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Ocala planners approve floodplain code change to pursue larger community flood-insurance discount
Summary
The Planning & Zoning Commission voted to adopt a code amendment to Section 90 of the floodplain ordinance intended to help the city move from CRS Class 3 to Class 2 and increase the community flood-insurance discount from about 35% to 40%. City engineer Sean Lanier said prohibiting enclosures under elevated structures in flood hazard areas would earn roughly 160 CRS points toward the approximately 450 points needed for reclassification.
City of Ocala Planning & Zoning Commissioners voted to adopt a code amendment to the city's floodplain ordinance that staff says will help the community earn points under the FEMA Community Rating System (CRS) and increase flood-insurance discounts for residents.
"So right now we currently have a 35% discount on flood insurance if anybody is in a flood hazard area," said Sean Lanier, the city engineer, explaining the proposal to forbid enclosures under elevated structures in flood hazard areas for buildings more than 4 feet above grade. Lanier said the change would be worth roughly 160 CRS points; the commission heard that the city needs about 450 points to move up one CRS class.
Staff framed the amendment as a low-impact change for Ocala because most recent new construction in hazard areas has been slab-on-grade rather than elevated, and some houses have been removed from hazard mapping via Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) filings. "We have in the last 10 years...144 houses, new construction, and a flood hazard area, and they were all slab on grade construction," Lanier said.
The commission opened, but recorded no public comment on, the ordinance and later approved the amendment on a roll-call vote. The motion carried.
Commissioners asked procedural and technical questions during the presentation, including whether the rule applied only to piled (post-and-beam) construction and whether prior construction would be grandfathered; staff confirmed the restriction is for new construction only and that existing buildings would be grandfathered. The ordinance text discussed a prohibition on enclosures beneath elevated structures over 4 feet in flood hazard areas.
The adoption aims to place Ocala in a stronger position in the CRS voluntary program, which rewards local actions that reduce flood risk. If the city achieves Class 2, staff said, the community flood-insurance discount could move from roughly 35% to about 40% for properties in flood hazard zones.
The ordinance was approved by the commission; the item will proceed per the city's ordinance-adoption process.
