Talent planning commission recommends council adopt FEMA-aligned floodplain ordinance with conditions

On Nov. 26, 2024, the City of Talent Planning Commission voted to recommend that Talent City Council adopt ordinance read aloud during the hearing (spoken in the meeting as "24 9 8 6 0") to align the city's floodplain regulations with FEMA's short-term pre-implementation compliance measures (PICMs).

Rowan Fairfield, a contract land use planner with RVCOG, told the commission FEMA provided "3 choices with the deadline of December 1" and that staff drafted an ordinance based on FEMA's model code to meet the agency's no-net-loss performance standards tied to the Endangered Species Act. Fairfield summarized the model-code proxies as "undeveloped space, pervious surfaces, and trees," and described new reporting that would require tracking project-level fill, compensatory storage, new impervious surface and trees removed or replaced.

Community members and property owners urged caution. A commenter identifying representation of West Valley View LLC said the proposed…