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Planners consider extending 10‑foot floodplain height allowance into 500‑year floodplain to boost resilience
Summary
Staff proposed letting property owners voluntarily use an existing 10-foot additional height allowance in 500‑year floodplains to improve flood resilience and lower recovery costs; resilience staff warned it can encourage siting in flood-prone areas and the board agreed to consult the fire marshal before proceeding.
The Pender County Planning Board discussed a proposed text amendment to expand a 10‑foot height allowance — now applicable in special flood hazard areas — to also apply in 500‑year floodplains, with the stated goal of encouraging voluntary elevation of homes for resilience.
"If you go 4 feet above the base flood elevation plus the 2 feet of freeboard, you can have an extra 10 feet of house height," said Lee Duncan, the county's resilience planner, explaining the mechanics of the allowance. He cautioned that in other jurisdictions the provision has occasionally led property owners to site homes just inside regulated zones to obtain greater height and better views.
Staff framed the change as an option that could reduce recovery and insurance costs by enabling owners to elevate mechanicals and habitable space above typical flood levels. Board members raised safety and emergency‑response questions. One member urged consulting the fire marshal given concerns about rescue and the challenges of taller structures, and others noted that higher heights in other counties come with larger setback requirements or different height‑measurement methods.
Board members asked staff to gather additional input — including from the fire marshal — and to report back. Staff emphasized the amendment is intended to support resilience rather than increase density and said any formal draft would include consistent measurement standards and safeguards.
