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Council approves first reading of code change to allow discretionary fill in FEMA 100-year floodplain
Summary
City staff and the council moved to amend the Unified Development Ordinance to permit discretionary fill within the FEMA 100-year floodplain outside protected stream and riparian corridors; council passed the motion on first reading Jan. 27 after a public hearing and staff discussion.
The council on Jan. 27 advanced an amendment to the city’s Unified Development Ordinance that would allow, on a discretionary basis, fill within the FEMA 100-year floodplain in areas outside the stream buffer and riparian corridor.
Catherine Sharp, the city’s director of planning and development, told the council that the city’s current overlay precludes some fills that FEMA permits with proper permitting. Staff recommended revising the UDO so the public works director (who manages stormwater) may authorize limited fill in the floodplain in unique circumstances while preserving stream and riparian protections.
Sharp said the change is not intended to open riparian corridors to development; rather it is meant to allow property owners to use the FEMA process in constrained, site-specific cases. Cherry McIntyre, the city’s FEMA floodplain administrator, was identified by staff as the relevant technical contact during the conversation.
The council opened and closed a public hearing without speakers and voted unanimously to waive rules for first reading and to approve the ordinance at first reading. Staff said legal counsel reviewed the amendment and the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval.
Council discussion included clarifying that the riparian protection (25-foot stream buffer and additional 50-foot riparian corridor) remains protected and that any fill would be outside those zones and subject to public works determination and FEMA permitting.
