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ORANGE COUNTY <br />PLANNING BOARD ORDINANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE <br />AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: September 6, 2017 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 3 <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and Zoning Atlas Amendments – Flood <br />Damage Prevention Regulations and Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) Overlay District <br /> <br />DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections <br /> <br /> <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />1. Comprehensive Plan and Unified <br />Development Ordinance (UDO) <br />Amendment Outline Form 2017-03 <br />2. Draft UDO Text Amendments <br />3. Annual Outreach Letter on Flood Issues <br />Michael D. Harvey, Planner III (919) 245-2597 <br />Craig Benedict, Director (919) 245-2575 <br /> <br />PURPOSE: To review and comment upon government-initiated Unified Development Ordinance <br />(UDO) and Zoning Atlas amendments updating existing flood damage prevention regulations <br />and eliminating the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) Overlay District. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: Orange County has been a member of the National Flood Insurance Program <br />(NFIP) since approximately 1976. <br /> <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, in the program including adoption of flood maps denoting <br />areas where flooding is a possibility. Through the enforcement of flood damage prevention <br />regulations, the County requires incorporation of design standards (i.e. elevation of structures <br />and utilities, installation of flood vents, prohibition of specific activities, etc.) in an effort to reduce <br />the risk of loss during a flood. For more background information please refer to Attachment 1. <br /> <br />Recent changes by the Federal government in flood damage prevention standards, including <br />development of new flood maps, require the County to modify existing regulation(s) in order to <br />continue to be eligible for participation within the NFIP. A copy of the draft UDO amendment <br />package is contained in Attachment 2. <br /> <br />It should be remembered that on direction from the County’s Attorney in 2007, staff incorporated <br />available flood mapping data onto the County Zoning Atlas creating the Special Flood Hazard <br />Area (SFHA) overlay district. As there are modifications/updates to FEMA flood map data, the <br />County is required to initiate a Zoning Atlas amendment incorporating same. This requires the <br />holding and advertising of both a Planning Board meeting and a BOCC public hearing where the <br />maps amendment(s) are being reviewed (i.e. notification of impacted property owners, <br />notification of property owners within 1,000 ft. of the zoning change, posting of impacted <br />properties with signs advertising the meetings, and legal advertisements). Depending on the <br /> 19