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Board recommends changes to flood ordinance to ease variance burden in Sunset Drainage District
Summary
Planning staff proposed amending the flood-damage prevention ordinance to base minimum building elevations in the Sunset Drainage District on the 1992 Flood Insurance Study and to add a 'no lower than 0' elevation standard; staff said the change would reduce more than 200 variances and raise finished-floor elevations on infill lots.
Planning staff described Aug. 6 a proposed amendment to the Saint Charles Parish Flood Damage and Prevention Ordinance intended to address a backlog of variances in the Sunset Drainage District. The proposal would reestablish the 1992 flood insurance study (and corresponding FIRMs) as the baseline for minimum building elevations in that drainage district and add a requirement that the top of the lowest floor not be lower than 0 elevation, in effect lifting finished floors in low-lying areas.
Staff said adopting the 1992 study as the controlling map and adding the 'no lower than 0' floor standard would eliminate the need for roughly 200 variances currently granted in the Sunset Drainage District following the parish's 2013 adoption of newer FIRMs. The department estimated the change would raise finished-floor elevations by about two to three feet for many infill sites and reduce the administrative variance workload going forward.
Commissioners asked how the change would affect permits already issued or variances pending; staff said vested permits already approved would be honored, pending variances would be worked through, and variances have a one-year life that could affect future applications. A resident speaker supported the changes but requested minor wording clarifications for C-2 references. The board voted unanimously to recommend the ordinance amendment to parish council.
Staff cautioned that the change would not eliminate flood risk in low-lying areas but would align local standards with the 1992 study in the Sunset Drainage District and provide a clearer regulatory framework for future construction. If adopted by council, staff said the municipal code update online may lag the ordinance's effective date pending a quarterly update.
