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Planning commission delays vote on floodplain recodification, seeks agency review
Summary
Planning staff introduced a recodification of the county flood hazard ordinance that would raise minimum elevations to two feet above flood levels and consider regulating to the 500-year flood; the commission asked FEMA, DEQ and DCR to review the draft and deferred action until January or February.
The Washington County Planning Commission reviewed a proposed recodification of the county’s flood hazard ordinance and agreed to delay a public hearing and vote to allow agency and public review.
Planning staff said the draft ordinance includes two primary changes: increasing the minimum elevation requirement for residential lowest enclosed floors from “at or above” the flood elevation to two feet above it, and considering expansion of regulated areas to include the 500-year (0.2% annual chance) flood standard in addition to the 100-year standard. "There's a lot of things in there," staff said, and urged commission members to give FEMA, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Conservation and Recreation time to review the proposed language.
Staff and commissioners framed the revisions in the context of recent major flooding in the county. Planners noted that elevating structures farther above mapped flood elevations generally lowers flood insurance rates and reduces risk, while expanding regulated areas to the 500-year standard could bring additional land under regulation but that much of the county lacks the detailed studies necessary to map 500-year areas accurately. As staff put it, “the higher you go, the safer you are,” and they said best practices being discussed nationally recommend stronger elevation standards than the county currently has.
Commissioners and members of the public recounted dramatic storm impacts in the region — including high flows, bridge and trail damage, washed-out RV and mobile-home parks, and substantial infrastructure and property losses — to illustrate the stakes in any change. Staff said the ordinance will return to the commission in January or February after agency review and possible attorney input, and emphasized the draft is intended to be refined to reflect legal and technical input before any formal vote.
The commission asked staff to provide clearer visuals, to identify which areas would be newly regulated under any proposed 500-year mapping and to coordinate legal review if needed. No formal vote was taken at the meeting.
