Title
Floodplain Ordinance Update
Description
This report provides information to the Water, Wastewater, Infrastructure and Sustainability Subcommittee of the proposed changes to the City's Floodplain Ordinance included in Chapter 32B of the City's codes.
THIS ITEM IS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
Report
Summary
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was established with the passage of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. The NFIP is a federal program enabling property owners in participating communities to purchase flood insurance as protection against flood losses, while requiring state and local governments to enforce floodplain management regulations that reduce future flood damages. Over 20,000 communities participate in the NFIP.
Floodplain management includes all actions that states and communities can take to reduce flood damage to both new and existing buildings and infrastructure. The NFIP plays a critical role in encouraging communities to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations and to implement broader floodplain management programs. By law, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can only provide flood insurance to those states or communities that adopt and vigorously enforce floodplain management regulations that meet or exceed minimum NFIP requirements.
Communities incorporate NFIP requirements into their zoning codes, subdivision ordinances, and/or building codes or they adopt special purpose floodplain management ordinances. The NFIP requirements apply to areas mapped as Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) on Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) issued by FEMA. The SFHA is the area that would be flooded by the “base flood.” Base Flood is defined as the flood that has a one percent chance of occurring in any given year; also known as the “100-year flood.”
The NFIP requirements include:
- Elevation of new and substantially improved residential structures above the base flood level
- Elevation or dry floodproofing (made watertight) of new or substantially improved non-residential structures
- Regulation of development in floodways, the central portion of a riverine floodplain needed to carry deeper and faster moving water, to ensure that there are no increases in upstream flood elevations
- Additional requirements to protect buildings in coastal areas from the impacts of waves, high velocity, and storm surge
These requirements are the most cost-effective way to reduce the flood risk to new buildings and infrastructure.
Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) designates the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) as the State coordinating agency for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Under FEMA’s direction, ADWR conducts a Community Assistance Visit (CAV), which is a comprehensive assessment of the City’s floodplain management program of communities in Arizona that participate in the NFIP. The purpose of a CAV is to provide the community the most current information on the NFIP, provide the community an opportunity to discuss concerns about the NFIP or floodplain management program, and to assess the community’s floodplain management program regarding to the requirements of the NFIP and State Law. ADWR is required to report all community findings to FEMA.
The City has participated in the NFIP since 1971. Through the last 50 years the City has been conducting floodplain management activities and adjusting the City’s Floodplain code to conform to the changes of the federal and state floodplain requirements in accordance with the NFIP.
This past year ADWR conducted Phoenix’s CAV assessment. The findings of the CAV identified the following deficiencies in the City’s program which include the following:
- Issues with community's existing Floodplain Management regulations.
- Issues with the community's administrative and enforcement procedures.
To define specifically these issues, the following are the items that have been undertaken to address the deficiencies outlined in ADWR’s CAV assessment report.
- Update the City’s Floodplain Ordinance Chapter 32B consistent with the State’s current model ordinance.
- Permanent identification of the City’s Floodplain Administrator which was previously the Street Transportation Director, but due to a city reorganization in Feb. 2018, has been moved to the Public Works Department. The Ordinance requires revision for designation of the Floodplain Administrator.
- Refinement language regarding the definition of Substantial Improvement including that improvement of a structure, the total cumulative cost of which tracked over a rolling five-year period that equals or exceeds 50 percent market value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement.
- Refinement to the Floodplain Variances section.
- Addition of Interpretation section which provides that all provisions shall be minimum requirements, liberally construed in favor of the Governing Body, and deemed neither to limit nor repeal any other powers granted under State Statutes.
- Addition to standards for manufactured homes, which includes upon completion of installation of the manufactured home, certification by a registered professional engineer or surveyor that the elevation requirements of the section have been satisfied shall be provided to the Floodplain Administrator for verification.
- Administrative revisions to the City’s Ordinance to be consistent with the State’s current Floodplain Management Model Ordinance.
- Administrative revisions to the Floodplain Management Section and Planning & Development Department’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to be consistent with the revised Floodplain Ordinance, Chapter 32B.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
City staff has presented the draft ordinance to several stakeholders in the community that represent numerous building and private development organizations that would be affected by this ordinance change. In addition, staff presented the changes to the Development Advisory Board (DAB) on March 28, 2019 for information and discussion and on May 16, 2019 the DAB recommended approval by a 9-0 vote.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Karen Peters and the Public Works Department.