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Planning board urges adoption of updated flood-hazard overlay to protect 800 policyholders
Summary
The board voted a positive recommendation on Article 42 to adopt state- and FEMA-aligned updates to the Flood Hazard Overlay District, intended to preserve participation in the National Flood Insurance Program and maintain coverage for roughly 800 Nantucket policyholders.
The Nantucket Planning Board voted to recommend Article 42, technical updates to the town’s Flood Hazard Overlay District designed to keep the town in compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program.
Staff and regional advisers said the updates are largely administrative: they align local bylaws with FEMA and the Massachusetts Coastal Resiliency guidance so property owners can continue to obtain federal flood insurance. Shannon, a regional flood specialist, told the board Nantucket has about 800 active NFIP policies and that failure to adopt the updated language risks loss of that coverage for those policyholders. Board members asked for clarity on the underlying FEMA maps (the town currently references the 2014 panels) and how future map updates would be handled; Shannon said FEMA Region 1 will conduct a coastal study in coming years and that the bylaw would be re-adopted to reference new map dates when required.
The planning board closed the public hearing after brief questions from residents and voted a positive recommendation to move Article 42 to town meeting. The recommendation requires a two-thirds vote at town meeting and was forwarded with the board’s technical comments and the staff memo. The board’s formal motion and unanimous voice vote will be included in the planning board’s packet to town meeting.
