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Rising Sun adopts updated floodplain ordinance; appeals moved to Code Enforcement Board
Summary
The mayor and board approved Ordinance 2025-2 to align local rules with state and federal floodplain model code, change the appeals process, and require properties meeting a substantial-damage threshold to be raised to base flood elevation plus two feet.
The Rising Sun Mayor and Board of Commissioners on June 2025 adopted Ordinance 2025-2, an update to the town’s floodplain code that town staff says is necessary for residents to remain eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program.
Town Administrator Calvin told the board the town is required to maintain a floodplain ordinance for residents to qualify for federal flood insurance and said the updated text aligns the town code with more recent state and federal model language. “We are required to have a floodplain ordinance in order for the town and its residents to qualify for national flood insurance,” Calvin said during the June meeting.
The ordinance makes several substantive changes. It redirects appeals from the Board of Zoning Appeals to the newly created Code Enforcement Board of Appeals, adopts model-code nomenclature used in state guidance, and clarifies local procedures for dealing with structures deemed unsafe after flooding. Calvin said the town will apply its existing property maintenance code language for placarding and mitigation when buildings are unsafe after an event.
The update also tightens how the town measures “substantial damage” that triggers mandatory elevation or other floodproofing. Under the new language commissioners approved, work that reaches 51% of a building’s value triggers the requirement to bring the structure up to the base flood elevation plus a two-foot freeboard. Calvin explained the change is intended to close a loophole where homeowners could spread work over many years to avoid the threshold: “Any repairs or upgrades … over a 5 year period are totaled together to reach that 51%.”
Calvin estimated roughly 35 to 45 occupied properties sit in town floodplain areas and said one property contains 30 mobile homes, 21 of which fall inside the mapped floodplain. He also said the town submitted the draft to the Maryland Department of the Environment for review and that MDE had verbally indicated comfort with the changes; a formal letter was expected in the coming weeks.
Mayor Merrick asked for clarification on appeals and on the scope of affected properties; Calvin confirmed the draft sends appeals to the Code Enforcement Board of Appeals and provided the property counts. The town attorney reported that the ordinance creates procedures that will allow the new appeals board to hear floodplain variance requests and anticipated a hearing on a variance application in July.
The motion to adopt Ordinance 2025-2 was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote; the clerk recorded “Aye” and the chair declared the ordinance passed.
The ordinance takes effect as provided in the adopting language and the town will publish the updated code and next steps for residents seeking floodplain-related guidance.
