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TA18-03 Staff Summary BOCTA18-03 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. TA18-03 Staff Summary Page 2 of 3 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 TA18-03 Staff Summary Page 3 of 3 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 or thereafter. PLANNING BOARD ACTION The Planning Board considered this request at their May 3, 2018 meeting. At the meeting, following a suggested revision from staff, the Board recommended amending Article 5, Section G(7)(d) as shown below in order to remove language specifying where an elevator shaft must be located in a structure: Elevator shafts/enclosures that extend below the RFPE shall be constructed of reinforced masonry block or reinforced concrete walls and located on the landward side of the building to provide increased protection from flood damage. Drainage must be provided for the elevator pit. No one from the public spoke in favor of, or in opposition to, the request. The Board recommended approval of the request (5-0), with the suggested revision, concluding that it 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. STAFF RECOMMENDATION As a result of additional input from stakeholders, staff is recommending one additional amendment to the document recommended for approval by the Planning Board. Specifically, staff recommends amending Article 5, Section B(4)(b) as follows, in order to provide additional clarity to requirements related to conditioning below the Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation: Shall not be temperature-controlled or conditioned with equipment below the Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation. Staff recommends approval of the requested amendment as stated in the Planning Board action, as well as the staff recommended revision to Article 5, Section B(4)(b). Staff concurs with the Planning Board’s statements that the application is CONSISTENT with the Comprehensive Plan and is reasonable and in the public interest.