Council approves floodplain variances for proposed multifamily project despite staff objections

Edmond City Council approved variances to portions of Title 23 allowing fill, compensatory storage and construction of multifamily buildings in the city’s regulatory floodplain near Spring Creek and the south end of Katy Michelle Boulevard.

The council approved the variances 5-0 after a multi-hour public hearing that drew city staff, the developer’s engineering team and neighborhood commenters. The city’s development engineer, Keith Beatty, told the council that staff does not support the variances and that granting them risks the city’s Community Rating System score with FEMA, which influences flood insurance discounts. “Economic development isn’t a reason for granting a variance,” Beatty said, and he warned that a pattern of variances had previously cost the city points in the CRS program.

Applicant representatives said their hydraulic modeling indicates the project will…