Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Stormwater Floodplain topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lake County staff propose tougher floodplain and lot‑grading rules after Hurricane Milton
Summary
Public Works recommended raising freeboard to 2 feet, prohibiting fill in floodways, adopting a 1‑year look‑back for cumulative improvements, and requiring engineered lot‑grading for undeveloped residential lots to reduce downstream flooding and earn FEMA Community Rating System credit.
Jordan Salinger, Lake County Public Works operations director, told commissioners the county’s October storm losses after Hurricane Milton exposed gaps in existing rules and prompted staff to recommend targeted changes to protect downstream neighborhoods. “We are Lake County, and we must live with water,” Salinger said, framing the proposals as resilience measures rather than an effort to block development.
Salinger and Carl Bersa, the county’s floodplain administrator, outlined three primary focus areas: preserve hydraulic connectivity of floodplains and prevent development that severs natural flow paths; increase the freeboard requirement from the current 1.5 feet above base flood elevation to 2.0 feet for structures inside Special Flood Hazard Areas; and tighten lot‑grading and compensatory storage rules to reduce the practice of digging retention holes that later fail without maintenance. “Our recommendation would be to update the ordinance language to preserve the hydraulic connectivity of the flood plain,” Bersa said.
Staff also proposed a 1‑year look‑back period for tracking cumulative substantial improvements and damages so that structures repeatedly improved or damaged beyond a specified threshold are brought into compliance with floodplain rules. For single‑family lots, staff recommended simplifying reviews into two types—plot plans for already developed parcels and engineered lot‑grading plans for undeveloped sites—and setting a minimum retention standard of 1 inch of runoff for disturbed areas on sites 1 acre or larger (and for entire sites 1 acre or smaller).
Commissioners asked about municipal coordination and how agricultural uses intersect with water management district jurisdiction. County Manager Jennifer Barker said she would share the presentation with city managers and set up follow‑up meetings to seek alignment. Bersa and Salinger acknowledged additional engineering work would be required before ordinance drafting and said exemptions would be considered for limited purposes such as septic systems.
Next steps: staff asked for direction to contract an engineering firm to draft ordinance updates and return with proposed code language for board review and public outreach.
