Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: October 17, 2017 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 4-a <br /> SUBJECT: Presentation by State Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) <br /> Officials on the County's Floodplain Management Program <br /> DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Michael D. Harvey, Planner III, (919) 245-2597 <br /> Craig Benedict, Director, (919) 245-2575 <br /> PURPOSE: To receive formal recognition by FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) <br /> Community Rating System (CRS), through the State of North Carolina Department of <br /> Emergency Management, designating that Orange County has achieved a CRS rating of 6. <br /> BACKGROUND: Orange County has been a member of the NFIP since approximately 1976. <br /> The NFIP offers flood insurance to homeowners, renters, and business owners if their <br /> community participates, specifically through the adoption and enforcement of regulations <br /> designed to mitigate/reduce flood risk. This includes the adoption of Flood Insurance Rate <br /> Maps (FIRMs) denoting areas where flooding is a possibility. Through the enforcement of flood <br /> damage prevention regulations, the County requires incorporation of design standards (i.e. <br /> elevation of structures and utilities, installation of flood vents, prohibition of specific activities, <br /> prohibition of structures within the floodplain, etc.) in an effort to reduce the risk of loss during a <br /> flood event. <br /> As part of ongoing floodplain management efforts, Orange County is a participant in the CRS <br /> program, a voluntary incentive based program recognizing communities who implement <br /> floodplain management practices exceeding minimum Federal requirements. <br /> Participating communities are ranked in one of ten `CRS classes' with Class 10 being awarded <br /> to those communities choosing to adopt and enforce the minimum Federal floodplain <br /> management standards. As a community implements additional floodplain management <br /> practices, it is possible to achieve a higher `CRS class' designation thereby contributing to a <br /> reduction of flood insurance premiums for local residents. <br /> As of this date the County has a CRS rating of 8, allowing for a 10% reduction in the typical <br /> floodplain insurance premium for local property owners. Through our continued floodplain <br /> management efforts, including: <br /> a. Comprehensive outreach and education including annual information letters to <br /> property owners encumbered by identified floodplain, <br /> b. Mapping services, <br /> c. Establishment and enforcement of floodplain buffers, <br />