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Land Use committee urges multi-agency review of FEMA flood maps; county lacks funds for corrections
Summary
The Land Use Committee reported confusion and public concern about proposed FEMA flood maps and directed the County Administrator to convene City and County officials, the legislative delegation, state agencies and the public to review the maps before an Oct. 27, 2022 acceptance deadline; correcting the maps will require external funding.
The Sumter County Land Use Committee told full Council on June 28 that residents and local stakeholders are concerned about proposed FEMA flood maps and the committee directed the County Administrator to set a joint meeting with City Council, County Council, the county legislative delegation, Senator Tim Scott’s representative and state agencies to review the maps before the county’s Oct. 27, 2022 acceptance deadline.
Committee Chairman Charles T. Edens reported that approximately 15 to 20 members of the public attended the committee meeting and that participants—including representatives from the Lakewood Subdivision and local realtors—expressed confusion and dissatisfaction with how the maps were prepared and how proposed designations may affect properties. He said investigating and correcting mapping issues will incur costs and that the county currently lacks funds to cover that work, so the county will need to seek state, federal or other funding sources.
Council took no formal action at the full meeting beyond accepting the committee report and directing the County Administrator to arrange the multi‑party meeting. Councilman Carlton B. Washington noted that a representative of U.S. Senator Tim Scott’s office (Mr. Jenkins) was present and asked him to coordinate follow-up with the committee chair and administrator.
The committee’s request for intergovernmental review recognizes both the legal deadline set by FEMA for acceptance and the potential financial barrier to pursuing map corrections locally.
