance, or use of structures and buildings and installation of equipment therein. See Virginia Code 36-97
- City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
- Construction: means the construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, or conversion of buildings and structures. See Virginia Code 36-97
- Department: means the Department of Housing and Community Development. See Virginia Code 36-97
- Director: means the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development. See Virginia Code 36-97
- Equipment: means plumbing, heating, electrical, ventilating, air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment, elevators, dumbwaiters, escalators, and other mechanical additions or installations. See Virginia Code 36-97
- Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
- farm: means any person that obtains at least 51 percent of its annual gross income from agricultural operations and produces the agricultural waste used as feedstock for the waste-to-energy technology, (ii) "agricultural waste" means biomass waste materials capable of decomposition that are produced from the raising of plants and animals during agricultural operations, including animal manures, bedding, plant stalks, hulls, and vegetable matter, and (iii) "waste-to-energy technology" means any technology, including but not limited to a methane digester, that converts agricultural waste into gas, steam, or heat that is used to generate electricity on-site. See Virginia Code 1-222.1
- Local governing body: means the governing body of any county, city, or town in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 36-97
- Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
- Municipality: means any city or town in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 36-97
- Owner: means the owner or owners of the freehold of the premises or lesser estate therein, a mortgagee or vendee in possession, assignee of rents, receiver, executor, trustee, or lessee in control of a building or structure. See Virginia Code 36-97
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- Review Board: means the State Building Code Technical Review Board. See Virginia Code 36-97
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- Structure: means an assembly of materials forming a construction for occupancy or use, including stadiums, gospel and circus tents, reviewing stands, platforms, stagings, observation towers, radio towers, water tanks, underground and aboveground storage tanks, trestles, piers, wharves, swimming pools, amusement devices, storage bins, and other structures of this general nature but excluding water wells. See Virginia Code 36-97
- Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
“Board” means the Board of Housing and Community Development.
“Building” means a combination of any materials, whether portable or fixed, having a roof to form a structure for the use or occupancy by persons or property. The word “building” shall be construed as though followed by the words “or part or parts thereof” unless the context clearly requires a different meaning. “Building” does not include roadway tunnels and bridges owned by the Department of Transportation, which shall be governed by construction and design standards approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
“Building Code” means the Uniform Statewide Building Code and building regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant thereto.
“Building regulations” means any law, rule, resolution, regulation, ordinance, or code, general or special, or compilation thereof, enacted or adopted by the Commonwealth or any county or municipality, including departments, boards, bureaus, commissions, or other agencies of such state or local governments, relating to construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, repair, maintenance, or use of structures and buildings and installation of equipment therein. “Building regulations” does not include zoning ordinances or other land use controls that do not affect the manner of construction or materials to be used in the erection, alteration, or repair of a building or structure.
“Code provisions” means the provisions of the Uniform Statewide Building Code as adopted and promulgated by the Board and the amendments thereof as adopted and promulgated by the Board from time to time.
“Construction” means the construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, or conversion of buildings and structures.
“Department” means the Department of Housing and Community Development.
“Director” means the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development.
“Equipment” means plumbing, heating, electrical, ventilating, air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment, elevators, dumbwaiters, escalators, and other mechanical additions or installations.
“Farm building or structure” means a building or structure not used for residential purposes, located on property where farming operations take place, and used primarily for any of the following uses or combination thereof:
1. Storage, handling, production, display, sampling, or sale of agricultural, horticultural, floricultural, or silvicultural products produced in the farm;
2. Sheltering, raising, handling, processing, or sale of agricultural animals or agricultural animal products;
3. Business or office uses relating to the farm operations;
4. Use of farm machinery or equipment or maintenance or storage of vehicles, machinery, or equipment on the farm;
5. Storage or use of supplies and materials used on the farm; or
6. Implementation of best management practices associated with farm operations.
“Local building department” means the agency or agencies of any local governing body charged with the administration, supervision, or enforcement of the Building Code and regulations, approval of plans, inspection of buildings, or issuance of permits, licenses, certificates, or similar documents.
“Local governing body” means the governing body of any county, city, or town in the Commonwealth.
“Municipality” means any city or town in the Commonwealth.
“Owner” means the owner or owners of the freehold of the premises or lesser estate therein, a mortgagee or vendee in possession, assignee of rents, receiver, executor, trustee, or lessee in control of a building or structure.
“Review Board” means the State Building Code Technical Review Board.
“State agency” means any department, board, bureau, commission, agency, or other unit of state government in the Commonwealth.
“Stop work order” means a legally binding written order to immediately cease work on a building or structure that (i) is issued by a local building official to a property owner, the property owner’s agent, or the person performing the work; (ii) identifies the specific violations of the Building Code in regard to the work being performed; and (iii) states the conditions under which such work may be resumed.
“Structure” means an assembly of materials forming a construction for occupancy or use, including stadiums, gospel and circus tents, reviewing stands, platforms, stagings, observation towers, radio towers, water tanks, underground and aboveground storage tanks, trestles, piers, wharves, swimming pools, amusement devices, storage bins, and other structures of this general nature but excluding water wells. The word “structure” shall be construed as though followed by the words “or part or parts thereof” unless the context clearly requires a different meaning. “Structure” does not include roadway tunnels and bridges owned by the Department of Transportation, which shall be governed by construction and design standards approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
1972, c. 829; 1974, cc. 622, 668; 1975, c. 394; 1977, cc. 423, 613; 1978, c. 703; 1986, c. 401; 1993, c. 662; 1994, c. 256; 1998, c. 755; 2005, c. 341; 2023, cc. 446, 448.