Stormwater commission upholds staff: deck and patio not part of building footprint in floodway appeal

The Metro Water Services Stormwater Management Commission on Feb. 6 denied an appeal by homeowner Justin Van Dam over whether a raised deck and adjoining patio at 3407 Springbrook Drive count as the home’s building footprint under Metro Code 15.64.170.

The commission’s decision upholds staff’s interpretation that the deck and patio are not part of the building footprint for the floodway prohibition that states, “no such existing structure located in the floodway shall be enlarged or expanded beyond its existing height or building footprint.” The denial means Van Dam must pursue other routes — such as a variance — only if the commission’s interpretation were reversed.

Why it matters: The ruling preserves a narrow reading of “building footprint” used by stormwater staff to limit new or enlarged structures in mapped floodways. Commissioners said the interpretation is intended to prevent new structures that increase flood risk in complex drainage basins such as the West Fork and Middle Fork of Browns Creek and the culvert system near Interstate 440…