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22 <br /> <br />Chair Dorosin thanked the public and colleagues from Hillsborough for attending, and said <br />all are acting in good faith and the BOCC will take all comments into account. <br /> <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> <br /> <br />2. Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Text Amendments and Zoning Atlas <br />Amendments - To review government-initiated amendments to the text of the UDO <br />pertaining to flood regulations and to remove the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) from <br />the Zoning Atlas. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Orange County has been a member of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) since <br />approximately 1976. The NFIP offers flood insurance to homeowners, renters, and business <br />owners if their community participates, specifically through the adoption and enforcement of <br />regulations designed to mitigate/reduce flood risk, in the program including adoption of flood <br />maps denoting areas where flooding is a possibility. For more background information please <br />refer to Attachment 1. 117 Recent changes by the State and Federal government in flood <br />damage prevention standards, including development of new flood maps, require the County to <br />modify existing regulation(s) in order to continue to be eligible for participation within the NFIP. <br /> <br />On direction from the County’s Attorney in 2007, staff incorporated available flood mapping data <br />directly onto the County Zoning Atlas creating the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) overlay <br />district. As there are modifications/updates to FEMA flood map data, the County is required to <br />initiate a Zoning Atlas amendment incorporating same. This requires the holding and advertising <br />of both a Planning Board meeting and a BOCC public hearing where the maps amendment(s) are <br />being reviewed (i.e. notification of impacted property owners, notification of property owners <br />within 1,000 ft. of the zoning change, posting of impacted properties with signs advertising the <br />meetings, and legal advertisements). Depending on the scope and timing of FEMA map <br />change(s) there may be significant and unplanned budgetary impacts, as well as significant time <br />commitments, to incorporate said modifications. <br /> <br />In consultation with current Attorney’s staff, Planning staff is recommending the elimination of the <br />SFHA overlay district and adoption of the flood maps by reference in the UDO. As there are <br />future changes/updates in flood mapping data, staff would complete a UDO text amendment <br />incorporating reference to this new data, but would not have to complete a corresponding zoning <br />atlas amendment. The move would reduce required budgetary outlays to cover notification of an <br />atlas amendment to affected, and adjacent (i.e. those within 1,000 ft.), property owners. <br /> <br />Please note as part of our floodplain management program, the Planning Department engages in <br />a public awareness campaign keeping local property owners informed of flood issues as well as <br />the various services offered by the County. This includes an annual letter sent to approximately <br />1,900 property owners whose property is encumbered by floodplain. This is part of our <br />comprehensive floodplain management outreach program for which the County receives credit <br />under the Community Rating System (CRS) resulting in a reduction in flood insurance premiums <br />for local property owners. The elimination of the SFHA overlay district will not impact or alter <br />existing outreach efforts conducted by the Department to keep property owners aware of flood <br />issues and the various services offered to address compliance with flood regulations. <br /> <br />Michael Harvey made the following PowerPoint presentation: <br /> <br />PUBLIC HEARING <br />Zoning Atlas and UDO Text Amendments – Special Flood Hazard Area Overlay District <br />Board of County Commissioners Public Hearing <br />53