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Seattle committee holds public hearing on permanent FEMA floodplain rules, delays vote
Summary
The Land Use & Sustainability Committee heard public testimony and staff briefings on Council Bill 121152 to adopt permanent floodplain development rules aligned with FEMA maps; staff said more modeling is needed for some waterfront piers and the committee declined to suspend the rules for a same-day vote, scheduling further work and return to committee.
The Seattle City Council Land Use & Sustainability Committee on March 4, 2026 opened a public hearing on Council Bill 121152, a proposal to adopt permanent floodplain development regulations to align Seattle code with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood insurance rate maps. The committee heard two in-person public speakers and extensive staff explanation of mapping, modeling and next steps, but did not vote.
The matter matters because the city must remain in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for property owners to access federally backed flood insurance; staff warned that falling out of compliance could end that access. Jack McCullough, speaking for owners of historic waterfront piers, said the existing FEMA/King County mapping places those piers in VE (velocity) zones and that more detailed modeling could exclude the structures from VE designations.
"It's odd that I'm here on behalf of the piers because they really shouldn't even be in the flood plain," McCullough said,…
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