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Open the Public Hearing and Consider Enacting Amendments to Section 5-56 of the Town Code to Incorporate the Revised Flood Insurance Studies and Flood Insurance Rate Maps.
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Staff:
Department:
Lance Norris, Director
Public Works
Chris Roberts, Manager of Engineering and Infrastructure
Sue Burke, Senior Engineer
Overview: The Town of Chapel Hill received the April 19, 2018 Letter of Final Determination from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. This Letter completed the flood study and mapping revision and review process for Durham County. This study included five Chapel Hill Flood Insurance Rate Maps overlapping both Orange and Durham Counties and two Chapel Hill Flood Insurance Rate Maps representing the portions of Chapel Hill located solely in Durham County.
The Letter also began the six-month compliance period, during which the Town must adopt the revised Flood Insurance Studies and Flood Insurance Rate Maps through amendments to its Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance. This action is necessary in order to maintain the Town's participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.
The five Chapel Hill maps overlapping Orange and Durham Counties were included in the Orange County flood study. However, those maps did not become effective through the ordinance amendment adopted by the Council in Fall 2017 because the Durham County study was still pending.
Recommendation(s):
That the Council open the public hearing, receive comments, close the public hearing, and enact the proposed amendments to the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance.
Key Issues:
* Enactment is required to maintain participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
* Failure to adopt the revised study and maps will result in suspension from the NFIP.
* Consequences include: (1) inability to purchase flood insurance; (2) no federally-backed financing available for floodplain properties; and (3) loss of...
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