Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Floodplain Mapping topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Gardner committee OKs zoning text update to match new FEMA FIRM maps ahead of July deadline
Summary
The Welfare Subcommittee voted to forward a zoning ordinance amendment that references FEMA's updated Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) and modernizes definitions so Gardner remains in the National Flood Insurance Program; the measure will go to the full council for passage before the July 8 effective date.
An ordinance amendment to update Gardner’s floodplain overlay to match Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance rate maps was approved by the Welfare Subcommittee and referred to the full City Council for passage.
The measure updates the city’s zoning language to reference the July 8 FIRM panels and modernizes statutory definitions so Gardner can continue to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, City Engineer Oliver told the subcommittee. Oliver said the maps are more detailed, based on aerial photography and updated flood studies, and replace paper maps that in some areas were nearly 40 years old.
Keeping the zoning text in line with the new FIRM maps is time sensitive because the city would “lose coverage under the flood insurance program” if the ordinance is not made effective by July 8, Oliver said. He described the proposed changes as largely bookkeeping: replacing references to the old map set, updating definitions drawn from the state model ordinance, and clarifying that the city will use the July 8 FIRM panels as the legal mapping. Oliver said he did not see widespread new floodplain expansions in Gardner but that some property owners may see local changes in mapping.
Subcommittee members asked whether the mapping was available to property owners; Oliver said the engineering web page contains the individual FIRM panels and links to FEMA resources for property- and lender-level information. A motion to forward the ordinance to the full council for passage was made and the subcommittee voted in favor; the chair said the item will go to the council for final action before the July 8 effective date.
The amendment does not change what land uses are allowed or prohibited in the flood hazard areas, Oliver said; it ties the overlay district to the official FIRM panels and updates definitions to align with state and FEMA guidance. The subcommittee recorded an affirmative vote and the measure will proceed to the council for adoption.
Editor’s note: The committee discussion and quotations above come from the Welfare Subcommittee meeting transcript; the proposed ordinance references FEMA’s FIRM panels effective July 8 and state model ordinance language cited by staff.
