The Coconino County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Dec. 9 to approve Flood Control District Ordinance 2025-01, authorizing the district to establish local floodplains and assigning floodplain administration to the Flood Control District administrator.

The action follows a county-funded flood-modeling study for Tusayan and other high-risk areas showing substantially larger inundation zones than the current FEMA maps. Lucinda Andreani, Flood Control District administrator, told the board the district has invested in updated modeling and outreach to affected property owners and recommends county authority to adopt local floodplain designations so officials can regulate development according to best-available data.

"Establishing a local floodplain is the best course of action to address the high level of flood risk to lives and properties," Andreani said, noting the model was validated against the August 2023 event that closed State Route 64 and damaged local infrastructure. Ian Sharp, the district's hydrology consultant, said the local delineation nearly doubled the number of parcels and structures identified as at risk compared with the FEMA 100-year map and showed that a 2023 10-year event inundated areas outside the FEMA boundary.

Consultants and the town engineer for Tusayan described multi-step technical work behind the maps. Ian Sharp explained that the local floodplain would allow the district to regulate development immediately without waiting for a lengthy FEMA map revision process. "If you're currently in a FEMA floodplain and you get a federally backed mortgage, yes, you will still require flood insurance as a federal regulation, but that does not occur for a local floodplain," Sharp said.

During the public hearing, Carolyn Oberholtzer, representing Red Feather Properties, said her clients had requested a continuance to review voluminous materials but that recent responses from county staff had answered most questions. Jack Moody, the town's contract engineer, said he reviewed the study and an independent third-party review and "concur[red] that it is the best available data." Several supervisors framed the ordinance as a public-safety action, citing the county's $200,000 modeling investment and the need to protect residents, roads and the town's wastewater plant.

Vice Chair Jeronimo Vasquez added a directive that any specific local floodplain maps be brought back to the board for approval at a later date; Andreani said she intends to return with those maps in January. Andreani also said the district has submitted or will submit grant applications, including for the Federal Lands Access Program and a BUILD/Department of Transportation grant, to secure mitigation funding.

The board approved the ordinance by voice vote, and the motion passed unanimously. The county will now proceed with local floodplain delineation and return map-specific approvals to the board while seeking federal grant funding for mitigation work.

Next steps: staff will bring draft local floodplain maps to the board for approval and continue pursuing grant funding to implement mitigation projects for Tusayan and other high-risk areas.