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Council approves lowering commercial freeboard in flood ordinance from 3 ft to 1 ft
Summary
Following a staff presentation and extended Q&A about insurance and CRS points, council approved a text amendment lowering the freeboard requirement for nonresidential structures from 3 feet to 1 foot; staff said residential standards will not change.
The Jacksonville City Council approved a text amendment to the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance that reduces the required freeboard for nonresidential (commercial) structures from 3 feet to 1 foot.
Planner Ryan King framed the change as a response to a request from Tidewater and Associates and explained the freeboard concept: "Freeboard is basically the amount of space you have to provide between the base flood elevation and the higher amount that the city has adopted as 3 feet," he said. King noted the change would apply to commercial buildings only and that the city participates in FEMA's Community Rating System; Jacksonville currently scores as a Class 8 community, which provides modest insurance premium discounts to properties in the floodplain.
Council members pressed staff on likely effects, including potential loss of CRS points and insurance-premium shifts. King said North Carolina Department of Public Safety reviewed the proposal and did not recommend changing residential freeboard; staff did not perform a residential analysis because the request came from a private firm focused on commercial property. Councilors voiced competing priorities: lowering the commercial standard could make waterfront development more financially feasible, but it may increase flooding risk for buildings that are built lower.
Motion and outcome: A councilor moved to adopt the text amendment as presented; the motion received a second and passed by voice vote.
Why it matters: Reducing the commercial freeboard lowers the minimum elevation for new commercial buildings in the city's regulated floodplain. That change can reduce upfront construction costs for developers but also could affect flood vulnerability and the city's CRS standing (and therefore community flood-insurance discounts). Staff noted voluntary higher building practices and the pending release of revised FEMA maps that will change some elevation requirements.
Next steps: The ordinance change will be codified and implemented; staff said they will continue CRS outreach and monitor the next FEMA map adoption.
