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Ocean Springs schedules workshop to review floodway ordinance after residents cite annexation, insurance harms
Summary
After dozens of residents from newly annexed areas described how the city's floodway rules limit rebuilding and depress property values, Ocean Springs aldermen voted to hold a workshop to review possible amendments that would allow FEMA no‑rise certifications or other hardship relief while assessing impacts on the city's CRS flood‑insurance rating.
Ocean Springs aldermen set a work session to review and possibly amend the city's floodway ordinance after residents described hardships caused by recent annexations that placed parcels under stricter city floodway rules.
Ricky Ottomont and several other residents urged the board to preserve flood protections but asked for clearer rules to prevent long‑term adverse effects on property owners annexed from the county. Elizabeth Liddy Miller, who said she began the petition process that led to this item, told the board the agenda item addresses the "floodway" (not the broader flood zone) and said many recently annexed properties can't be built on under current city rules without a variance.
Residents described life‑changing impacts: inability to sell, higher taxes, and denial or delay of building permits for lots that had been developable under county rules. "My whole property is in this," resident Cody Crane said of his annexed lot; he said the change after annexation had made his property effectively unsellable and placed a heavy financial burden on his family.
City staff and aldermen noted the reason for a stringent ordinance: the city participates in FEMA's Community Rating System (CRS), which yields flood‑insurance discounts for the community. Staff said loosening the ordinance without proper safeguards could jeopardize the city's CRS classification and reduce discounts for all policyholders. Staff estimated the loss of CRS credit could translate to a reduction in discounts on flood insurance (staff cited a likely 5–10% change depending on program audits and changes).
Aldermen and staff agreed that a workshop with the city's certified floodplain manager and legal counsel should examine options such as allowing a FEMA no‑rise certification program, grandfathering annexed properties, or creating a focused variance/hardship path. The board moved and approved a motion to schedule a workshop; participants discussed a tentative date and asked staff to coordinate a confirmed schedule (board members referenced Jan. 16 as a possible afternoon option during the meeting). The board ordered staff to return with options and data on CRS implications and potential fiscal impacts.
No ordinance change was adopted at the meeting; the workshop is intended to develop proposals for future aldermanic action.
