OCPB minutes 100417 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Approved 11/01/2017 4 160 Michael Harvey responded that yes, Staff is eliminating the Overlay District which is a Zoning Atlas amendment. By 161 definition, Staff is required to notify people within set distances; placards were also posted to property owners within 162 1,000 feet of the Special Flood Hazard Area Overlay District regarding the elimination of the Overlay District. There 163 have been lots of questions regarding the notification system being a proper use of County tax dollars. In response to 164 this, Mr. Harvey said that the UDO, as adopted by the elected officials, obligates him to follow the guidelines 165 explicitly. He also noted that the same notification process is required for the upcoming public hearing with the 166 BOCC. 167 168 Lydia Wegman asked if Mr. Harvey was talking about the November 14th Quarterly Public Hearing. 169 170 Michael Harvey answered that he was and that just last night, the BOCC confirmed that this item would be 171 discussed. Mr. Harvey continued with his presentation. He said that the Planning Department’s website includes a 172 factsheet, links to the NC Flood Risk Information System which can give property owners an understanding of where 173 there properly lies within the existing and preliminary floodplain maps based on floodplain data. Even with the 174 elimination of the Overlay District, the department will be maintaining floodplain data on the County webpage for easy 175 access for residents and Staff. Mr. Harvey encourages residents to meet with Staff to review the various services 176 offered as part of the County’s flood management program. Mr. Harvey read over the components of the factsheet. 177 He noted that one question answered in an updated version of the factsheet is if the County can update a FIRM to 178 take a property out of the floodplain, and the answer is no, it cannot. However, an individual can petition FEMA to 179 make this change, and Staff has included information on how this can be done via a link on the factsheet. The 180 Planning Department can provide assistance to individuals going through this process but only on a basic level. Next, 181 Mr. Harvey showed a visual of the Flood Risk Information System (FRIS) maps and guided the Board and other 182 meeting attendees through how to find the maps by address using online tools. Staff can work with property owners 183 who visit the Planning Department on accessing these online maps and related information. Mr. Harvey said that the 184 Planning Director recommends that the Board review the proposed amendments, deliberate, and make a 185 recommendation to the BOCC on the Statement of Consistency (Attachment 3), the amendment to the Zoning Atlas 186 to eliminate the Special Flood Hazard Area Overlay District (Attachment 4), Statement of Consistency for the 187 proposed UDO text amendments (Attachment 5), and the actual proposed UDO text amendments (Attachment 6). He 188 asked if there were any questions. 189 190 Tony Blake asked if, in a nutshell, the County wants to get out of the business of being between FEMA and the 191 property owner. 192 193 Michael Harvey responded that the County is always in this position because the County is in the role of local 194 floodplain administrator and it is the County’s job to help individuals understand what they can and cannot do within a 195 floodplain, and how to navigate through FEMA. He said that the County is getting out of the business of is no longer 196 maintaining multiple data sources that could be seen as conflicting with official FEMA data and could potentially put 197 the County in jeopardy if someone argued that the County is not using the appropriate flood map. 198 199 Paul Guthrie said that some time ago, he received a letter from his insurance agency saying that his property was in 200 a floodplain district and he needed to get a floodplain insurance policy. He was concerned about the communication 201 from the insurance organization since he did not consider his property to be located within a floodplain. He asked if 202 there is anyone to get word out to residents that communications from insurance agencies may not be based on 203 FEMA floodplain determinations. He thought that a property owner might reach out to FEMA to find out the most 204 accurate information. 205 206 Michael Harvey agreed with Mr. Guthrie that a property owner should reach out to FEMA to verify information from a 207 non-government entity claiming that property is in a floodplain. Property owners can call the Planning Department for 208 an immediate answer as to whether or not their property is located within a floodplain. Staff provides a document 209 called a Site Assessment denoting a property’s development opportunities and constraints, including information on 210 floodplain on a parcel of property. If a property is located within the floodplain, Staff will provide information regarding 211 applicable regulations. Mr. Harvey noted that the Planning Department can only provide accurate floodplain 212