SEA ISLE CITY – Sea Isle City Council adopted a new flood prevention ordinance at its June 13 meeting. It also took the unusual step of agreeing to delay the formal implementation of the ordinance until the end of the year.
After about 45 minutes of a public hearing on the ordinance, complete with extensive council discussion, the council found itself wanting to tweak the ordinance, while also seeing an urgent need to adopt it.
The need for adoption was driven by the perceived chance to regain the city’s coveted level 3 Community Rating System (CRS) score. The city’s stated goal is to reestablish its level 3 status by the traditional Oct. 1 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designation period.
The major concern during public comment on the ordinance was with the increase in the flood elevation level, which some members of the public and members of council fear would cause numerous problems if generally applied across the community.
One issue raised was the new base elevation level for garages in new homes, which rises to 7 feet under the ordinance. There was concern at the meeting that level of elevation would lead to steep driveways, which could present safety hazards.
Another major change due to the adoption of the ordinance will be an increase in the number of building inspections needed to confirm compliance.
The urgency attached to the ordinance hinges on the practical and political need to return to the city level 3 CRS rating and the accompanying 35% discount for property owners participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
The city dropped to a level 4 CRS rating in April when points awarded in 2013 following Superstorm Sandy came to the end of their stated 10-year lifespan and expired.
The loss of the “Sandy points” hurt the CRS standing of other communities in the county, with Stone Harbor dropping two levels from a 5 to a 7.
Each level in the CRS rating system brings with it an additional 5% discount in flood insurance premiums up to a maximum of 45% for a level 1 community. The lowest point in the scale is a level 9 community, with a 5% discount.
Solicitor Paul Baldini explained that the task facing the city was to implement flood-control measures that “will allow Sea Isle to adapt to climate changes that are expected to occur years from now, while not being too restrictive in how property owners develop their property.”
He might have added that this task must be accomplished while remaining within FEMA guidelines with respect to the points obtained for flood mitigation measures and the consequential CRS score.
FEMA often has a greater sense of urgency with regard to the timeframe for adapting to climate change. The agency also has an expanding set of adaptations that often goes beyond what most municipalities are prepared to implement.
What was not clear at the meeting was how FEMA may react to an adopted ordinance for which the city wants immediate credit while holding off on formal implementation.
It was not clear, as well, if the awarding of points for the ordinance by FEMA would be done with FEMA having a specific awareness of how that same ordinance would later be “tweaked” prior to implementation.
The ordinance, which must now go through formal FEMA review for its CRS implications, was adopted with a candid sense that it is not yet final.
Council President Mary Tighe said, “I definitely foresee tweaks.”
Baldini called the ordinance “a work in progress,” adding, “No one is saying it’s done.”
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
