Board schedules April public hearing and emergency ordinance work to keep county in FEMA flood-insurance program

County planning staff told the board they must update the county’s floodplain code to meet a FEMA checklist and preserve participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Staff said FEMA provided a prescriptive list of definitions and code changes — for example adding clear definitions for "area of special flood hazard," "base flood" and "basement" — and asked the board to begin an emergency ordinance process so changes could be adopted before FEMA’s April 23 deadline.

Staff said two substantive corrections were required after recent exchanges with FEMA: changing a previously proposed 1‑foot increase in required floodplain elevation to a 0‑foot increase, and clarifying that any development in a special flood hazard area must obtain a floodplain development permit (i.e., fewer exceptions). Staff also said they would explicitly designate the director of DCD (Department of Community Development) as the floodplain administrator in county code.

Because of the federal deadline, staff recommended simultaneous tracks: (1) an emergency ordinance before the board (which requires a public hearing and can be adopted quickly) and (2) concurrent review by the planning commission to produce a longer-term code update and final ordinance within the 60‑day window after emergency adoption. The board scheduled a public hearing for April 15 and directed staff to proceed with both the emergency process and the planning commission review.

Staff and commissioners emphasized the administrative difficulty and delay of losing NFIP participation, and said the emergency path is being used solely to meet FEMA’s deadline while the planning commission and public process proceed in parallel. Commissioners asked staff to ensure final code language reflects the two corrections communicated by FEMA and to return with the draft ordinance and hearing materials on the scheduled date.