County engineering staff asked the Board to approve a substantial reformatting and targeted substantive changes to the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance (FDPO), including added definitions and reinstating language that would prevent locating critical facilities — hospitals, nursing homes, emergency operations centers, utility systems and similar structures — inside mapped special flood‑hazard areas (FEMA AE, AO and coastal A zones). The county engineer said the revision aimed to remove ambiguity in enforcement and align the local ordinance with FEMA’s model language.

Several commissioners representing island and low‑lying areas asked how the restriction would work in practice for fire and police stations and for county facilities that serve island populations. One commissioner asked, “So how do you not have them located 3 miles from, and you follow where I'm going?” The engineer responded that the model ordinance intends to protect critical infrastructure and that hardening or floodproofing can be an alternative if relocation is infeasible, but acknowledged tradeoffs for access and response times. Staff also noted the county would not receive FEMA reimbursement if facilities were located where FEMA says they should not be built.

Commissioners asked whether the ordinance’s language could be modified to allow flood‑proofing rather than an absolute prohibition. Engineering staff said the language could be tailored but warned that broad exceptions could undermine the intent to protect critical resources. After discussion the chair asked to table the item, and a motion to table amendment number 1 to chapter 24, article 1 was moved, seconded and adopted; staff said they would resend the draft and solicit additional island‑representative feedback before bringing it back.

Why this matters: reinstating restrictions on critical facilities affects county planning for emergency services, utilities and other mission‑critical infrastructure. Commissioners cited the need to protect equipment and personnel but also voiced concern about maintaining reasonable service access for island and low‑lying communities.