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Council committee adopts new floodway/floodplain section to match FEMA maps; votes to notify taxpayers
Summary
Woburn’s ordinance, replacing Section 9 with a FEMA-aligned floodway and floodplain district, was advanced and adopted by the committee 4–1. Committee members pressed city staff to notify residents and add educational materials to the engineering website as preliminary FEMA maps move toward finalization in February.
A Woburn council committee voted to replace the city’s Section 9 with a new floodway and floodplain district that references the current FEMA maps, a change city staff said is required to maintain eligibility for the National Flood Insurance Program.
The committee chair said the amendment is largely compelled by FEMA and noted the city received a FEMA letter warning that failure to adopt the updated language could jeopardize residents’ access to flood insurance. The amendment replaces the city’s locally maintained floodplain map with the FEMA map as the regulatory reference and updates related provisions.
City staff and planning consultants described the draft as technical language that had been vetted by the planning board, the state review authority and FEMA. Emily Sherbo of the consultant firm (Ty and Baughn) was listed as available to answer technical questions but was unable to attend in person; staff said she could be contacted by phone.
Councilor DeMara asked whether adopting the FEMA maps would immediately force residents to buy flood insurance. The city solicitor and staff explained that some properties may newly fall into mapped flood zones and therefore could become subject to flood-insurance requirements for future sales or federally regulated transactions, but they said the adoption itself is not retroactive in a way that would immediately compel existing homeowners to obtain coverage.
Staff told the committee the preliminary FEMA maps are posted on the city engineering page and that permanent maps are scheduled to take effect in February. Samantha Stone from the mayor’s communications office said the city’s normal outreach would include press postings, social media, and materials at an open house; she said a more targeted notification to affected properties would be possible if the city can identify impacted parcels.
Committee members pressed for broader public notice. One suggestion accepted by the committee was an informational insert in the next property tax bill directing residents to the engineering website and the FEMA maps. The committee voted to send a communication to the mayor’s office asking for such notification.
After discussion, the committee voted to send the ordinance “out” with a recommendation that the new floodway and floodplain district be adopted; the chair later recorded the committee vote as 4–1 in favor of adoption, with Councilor Marissa Bruin opposed. The committee also approved a motion requesting the mayor’s office to provide citywide informational outreach and to consider an insert in the next tax bill directing taxpayers to the mapping and resources.
