Title
City’s Floodplain Management Plan Update
Description
This report provides the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee with an update on the 2016 Floodplain Management Plan.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
The City’s current Floodplain Management Plan (FMP) was prepared in 2015 and adopted by the Council by resolution in 2016. The FMP provides an overall strategy of programs, projects and mitigation measures aimed at reducing the adverse impacts of flood hazards on a community. The FMP also identifies flood risks, their impact to the community, and provides a prioritized action plan for reducing flood risks.
The City’s Floodplain Management Team in the Public Works Department has been following the plan to meet the current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) guidelines, to reflect the City’s historic and current floodplain management efforts, and strengthen the support and opportunity for residents' cost savings on flood insurance premiums. The current plan assists the City in prioritizing flood management activities, identifying improvement projects to reduce flooding risks, educating the public, increasing local awareness of flooding risks, and creates successful partnerships with local, county, and government agencies. This plan also provides a great benefit for the City’s participation in the Community Rating System (CRS), which currently ranks the City at a step 5, thereby providing property owners a 25 percent premium discount on their floodplain insurance policies.
Having a FMP Planning Committee is one of the main components outlined in the FMP. Limitations related to City funding have hindered the creation of this Committee in the past. The Committee would serve several purposes including conducting annual reviews of the FMP, prioritizing capital improvement projects, determining the applicability of various aspects of the plan, recommending modifications/project prioritization as necessary, augmenting the plan, and providing feedback to the City.
Given that this is a component of the current FMP, City staff is recommending that it would be more expedient and efficient to examine additional activities that can be accomplished by staff rather than to establish a new FMP Planning Committee as described in the original 2016 FMP. If in the future there is dedicated funding, for example a storm drain bond program or other means of dedicated funding for implementing capital infrastructure, the FMP Planning Committee could be established.
There are many possible CRS activities that can be implemented and could provide similar functionality and meet similar objectives that might have been accomplished through the creation of the FMP Planning Committee. Many of these activities fall under Public Information activities and Flood Damage Reduction activities. Some of the suggestions are new activities while others are enhancements or additions to activities that the City already performs and receives credit for through the CRS program.
The following functions detail some of these possible activities:
- Public Information Activities - Increasing the number of annual public outreach projects. Having materials prepared prior to a flood event to be dispersed during or after the storm.
- Annually assess the level of flood insurance within the City, and provide informative and directional advice to residents who have questions about flood insurance.
- Flood Damage Reduction Activities - Inspection and maintenance of all public and private channels and retention basins annually or after large flood events.
Staff will begin the process of updating the 2016 FMP, seek community input on the new possible activities and return to the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee with recommendations to update and amend the Floodplain Management Plan.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
- On June 14, 2016, the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee recommended City Council adoption of the 2016 edition of the City of Phoenix Floodplain Management Plan with a 3-0 vote.
- On June 22, 2016, the City Council adopted the Resolution for the plan.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Karen Peters and the Public Works Department.