Agenda - 11-14-2017 - D.2 - Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and Zoning Atlas Amendments

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130 111 standards.This does not mean that affected properties owners will have to secure permits the day after the maps are 112 adopted to make modifications to their property to bring it into compliance with the Ordinance. The adoption of new 113 flood map data does not automatically mandate property owners to address compliance immediately. If a structure 114 was built respective of regulations at the level, and level of development the time, it was legal, so the property owner 115 will not have to bring it up to compliance under the flood management ordinance, and will not create an automatic 116 zoning enforcement action. However, the structure may not be able to be expanded or modified. In response to many 117 calls from residents who are also in attendance at the meeting, Mr. Harvey said that the County—as a matter of law 118 or policy--cannot compel, require, force or mandate that property owners get flood insurance. Mr. Harvey said that 119 lending agents have the ability to do this, especially with federally-backed mortgages. Mr. Harvey said that he does 120 think it is a good idea for property owners to consider getting flood insurance and there is plenty of information at the 121 Planning Department and on the County's website about the many reasons. However, he wanted to make clear that 122 the County will not compel property owners to buy flood insurance. The biggest update is to eliminate references to 123 the Special Flood Hazard Area Overlay District from within the UDO and replace them with "Special Flood Hazard 124 Regulation." Mr. Harvey addressed questions from residents about why they were notified about these said changes. 125 He said that Orange County's UDO requires that any time the County initiates a Zoning Atlas amendment on a parcel 126 of property, that property owner has to be notified of the proposed change via certified mail. For this effort, Staff sent 127 our approximately 2,000 certified letters. 128 129 Lydia Wegman asked if the letters were sent out because the Special Flood Hazard Area Overlay is being eliminated. 130 131 Michael Harvey responded that yes, Staff is eliminating the Overlay District which is a Zoning Atlas amendment. By 132 definition, Staff is required to notify people within set distances; placards were also posted to property owners within 133 1,000 feet of the Special Flood Hazard Area Overlay District regarding the elimination of the Overlay District. There 134 have been lots of questions regarding the notification system being a proper use of County tax dollars. In response to 135 this, Mr. Harvey said that the UDO, as adopted by the elected officials, obligates him to follow the guidelines 136 explicitly. He also noted that the same notification process is required for the upcoming public hearing with the 137 BOCC. 138 139 Lydia Wegman asked if Mr. Harvey was talking about the November 14th Quarterly Public Hearing. 140 141 Michael Harvey answered that he was and that just last night, the BOCC confirmed that this item would be 142 discussed. Mr. Harvey continued with his presentation. He said that the Planning Department's website includes a 143 factsheet, links to the NC Flood Risk Information System which can give property owners an understanding of where 144 there properly lies within the existing and preliminary floodplain maps based on floodplain data. Even with the 145 elimination of the Overlay District, the department will be maintaining floodplain data on the County webpage for easy 146 access for residents and Staff. Mr. Harvey encourages residents to meet with Staff to review the various services 147 offered as part of the County's flood management program. Mr. Harvey read over the components of the factsheet. 148 He noted that one question answered in an updated version of the factsheet is if the County can update a FIRM to 149 take a property out of the floodplain, and the answer is no, it cannot. However, an individual can petition FEMA to 150 make this change, and Staff has included information on how this can be done via a link on the factsheet. The 151 Planning Department can provide assistance to individuals going through this process but only on a basic level. Next, 152 Mr. Harvey showed a visual of the Flood Risk Information System (FRIS) maps and guided the Board and other 153 meeting attendees through how to find the maps by address using online tools. Staff can work with property owners 154 who visit the Planning Department on accessing these online maps and related information. Mr. Harvey said that the 155 Planning Director recommends that the Board review the proposed amendments, deliberate, and make a 156 recommendation to the BOCC on the Statement of Consistency (Attachment 3), the amendment to the Zoning Atlas 157 to eliminate the Special Flood Hazard Area Overlay District (Attachment 4), Statement of Consistency for the 158 proposed UDO text amendments(Attachment 5), and the actual proposed UDO text amendments(Attachment 6). He 159 asked if there were any questions. 160 161 Tony Blake asked if, in a nutshell, the County wants to get out of the business of being between FEMA and the 162 property owner. 163 164 Michael Harvey responded that the County is always in this position because the County is in the role of local 165 floodplain administrator and it is the County's job to help individuals understand what they can and cannot do within a