Council told to adopt updated flood ordinance to retain FEMA flood-insurance eligibility; CRS study shows modest premium relief possible

Ithaca planning staff told the Common Council on April 9 that the city must adopt a repeal-and-replace of Local Law 186 (flood damage prevention) and the new FEMA flood maps by a May submission deadline to preserve participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Planning staff and planner Sam Quinn Jacobs described the change as largely an adoption of FEMA’s updated maps and minimum standards. The staff presentation said the local law must be submitted to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation with documentation by May 19 so the maps may take effect June 18. The staff memo warned that failing to adopt the law could result in “immediate suspension” from the NFIP, which provides federally backed flood insurance to residential property owners in mapped areas.

Staff also presented a separate, consultant-supported analysis of the Community Rating System (CRS), a voluntary FEMA program that reduces premiums for federally backed flood insurance when communities adopt flood-risk–reducing activities. Sam Quinn Jacobs said the city already performs a number of CRS-relevant activities and could apply with current practices; the analysis estimated that, under reasonable assumptions, the city could attain a CRS class in the 8–9 range (roughly a 5–10% premium reduction). The consultants’ modeling showed a potential aggregate policyholder savings on federal flood-insurance premiums of roughly $1.5 million over 20 years in a scenario with no county-wide mitigation project.

However, staff emphasized a key tradeoff: if a flood-mitigation project succeeds in removing a large share of properties from the mapped floodplain, fewer property owners would need NFIP policies and therefore fewer people would benefit from the CRS premium reductions. The staff presentation modeled two scenarios: one without mitigation (projected net premium savings to policyholders over 20 years) and one where mitigation removes about 75% of affected parcels (which reduced the pool of policyholders and produced lower net benefit from CRS participation under the assumptions used).

Councilmembers asked for clarification about public notification and timing. Staff and the city manager said resources and outreach materials are available on the city website and that insurance companies and lenders also notify property owners whose federally backed mortgages will require flood insurance. Council asked staff to issue additional public communications and press materials to explain who is affected and what the deadlines mean for property owners.

The committee voted to advance the repeal-and-replace local law to the May meeting so the city can meet the NFIP deadline; the chair recorded the motion carried unanimously in committee.

Next steps staff laid out include: submitting the local law and documentation to DEC to meet the May 19 submission window; continuing outreach to property owners about insurance options; and deciding whether to pursue CRS participation (staff recommended pursuing application at a modest CRS level while evaluating additional measures that could raise the city’s CRS class).