Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Floodplain Ordinance Update topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Olmsted County adopts FEMA-required update to floodplain and shoreland ordinance
Summary
The Olmsted County Board unanimously adopted a staff-recommended text amendment to Chapter 37-50 to incorporate a new FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map panel and list panels/LOMRs explicitly; staff said the update does not change floodplain boundaries and must be effective by June 10, 2026.
The Olmsted County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a text amendment to Chapter 37-50 of the county’s floodplain and shoreland ordinance to incorporate an updated FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) panel and list panels and Letter of Map Revisions (LOMRs) by identifier.
County senior planner Allie Bosco told the board the amendment (application 02026-001TA) responds to a FEMA map update and that staff recommended approval. "None of the land has been changed," Bosco said, adding that the change is administrative: it names the new panel and clarifies where the county will house the maps and supporting documents.
Why it matters: FEMA has issued a new, colorized FIRM panel that staff described as more precise for base flood elevations and floodway/fringe delineation. Bosco said a single panel (panel 302G) and a small number of parcels in Rochester Township and Marion Township now fall within the updated panel; she told commissioners the county received digital and paper copies of the study and that the map’s effective date is June 10, 2026.
Procedural details: The board opened a public hearing, heard no public comment, and moved to adopt the amendment. A commissioner moved to approve application 02026-001TA; the motion was seconded and the chair announced the amendment adopted.
Votes at a glance: - Text amendment (02026-001TA) to Olmsted County Chapter 37-50: motion by Commissioner Wright; second by Commissioner Padoke Smith; outcome: adopted (board vote announced as in favor). - Consent agenda: approved as a group earlier in the meeting; items included approval of May 5 meeting minutes; authorization of archery hunting at Mayo Wood Corridor; contract award for switch gear at the county waste-to-energy facility; acceptance of a Minnesota Department of Health grant for a regional population-health data model; contract award for Lake Zumbro boat launch phase 2; authorization of public hunts at Chester Woods/Oxbow Park; and a gambling permit for Rochester Area Builders.
What the amendment does and limits: According to staff, the amendment does not change mapped floodplain or floodway extents within Olmsted County; it updates ordinance language to list the new FIRM panel(s) and LOMR(s) and to indicate that the official maps and documents are held in the county building. The change is driven by FEMA’s updated map study and federal mapping requirements rather than a local remapping of floodplain boundaries.
Next steps: Staff will finalize ordinance language as adopted and post the listed map panels and LOMR references in the county offices identified in the ordinance. The effective date given by staff for the updated panel is June 10, 2026.
Sources: Presentation and statements by Allie Bosco, senior planner, Olmsted County Planning Department, and the board’s public hearing and subsequent motion and vote.
