                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DEFINITIONS (§ 36-97)

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
		&#8220;Board&#8221; means the Board of Housing and Community Development.
		&#8220;Building&#8221; 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 &#8220;building&#8221; shall be construed as though
followed by the words &#8220;or part or parts thereof&#8221; unless the context
clearly requires a different meaning. &#8220;Building&#8221; 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.
		&#8220;Building Code&#8221; means the Uniform Statewide Building Code and
building regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant thereto.
		&#8220;Building regulations&#8221; 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. &#8220;Building regulations&#8221; 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.
		&#8220;Code provisions&#8221; 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.
		&#8220;Construction&#8221; means the construction, reconstruction, alteration,
repair, or conversion of buildings and structures.
		&#8220;Department&#8221; means the Department of Housing and Community
Development.
		&#8220;Director&#8221; means the Director of the Department of Housing and
Community Development.
		&#8220;Equipment&#8221; means plumbing, heating, electrical, ventilating,
air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment, elevators, dumbwaiters,
escalators, and other mechanical additions or installations.
		&#8220;Farm building or structure&#8221; 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.
			&#8220;Local building department&#8221; 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.
			&#8220;Local governing body&#8221; means the governing body of any county,
city, or town in the Commonwealth.
			&#8220;Municipality&#8221; means any city or town in the Commonwealth.
			&#8220;Owner&#8221; 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.
			&#8220;Review Board&#8221; means the State Building Code Technical Review
Board.
			&#8220;State agency&#8221; means any department, board, bureau, commission,
agency, or other unit of state government in the Commonwealth.
			&#8220;Stop work order&#8221; 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&#8217;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.
			&#8220;Structure&#8221; 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 &#8220;structure&#8221; shall be
construed as though followed by the words &#8220;or part or parts thereof&#8221;
unless the context clearly requires a different meaning. &#8220;Structure&#8221;
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.

HISTORY: 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.