11-15-1984 Regular Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minutes, Regulaeting La Porte Planni and Zoning Commission November 15, 1984, Page 2 Insurance Study originally presented to the city for approval two years ago. The major change between the original 1982 study and the 1984 version is that most of Fairmont Park is no longer in the 100 year flood plain. Mr. Speake stated that the City uses the Federal Insurance Agency program as its primary vehicle for flood plain management. That program is carried out by means of the City Flood Hazard Prevention Ordinance. That ordinance makes the Commission the body which approves Base Flood Elevation (BFE) variances. Furthermore, flood plain control measures are included in the proposed Development and Zoning Ordinances. Mr. Speake further advised the Commission that the November 15 FEMA meeting formally begins the process of conversion from the emergency to the regular phase of the Federal Insurance Program. That process normally takes nine months. Within the next month, FEMA will begin advertising the new Base Flood Elevations in t11e local newspapers. They are required to do that twice during the statutory 90 day appeals period. After that period, if there are no formal objections filed with FEMA, the six months adoption period begins, during which it is required that the City revise its Flood Hazard Prevention Ordinance in a manner suitable to FEMA to incorporate the features of the regular program. Those features, for the most part, deal with subdividing the A zones to incorporate flood hazard (risk) factors and the establishment of the new V zones. Mr. Speake stated that staff opinion is that the best interests of the City would be served by adopting the FIA study and revised ordinance as soon as possible. FEMA has an accelerated adoption schedule which provides for the City to move as swiftly as possible if there are no citizen appeals lodged. Assistant City Attorney John Armstrong has already prepared a draft of the revised Flood Hazard Prevention Ordinance, which is now under FEMA review. Once the staff (and HCFCD) has finished its technical review of the study and FEMA has approved our draft ordinance, the staff would be in position to have the ordinance reviewed by the Commission before sending it to Council for adoption. The accelerated process could shorten the adoption process by three to four months. No timetable for the adoption process has been established yet.