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Commission supports elevation and garage replacement at 38 South Beach Drive to meet FEMA rules
Summary
The commission found a homeowner’s plan to raise a dwelling at 38 South Beach Drive to meet FEMA base‑flood elevation consistent with the harbor management plan and recommended standard erosion controls during construction.
The Norwalk Harbor Management Commission on June 25 recommended that the application to raise an existing dwelling and rebuild an attached garage at 38 South Beach Drive proceed, finding the work consistent with harbor policies to reduce vulnerability to coastal flooding.
Applicant representatives, including attorney Liz Saatchi and civil engineer Vincent Hines (Redniss & Mead), said the property will be raised so finished living floors meet the city’s FEMA‑based elevation requirement (BFE + 2 feet). The project is landward of the seawall and includes stone reservoir water‑quality features beneath new decks and area drains connected to existing weep holes to reduce sediment discharge to the Sound.
Hines said the proposal reduces impervious cover by roughly 80 square feet and installs subsurface stone storage to meet the applicable water‑quality volume for the tributary area. He said the plan also includes sediment and erosion control measures and that no work was proposed seaward of the seawall.
Outcome: the commission voted to move the application forward and recommended that construction use best management practices to limit sediment and turbidity. Commissioners noted that elevating structures out of the floodplain is consistent with the harbor management plan’s goal to reduce vulnerability of existing development.
Next steps: applicant to proceed with coastal site plan and building permit processes and to implement the submitted sediment and erosion control plan during construction.
