Agenda - 09-20-2005-5m - Laserfiche WebLink

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4Q MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD AUGUST 3, 2005 REGULAR MEETING AGENDA ITEM #7: FLOODPLAIN MODEL ORDINANCE (Discussion and Recommendation Item) Staff will make a presentation regarding the proposed ordinance, and request comments and recommendation to the BOCC for approval Presenter: Glenn Bowles, Planner II Glenn Bowles: Hurricane Floyd spurred changes in many of the floodplain ordinances across the State.. North Carolina was one of the first states that had authority from FEMA to map floodplains and come up with model floodplain ordinances that go over and above the basic FEMA regulations. Last May there were new floodplain maps presented for the Neuse, There was also a public meeting regarding the Cape Fear Basin in June, which was a joint affair with the Town of Carrboro and Chapel Hill. While it may be an understatement to say that flooding in the County is not as large of an issue than it is in other places.. That doesn't mean it isn't an issue. The State of North Carolina provided a model ordinance for non-coastal communities. The state passed a state flood law in 2000, and now they are asking the communities to pass local ordinances, I am now a Certified Floodplain Manager for the County. We mailed letters to individual households in the County whose homes were previously in the floodplain and now are out of the floodplain to inform them they may need to contact their insurance company to modify their policy, if desired. We also sent letters to the homes that were not previously in a floodplain, but are now, The old floodplain mapping showed about 80 houses in the floodplain, which is now down to 39. The maps were generally inaccurate, but the elevations which those floodplains were derived from were fairly accurate,. There were approximately 25 houses that were built after the original floodplain regulations were passed, and now each one of those houses were not in the floodplain if based solely on the elevation at the ground. We are also looking at the Consumer Rating System to reduce flood premiums for those people who have flood insurance. Renee Price-Saunders: Some of the wording is confusing; maybe we could use `pre-FIl2M' or `pre-FEMA' instead of `existing', There were several typos. When you mention the `flood zone', please indicate what they are and what they mean. A couple of areas where there is floor area, you may want to put `livable floor area' to be more specific. On the section on chemicals, it states the storage of any chemical -you can look under the kitchen sink to find chemicals. Glenn Bowles: We don't have that many houses in the affected area that could have that problem. We may want to suggest that people store their domestic chemicals in another place if your house is susceptible to flooding, Craufurd Goodwin: This is great work. History reinforces the flood plain areas, but we haven't had a tremendous storm, Could people be notified that they are not guaranteed to not experience flooding? Reference should not exclude those houses in flood plain may still flood. Tef'f Schmidt: Fran was a major storm. Jay Bryan: There is a reference made to that type of exclusion C,lenn Bowles: We can try to emphasize that point.