Council adopts floodplain updates to align Buda code with new FEMA maps

City staff recommended updates to subsection 4.06 of the UDC so the city’s flood-damage prevention regulations reference FEMA's updated Flood Insurance Rate Maps and incorporate recommended clarifications from the Texas Water Development Board (Angeliki Henning, SEG 3931–3940). The changes replace older 2005 map references with the 01/17/2025 FIRMs, reorganize administrative language, elevate and clarify the elevation-certificate requirements, and reconcile a conflicting 'no-rise' provision (the city's code previously stated no rise while FEMA allows up to 1 foot of rise in the floodway) by removing the conflicting administrative reference and retaining the more restrictive local standards where applicable (SEG 3990–4005).

Staff also highlighted map refinements: in some areas the detailed study constrained the floodplain while in a part of town (Watson Hollow area) the 100‑year floodplain expanded from a 500‑year designation, which could mean some homeowners will become subject to flood‑insurance requirements under federally backed mortgages (SEG 4039–4046). Council adopted the ordinance on first-and-final reading at the meeting (motion carries, SEG 4096–4101).