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Planning board seeks map change to match FEMA floodplain revisions near Virginia Road
Summary
The board proposed amending the Floodplain Conservancy District boundary to match FEMA’s revised Flood Insurance Rate Map for the Merrimack watershed, primarily reducing mapped floodplain extent around Virginia Road and preserving National Flood Insurance Program eligibility.
Planning staff told the board that Article 40 updates Concord’s Floodplain Conservancy District map to reflect a FEMA revision to the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Study for the Merrimack watershed. The update is limited to the Merrimack watershed area around Virginia Road, and FEMA’s revision primarily reduced the extent of the 100‑year floodplain in several locations.
Staff said the change is necessary to keep the town in compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) so property owners remain eligible for flood insurance. Visual examples in the presentation showed about 14 properties where the revised floodplain moves further away from structures, and a small number of cases where the floodplain edge moved closer but did not include any structure.
Why it matters: map updates determine whether parcels fall inside regulated floodplain zones, affecting permitting, building restrictions, and insurance eligibility. Planning staff recommended the amendment to maintain regulatory alignment with FEMA and preserve NFIP participation.
Ending: The Planning Board closed the hearing on the map update and will include the boundary amendment in the Town Meeting warrant; staff will provide the revised maps to the town’s online materials.
