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Cathy Shaw demos mapping tool as Highlands pushes for FEMA Community Rating discount
Summary
Highlands’ CRS coordinator Cathy Shaw demonstrated a new Forerunner property-mapping platform and described efforts to remove repetitive-loss properties and secure a FEMA Community Rating System (CRS) discount; she highlighted Bay Avenue’s redevelopment as an opportunity for elevated, flood-resilient mixed-use buildings.
Cathy Shaw, Highlands’ Community Rating System coordinator, demonstrated a new Forerunner mapping and records tool on Thursday and outlined how the borough is working to reduce residents’ flood insurance costs and manage repetitive-loss properties.
Shaw said the platform gives an address-based property profile showing flood zones, elevation data, MOD4 assessment values and permitting history, and that it will help homeowners, realtors and engineers understand whether a structure is subject to substantial-improvement rules. “This is your tool. This is Highlands’ tool,” Shaw said, adding that the town is using the system to document mitigation that FEMA requires to remove properties from a repetitive-loss tracker.
Why it matters: Highlands inherited roughly 300 properties the borough classifies as repetitive-loss or increased-claims-compliance cases; those properties can block the town from earning larger CRS discounts that reduce flood insurance rates across the…
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