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Sanford council approves draft floodplain ordinance language, to forward to NC flood program and FEMA
Summary
Council voted to approve draft language replacing UDO Article 13 with the state's model flood damage prevention ordinance (selecting a two‑foot freeboard and a specific 'Reference Level' definition) and approved updated FEMA NFIP map panels pending FEMA's Letter of Final Determination.
Senior Planner Amy McNeill presented a draft replacement of Article 13 (Flood Hazard Area Regulations) of the Unified Development Ordinance to align Sanford with the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program and the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
McNeill said the UDO update affects development inside mapped flood hazard areas and is required to maintain NFIP participation, which allows citizens access to subsidized flood insurance. The Planning Board recommended approval with staff selections of optional language, including requiring two feet of freeboard above the 100‑year floodplain and adopting an alternative definition of "Reference Level," which McNeill read as "the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member of the lowest floor for structures within all Special Flood Hazard Areas." The county and the Town of Broadway reviewed the draft during their joint public hearings; Lee County’s Planning Board recommended four feet of freeboard while Broadway recommended four feet, but Sanford’s Planning Board recommended two feet as a local choice.
Council voted unanimously to approve the draft ordinance language and to forward it to Sanford’s NFIP planner and FEMA for review prior to formal adoption. McNeill also presented updated FEMA NFIP map panels for Lee County; the council approved adopting the latest panels but directed staff to await FEMA's Letter of Final Determination before formally adopting the maps.
Next steps are technical review by the NFIP planner and FEMA, followed by a return to the governing boards to consider final ordinance adoption after receipt of federal determinations.
