County proposes major floodplain rule update, adds permit determination step and new enforcement tools

Planning Director Gilbert Salana and consultant Jamila Johnson of Walter P. Moore presented a comprehensive modernization of the county’s flood damage prevention order, driven by pending FEMA map revisions and a 2021 FEMA community assistance visit. The draft replaces the nearly 20‑year‑old order with clarified permitting steps, a low‑cost site floodplain determination step (fee $25), and a consistent inspection and enforcement framework.

Jamila Johnson emphasized several technical and safety updates. She said freeboard — the safety margin above base flood elevation — remains a two‑foot standard and will be clarified in the order, and the draft explicitly requires service equipment (HVAC, panels, pumps) to be elevated to prevent houses from becoming uninhabitable after floods. "Freeboard is probably the most important provision that we have in the flood order," Johnson said. The draft also includes an incentive that reduces compensatory‑storage requirements when structures achieve higher finished‑floor elevations to encourage designs that lower flood‑insurance premiums.

Public‑safety provisions drew particular attention: the draft generally prohibits construction of new low‑water crossings because, the consultant said, "low water crossings are where flood fatalities happen most in Texas." The update proposes clearer fee classes ($25–$800), preconstruction and elevation inspections, and graduated enforcement (fines, permit suspensions, certificates of non‑compliance and, as a last resort, FEMA §1316 steps). Staff said the new rules would be followed by public outreach, staff training, and implementation steps once the court considers and adopts the order.