The Industrial and Community Development Committee in Peabody voted to recommend that the City Council move forward with proposed amendments to the city’s Floodplain Overlay District and Wetlands Conservancy District and referred the measure to the Planning Board for a public hearing. Committee members voted 5-0 to send a positive recommendation and asked staff to advertise the ordinance for council-level public hearing.

Kirk Bellavance, director of planning and community development, told the committee the changes are required so Peabody remains eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "Part of being in this program, FEMA requires us to update our ordinance language," Bellavance said, describing work with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and a state model ordinance the agency required the city to adopt in specific language.

The amendments revise Section 8 of the city zoning ordinance. Bellavance said 8.1 (purpose) was updated to incorporate FEMA-required language while retaining existing local text; 8.2 (applicability) remains the same; 8.3 adds definitions the state required; 8.4 incorporates the bulk of the technical changes; 8.5 expands variance provisions; and sections 8.6–8.8 are entirely new. He said the revisions also name the building inspector as the designated floodplain administrator and that the Wetlands Conservancy District text did not change in substance.

Committee discussion focused on the limited discretion available to the city. "We don't really have much of a choice on the rest of this language," Councilor McGinn said after reviewing the revisions and the state comments. Councilor Turco asked why the ordinance names the building inspector rather than the building commissioner; Bellavance replied that the existing ordinance language referenced the building inspector and staff retained that text while designating that official the administrator. Councilor Turco also asked whether the Conservancy District should list the current railroad owner; Bellavance said the city could refer to the railroad right-of-way generically rather than naming a specific owner.

Bellavance said the city first submitted a draft to the state in mid-January and received DCR feedback; the draft the city ultimately submitted was accepted by DCR on April 16. He said staff must meet a July 8 deadline to comply with FEMA’s requests and will submit the adopted language to FEMA and await a Letter of Final Determination. Bellavance noted that remaining in the NFIP preserves resident access to federally backed flood insurance and the city’s eligibility for certain federal grants (including programs administered by HUD and EPA) and for federally backed mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The committee’s motion directs staff to advertise the ordinance and refer it to the Planning Board for public hearing while also scheduling a city council public hearing to meet the stated timeframe. The committee record shows the motion carried by roll call vote, 5-0.

Background details Bellavance cited included spot checks of updated FEMA maps that found localized changes near 143 Lynnfield Street and minor expansions near Parsons and Proctor Circle; he said a full parcel-by-parcel comparison would be lengthy. He also noted the city may later opt into FEMA’s Community Rating System to pursue higher local standards and potential insurance-premium reductions; Bellavance said roughly 25 Massachusetts communities participate in that higher-rating program, primarily coastal towns. "If we decide we want to move forward, that's something we can certainly look into," he said.

Next steps: staff will prepare ordinance language for city council advertisement and referral to the Planning Board for a public hearing, submit the adopted ordinance to FEMA for review, and await the Letter of Final Determination required to complete the map/ordinance update process.