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Buncombe County staff propose tighter floodway rules, expanded emergency-action plans and new definitions
Summary
County staff presented draft amendments to ZPH2025-00042 that would add NFIP definitions (conveyance shadow, repetitive loss, LOMA/LOMR), expand emergency action plan (EAP) requirements to cover temporary materials, and prohibit new travel trailers, floatable materials and junk vehicles in the floodway; the meeting was discussion-only and no ordinance vote was taken.
Buncombe County planning staff on Dec. 15 outlined proposed amendments to the county’s flood damage prevention ordinance (ZPH2025-00042) aimed at reducing life‑safety risk in mapped floodways and clarifying several National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) terms.
Angela Lee, Buncombe County floodplain administrator, told the Planning Board the draft changes would add definitions for 'conveyance shadow,' 'repetitive loss' and letter‑of‑map change (LOMA/LOMR); require any fill-based map revision to meet the county’s higher standard of two feet above base flood elevation; and tighten standards that apply within the floodway. Lee said these steps are intended to reduce future construction and temporary storage within the most hazardous portion of regulated floodplain.
"These standards are intended to expand the definition section, reduce construction in the floodway, and reduce temporary structures in the floodway," Lee said. She explained that the county currently regulates…
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