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Planning board advances draft flood-ordinance changes; votes to seek joint workshop with select board
Summary
Staff presented draft amendments to the town's flood ordinance proposing a 10-year lookback for substantial-improvement calculations and excluding depreciation from market-value determinations; board members debated whether to include maintenance in the calculation and agreed to request a joint workshop with the select board to resolve differences.
Town planning staff reviewed draft amendments to Chapter 115 defining "market value" and the substantial-improvement lookback period. The proposed change would calculate cumulative improvements over a 10-year period rather than the life of a structure and would, in staff's draft, exclude depreciation when determining market value.
Board members debated whether to use a 5- or 10-year lookback and whether maintenance items (roofing, siding, window replacement) should count toward the substantial-improvement threshold. One participant summarized the choices: a 5-year lookback that includes maintenance, or a 10-year lookback that excludes maintenance. "A shorter period delays flood proofing," a board member said, urging caution about allowing owners to avoid elevation work. Others said clearly defining "maintenance" in the ordinance would reduce gray areas and enforcement disputes.
The board discussed FEMA guidance and available owner assistance programs for storm damage. Several members suggested exempting life-safety upgrades (for example, egress windows required by code) from the cumulative calculation. Planning staff proposed a joint workshop with the select board to align policy choices before a public hearing; the board agreed to ask the town manager to schedule a workshop in mid-December.
Why it matters: Changes to the substantial-improvement rule determine when property owners must bring structures into flood-resistant compliance, with significant cost and insurance implications for homeowners on coastal and flood-prone properties.
Next steps: Planning staff will request a joint workshop with the select board, bring clarifying language on maintenance and life-safety exemptions and circulate proposed language for review prior to a public hearing.
