Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Floodplain Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clallam County adopts emergency floodplain ordinance to maintain federal flood insurance
Summary
The Clallam County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved an emergency amendment to chapter 27.12 on April 15 to adopt updated FEMA flood maps and keep the county in the National Flood Insurance Program; staff said further public review will follow.
The Clallam County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved an emergency ordinance April 15 amending chapter 27.12 of the county code (critical areas — floodplain management) so the county can adopt FEMA's updated flood insurance rate maps and remain eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
County staff told the commissioners the FEMA maps take effect April 23 and the emergency amendment is a temporary, stopgap measure to preserve residents' access to federal flood insurance while the county completes a fuller public-review process.
A Department of Community Development staff member told the board the emergency ordinance makes limited updates to definitions and floodplain-management language so Clallam County does not “fall out of the flood insurance program.” The staff member said the county will run the emergency ordinance in parallel with a full planning commission process that begins with a public hearing scheduled for May 7 and could produce additional changes before final adoption.
The public hearing on the emergency ordinance drew multiple residents who said they were concerned about transparency and project planning. John Worthington of Sequim told commissioners he is uncomfortable with how floodplain restoration work and federal funding have been handled and said homeowners were not adequately informed: “Now we need an emergency, ordinance to get insurance for the flood. I'm not sure that that's a wise thing to do.” Bowen (Bowen, P.O. Box 11, Clallam Bay), speaking online, said he opposed the emergency measure and argued landowners had not received due process: “I am in total opposition. ... Due process has not been provided me from this section. I fear this. I'm scared to death of this.”
Commissioners asked staff to continue the parallel, full public process through the planning commission. The board then voted to close the hearing and to adopt the emergency ordinance; all three commissioners voted in favor. The board's action keeps Clallam County eligible to participate in FEMA's NFIP while the county proceeds with the longer ordinance review and additional public hearings.
The planning commission's first public hearing on the full ordinance update is scheduled for May 7; staff said additional hearings may follow and the final ordinance that returns to the commissioners could differ from the emergency language.
