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Basalt meeting approves code update to reference finalized FEMA and CWCB floodplain maps
Summary
Town staff told the meeting that FEMA and the Colorado Water Conservation Board consider updated floodplain maps final after a 90-day appeal period; the body voted to update local code to reference the new maps, a change that will be effective Jan. 9 and may affect homeowners in River Oaks.
Unidentified Speaker 1, a town staff presenter, told the meeting that a multi-year physical map revision flood study for the Roaring Fork area has reached a close and that FEMA and the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) received no appeals during a 90-day period, meaning the agencies are considering the proposed floodplain maps final. The presenter said the state requires the town to update its municipal code to reference the newly adopted maps by Jan. 9 and that staff is processing that code change.
The presenter said most changes were driven by updated survey and lidar data used to ground-truth the mapping and that there were no changes to the underlying hydrology. However, floodway delineations shifted in places because state guidance allows a rise of up to 6 inches in delineating a floodway. Unidentified Speaker 1 emphasized the town will continue to require a local no-rise condition for permitting even though the state delineation allows the 6-inch rise.
Staff identified the River Oaks subdivision as one neighborhood that will be noticeably affected by expanded floodplain mapping and said the town previously did outreach to those homeowners and invited them to provide survey data if they believed the mapping was inaccurate. The meeting heard that property owners with federally backed mortgages who are newly placed in the floodplain will need to obtain flood insurance. Unidentified Speaker 6 said that additions can be allowed in some cases if the first finished floor is at least 2 feet above the base flood elevation and if the project can demonstrate it will not increase the base flood elevation for other properties.
On the project governance and technical roles, meeting participants clarified that Eagle County initiated the study, that a firm identified in the record as Wood served as the primary consultant for FEMA and the CWCB, and that Matrix Design Group and the town served as technical reviewers and advisers for the town. Staff also noted that the map study covered only the portion of the floodplain within Eagle County and that maps show a visual jog where the Eagle–Pitkin county boundary lies because Pitkin County was not included in the study.
After discussion, a motion "to approve" (motion text as stated in the record) was moved (mover: not specified in the record) and seconded by Unidentified Speaker 3. The body took a voice vote; the record shows members said "Aye" and the motion passed. Meeting staff said the code change referencing the newly adopted maps will be effective Jan. 9. The meeting did not record a roll-call vote count in the transcript.
The next procedural step is for staff to finalize the code language and for affected property owners to be notified; staff also noted typical federal processes such as letters of map revision for developments that require federal review.
