Sequim planning commission unanimously recommends City Council adopt FEMA-driven flood code updates

The Sequim Planning Commission voted unanimously March 18 to recommend that the City Council adopt amendments to Sequim Municipal Code Chapter 8.36, the city’s flood damage prevention rules, after a staff presentation explaining the changes are required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to keep the city eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program.

City planner Travis (DCD staff) told commissioners FEMA had sent recommendations that the city must adopt “to stay in good standing with the NFIP,” and that the draft updates include changes to base flood elevations, development standards and permitting requirements. He said the city had to act quickly to meet FEMA’s schedule and that the changes “are kind of the mandatory minimum.”

The commission’s recommendation came after a public hearing on the proposed amendments. Commissioners asked whether state agencies had reviewed the draft; Travis and staff said they had circulated the draft to the Washington State Department of Commerce and to Ecology, and that revisions distributed earlier that day reflected FEMA’s comments. Ethan Walker, identified in the meeting as the city’s associate planner, was credited for working directly with FEMA on the draft.

The staff presentation and commission discussion noted why the update matters to residents: remaining in the NFIP preserves residents’ access to federally backed flood insurance and can affect eligibility for other programs. Commissioners also asked technical questions about maps and V-zone definitions; staff said large-format flood maps and an online layer showing FEMA flood zones were available for review.

Commissioners discussed a few discretionary items that staff had not included because they were not mandatory — for example, special rules for replacement of historic farmhouses in floodways and rules for substantially damaged structures — and staff said existing nonconforming-structure and rebuilding provisions in the municipal code would continue to apply. The staff recommended not adding nonmandatory exceptions at this time.

After the presentation and questions the commission chair opened discussion and a motion was made to waive the second reading and recommend City Council adopt the FEMA-provided edits to SMC Chapter 8.36 as presented at the hearing. The commission voted in favor; staff thanked commissioners and said they would proceed with City Council materials.

Implementation details discussed at the meeting included the availability of a new FEMA flood map layer in the county multipurpose mapping tool and staff offers to provide large printed maps and additional explanatory material, including a clarification on V-zone definitions on request.

The commission closed the public hearing after no members of the public testified on the amendment and moved on to other agenda items.