Portland staff present FEMA-driven floodplain code amendments as public and environmental groups urge stronger protections

Portland staff presented proposed amendments to Title 24, Chapter 50, the city's floodplain development regulations, and asked the Climate Resilience and Land Use Committee to refer the package to full City Council for adoption so the city can remain in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The amendments implement FEMA's interim "pre-implementation compliance measures" (PICMs), which FEMA requires by July 31; they add no-net-loss rules for three proxies of natural floodplain function (flood storage, water quality and vegetated riparian habitat), new submittal and inspection requirements, and a Pickham Riparian Buffer Zone that extends 170 feet from the ordinary high water mark within the FEMA 100-year floodplain.

Those attending the meeting said the changes are necessary to keep Portlanders eligible for federal flood insurance and associated disaster assistance. Doug Morgan, engineering manager with Portland Permitting and Development (PP&D), told the committee the city has regulated its floodplains since joining the NFIP in 1980 and that compliance with FEMA is a prerequisite to continued access to disaster recovery funds and federally backed flood insurance. Staff said Portland currently receives a 25% discount on flood insurance premiums under FEMA's Community Rating System (Class 5), and that failing to meet FEMA's timetable could jeopardize that status.

Why it matters: the amendments are staff'recommended interim steps to bring Portland into compliance with a 2016 National Marine Fisheries Service biological opinion (BiOp) that found NFIP implementation harmed listed salmonid species and orcas. FEMA developed the PICM pathway after litigation and directed jurisdictions to choose a compliance pathway by Dec. 1, 2024. Portland staff recommended…