TA18-03 Staff Summary PBTA18-03 Staff Summary Page 1 of 3
STAFF SUMMARY OF TA18-03
TEXT AMENDMENT REQUEST
APPLICATION SUMMARY
Case Number: TA18-03
Request:
To amend the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance to incorporate updated Flood Insurance
Rate Map data and ordinance requirements to comply with minimum National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP) regulations
Applicant: Subject Ordinance:
New Hanover County Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance
Subject Article(s) and Section(s):
Entirety of Document
BACKGROUND
In 1968, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was authorized in order to make flood
insurance available to communities, to identify floodplains and areas at risk of flooding, and to
provide standards, a framework, and guidance to communities in the management of their
floodplains. To be eligible for participation in this program, a community must adopt and enforce
floodplain management regulations in flood zones delineated on FIRMs. New Hanover County has
participated in the program under these parameters since 1978. Periodically, advances in
modeling and cartography require that the FIRMs be updated in order to more accurately depict
the flood risks in a given community. Similarly, the incorporation of new floodplain management
best practices requires periodic updates to a community’s floodplain regulations. The County’s
FIRMs and ordinance, last updated in 2006, are now being proposed to be updated in order to
comply with minimum NFIP requirements and for continued eligibility in the NFIP.
The review process for the preliminary FIRMs has taken place over a 4-year period to allow for
public meetings and presentations, comment periods, and revisions. This process formally began on
August 29, 2014, when the preliminary data was made available on the Flood Risk Information
System website. Following this date, County staff worked with state NFIP staff, local officials, and
stakeholders to ensure that several key milestones were met. The most notable of these included:
September 17, 2014 – Kick-off meeting for local officials in New Hanover and Brunswick
Counties;
June 25, 2015 – Public meeting hosted at New Hanover County Government Center;
July 15, 2015 – Public meeting hosted at Carolina Beach Town Hall;
November 16, 2015 –Update provided by staff to NHC Board of Commissioners;
October 29, 2015 – January 29, 2016 – 90-day comment period;
August 15 – September 15, 2017 – 30-day follow up comment period on petitions;
February 28, 2018 – Letter of Final Determination issued by FEMA, initiating start of 6-
month period to complete local adoption process.
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The opportunity to submit petitions to amend the maps was held during the 90-day comment period
from October 29, 2015 to January 29, 2016. County staff reviewed and analyzed the preliminary
data and worked with property owners to identify areas where potential corrections may have
been warranted. At the conclusion of the comment period, 6 petitions were submitted for review
and were resolved accordingly. Upon resolution of these petitions, an additional 30-day comment
period was held, where no additional petitions were submitted.
Changes to the delineated flood zones are site specific and vary across the County. However,
when analyzed, certain trends do appear. The FIRMs are becoming less restrictive in many areas
of the County with reductions in Base Flood Elevation, or designation to a less-restrictive flood zone.
For properties adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway, the general trend appears to be that the
VE Zone does not extend as far landward or has a slight reduction in Base Flood Elevations. There
are some areas of the County where structures that were not previously designated in a flood zone
are being placed in an AE Zone, most notably in the vicinity of Pages Creek in the northeastern
portion of the County.
The map changes result in a net increase of approximately 398 total structures in flood zones.
There is a reduction of approximately 300 structures in the VE Zone, which is the zone closest to
open water where effects from wave action are anticipated. In the AE Zone, which is the zone at
risk from floodwaters without associated wave action, the number of structures increases by
approximately 698. This data mirrors the trends that are seen in the changes of the delineated
flood zones. A series of maps and tables highlighting changes to the flood zones and structures
accompany this report.
PROPOSED AMENDMENT
The proposed Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, based on a template provided by FEMA that
includes minimum NFIP requirements, is attached. The ordinance largely mirrors the content of the
existing ordinance. Changes to the ordinance include updated definitions, code references,
reorganization of certain sections, and clarifications to certain construction methods such as pools,
concrete slabs, and fill. The ordinance does retain some higher standards that currently exist in
the code, such as the existing 2’ minimum freeboard requirement and substantial improvement
provisions. Optional provisions which are new to the ordinance are indicated by highlighted text
in the attached draft. The maps and ordinance will both contain a new flood zone, the Coastal A
Zone, in which non-residential construction must adhere to standards for more restrictive flood
zone requirements to be consistent with the NC State Building Code.
As a requirement of the County’s participation in the NFIP, adoption and enforcement of floodplain
management regulations and FIRMs are required. As all statutory due-process requirements were
met and the Letter of Final Determination was issued from FEMA, local adoption must take place
prior to August 28, 2018 in order to ensure continued eligibility in the NFIP. The required updates
and optional provisions to the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance were included in the proposed
draft, and it has been reviewed and approved by NC Floodplain Mapping Program staff to ensure
all NFIP requirements are met.
Staff Analysis
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The maps and ordinance will be effective immediately upon adoption; however, insurance rates
are not anticipated to change until the effective date of August 28.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends approval of the requested amendment. Staff concludes that the request is:
1. Consistent with the purposes and intent of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan because it
promotes environmentally responsible growth by identifying those areas most at risk for
flooding impacts in the unincorporated County and provides for measures to mitigate the
effects of flooding on development in those areas, consistent with minimum NFIP
requirements.
2. Reasonable and in the public interest because the proposal incorporates and codifies the
most up to date Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Ordinance provisions, providing mitigation
measures for those areas determined to be most at risk for flooding impacts in the
unincorporated County. Additionally, adoption of the request ensures continued eligibility
in the NFIP.