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17 <br />period for Orange County actually expires on February 2, 2007, instead of February 7 as <br />indicated in Mr. Blanton's letter. <br />I am unclear as to why Mr. Blanton's letter triggers the need for the County to <br />amend its existing FDPO and what type of amendment is required. First, the letter states <br />that the revised FIRMs that Staff wishes to incorporate into the FDPO are for Caswell <br />and Person Counties, not Orange County. The letter also states that: "Although your <br />community is unaffected by the updated flood hazard information presented in the FIS <br />reports and FIRMS, your community does lie on one or more of the revised map panels." <br />This statement leads me to the conclusion that the revised maps and associated reports do <br />not contain any changes to current flood hazard data or maps for Orange County. I <br />assume you have taken the appropriate steps to determine why Orange County is required <br />to adopt the revised FIRM in its FDPO even though the FIRM does not affect Orange <br />County., <br />Secondly, Mr. Blanton's letter states in two places that the revised map panels <br />that Staff wishes to incorporate into the existing FDPO by amendment do not become <br />effective until June 4, 2007. The September 14, 2005 letter from the assistant attorney <br />general to the N.C. Division of Emergency Management makes the point that North <br />Carolina law does not constitutionally permit local governing bodies to incorporate by <br />reference future revisions in flood insurance maps without first following the statutory <br />requirements for zoning map amendments. We agree with this view.- Therefore, it <br />appears that the County is constitutionally precluded from taking action in January of <br />2007 to adopt a map revision that does not become effective until June 4, 2007. We do <br />not recommend making revisions to the FDPO that incorporate a future FIRM that is not <br />effective on the date the FDPO amendment is enacted. <br />We recommend that you immediately obtain clarity on these issues from the <br />office of the N.C. Division of Emergency Management and the North Carolina Attorney <br />General. <br />When Staff is prepared to proceed with the amendment to the FDPO we <br />recommend the following process. The Orange County FDPO is freestanding. It has not <br />been incorporated into the County's Zoning Ordinance. However, it is our view that one <br />or more North Carolina Supreme Court decisions (see for example, Craig v. County of <br />Chatham, 356 N.C. 40 (2002)) teaches that FDPO amendments comply with the <br />procedures for amending the County's Zoning Ordinance and its official Zoning Atlas as <br />set forth in Article 20 of the Zoning Ordinance. This view is supported by the attached <br />memorandum from Assistant NC Attorney General Cheryl A. Perry addressed to Phil <br />Letsinger of the NFIP and dated September 14, 2005. The procedures for properly <br />amending the FDPO to incorporate the new proposed language and the new map (FIRM) <br />are set forth below. Furthermore, the safest way to insure FEMA coverage in Orange <br />County is for the County to readopt the FDPO as amended and with the new maps as <br />amendments to the County's Zoning Ordinance.