FEMA flood maps and land development code

28:37The following item will be presented by um Toddney.

28:44Bye. I hear a dog. I hear a dog.

28:50this uh failing. Um acting assistant County Administrator Development Services. Um this item I believe as posted we want to we want to modify. Um I'm I'm hoping looking at the right agenda here. The original agenda proposal was um accept the uh flood mitigation, the FEMA maps, and make changes to the land development code for the new flee uh FEMA flood zone. Um I would like to amend um Amend

29:20this pro amend the bid or the proposal that's in front of you to accept the FEMA flood maps. Uh only at this time we are um currently going out for a floodplain uh administrator uh to be released tomorrow for two weeks. We'd like to bring in Um additional. full-time employees to assist Nancy Simpson in this effort and then revisit the issue once we uh restore our staff. re- retake it to the vertical and horizontal um vertical horizontal vertical

29:50meet um meetings with vendors. and then get with our commissioners before we represent it back to the planning commission. So the modification I'm requesting is just to accept the flood, the Pima floodplain maps in the earth in the beginning of June. Um and strike all the other changes at this time and then revisit once we restore staff and we re-educate.

30:18Okay, Todd, that's uh that's water mouthful there. Um Anyway, uh anybody have any questions about that?

30:29Nothing from the board.

30:30Well, I have a few questions.

30:33Go right ahead. So

30:36yeah. We're not going to be approving The ordinance today, correct? We're just you're only asking us to adopt these new floodplain maps. Correct. So my question is, how does that affect

30:51the existing property owners We're right now. I mean, because I know I realize that those floodplain maps have a lot of um A lot more people in the floodplain. than before. I'm s I I believe that's to be correct. So how is that affecting current property owners with insurance and and um the ability to rebuild if there's a storm.

31:19It's it's keeping the original ordinance as is. Four. at least the next month or two while we re while we have the ability to um uh rehire staff. We lost one of our significant team members that was um proposing this. And we have not uh actually uh educated the public as to uh all of the facts that surround this and therefore It was brought up at the board meeting last Tuesday

31:49that um the commissioners were were going to um have an objection to this and I wanted to do a quick reset. Hire staff in and it it kind of got blurred with the COVID nineteen uh state of emergency declar declaration that occurred in the first part of March when this got released. So it kind of didn't get the attention that it needed to this point. So we're just asking for a temporary reset and then we're gonna revisit it. So to answer your question, Mr. Cox, we um And it it is a temporary setback for probably uh a month, month

32:19and a half before we ri revisit it again.

32:22Mr. Chairman Mariano. Yes.

32:24David Goldstein.

32:25Yes. I just wanted to clarify because um Mr. Cox asked whether we're adopting the ordinance and I believe Todd that we still have to adopt an ordinance to recognize the new maps,

32:38correct?

32:40Right. You can equ you can recognize the existing ordinance because you you they still contain the updated FEMA flood match.

32:47Okay, but Mr. Cox was asking whether You are asking the planning commission to move forward with an ordinance and I believe you said no. We're not talking about the ordinance text. I'm talking about an ordinance that adopts The new maps and maybe I need Miss Sims to weigh in here. Does there need to be some change to the L D C to adopt these maps?

33:13If I can jump in and I believe that the only change Um, if you look at your attachment, which is the ordinance, if you go to page seven of thirty. The only change that Todd is requesting that the Planning Commission um find consistent with the comprehensive plan and move for approval. is the strike through of September 26, 2014 with the new date of June 5th, 2020.

33:43Okay, but to be that accurate, Todd? Right, but we do need the ordinance. It still requires an ordinance, right?

33:49Correct. Correct, sir. Yeah, it does require uh approving the ordinance with the with existing maps without changes to the LDC at this time.

33:58Well you're changing okay, that's why I'm gonna be clear, Todd. What Denise just read is a change to the LDC. But the only thing you're changing is the date of the maps, correct?

34:08Right.

34:09In the L D C Okay. And that will be adopted by ordinance. Right. Okay.

34:18So Michael, does that answer your question? Actually no, I'm more confused now. So the ordinance that's before us, are we approving that or we are not?

34:31No you are not.

34:33Okay. So the David to your point. The maps. How do you approve them without the ordinance?

34:42You you do need an ordinance. You do need to prove them by an ordinance, but if you're asking The ordinance that was submitted to you In sire, what Todd is saying is they're they're they're withdrawing all of the changes that you see in that ordinance, other than the one section 1104.3 that Denise pointed out by changing the date. From September twenty sixth, two thousand fourteen to June five, twenty twenty.

35:12Every other change you see in that orange. Todd is is is withdrawing right now.

35:20Okay. What what's the uh this is Chairman Gray, what's it what's the practical effect of Um Joe. Public. Who has a home in the floodplain or Maybe it's not in the floodplain now, but maybe it's Will be under the new ordinance. What effect is it gonna have? Do we know?

35:42Is it still is the is the elevation still gonna be thirteen feet or? What's it gonna be?

35:49Right. Um and Nancy Simpson, can you speak to the subject? But it it we're asking for not nothing to be changed with the original ordinance as it exists today until we can revisit it. Um, because we do plan to revisit the elevation changes and the and the LDC changes that are outside of accepting the website maps, but we're asking for basically a temporary delay in this procedure by just improving the maps today and then revisiting it when we revamp the staff and re-educate the public because what's at stake

36:19is. Uh increasing our insurance or our FEMA insurance insurance for the citizens, which could ultimately result in a five percent savings. We have to make sure that we can uh achieve that goal and with these LDC changes, and that's where the educational component comes in. Todd,

36:36sorry, I'm sure you're answering the chair's question or Mr. Cox's question. Can I they're asking what is the effect of just the map change? So easily enter that.

36:50I can I try to simplify this, Christy Sims?

36:55So first of all

36:59Stupid long guy shows up. Let me shut the door.

37:05Not.

37:10Okay, I'm back. If you first of all, let me try to simplify this for y'all. I do not believe that the Planning Commission needs to take action to adopt any ordinance today. If you look at section 11.04.3, it incorporates the map and any others that are adopted by reference. And any future amendments and revisions there too. Okay. So

37:41if all you wanted to do today, and and I believe all you wanted to do today was to adopt the um the map.

37:53Mm-hmm.

37:54And just so you know, I uh I talked to Cindy Chair about this and I'm talking to her right now. Um She says that we she agreed that our current ordinance has an auto provision to adopt future changes to land use.

38:17Um they set that up in 2014. And that the maps will change regardless and will change required elevations. Some are going to be higher, some are going to be lower. That goes to your um Question, Commissioner Cox. Regardless really of what the board does, whatever wherever current people fall under the map. Аз ат

38:47скинаби ревіз.

38:51That may affect them, but that's something that We can help. I I don't know if Ms. Simpson has data on how many people may be affected by the change, but the change is coming.

39:07Okay, so to clarify

39:11These things matter just to be withdrawn.

39:18Your honor asking Planning Commission to take any action today.

39:25David, this is Peter Hansel. Can I ask a quick question? Why? Why can't this just be tabled until there's some clarification on it?

39:35Well Okay, so the last I heard about this ordinance I thought there was some urgency to change the date on the maps. At least that's what the county administrator said at the board meeting. If what I'm now hearing is that We do not need to do that because the the LDC automatically incorporates any amendments to the maps. So If that's the case, then there really isn't any action you need to take today, but I want Ms. Sims to confirm that.

40:06Thank you.

40:08That is my opinion. And um You know, I I apologize that I couldn't. get something, you know, to the zoning administrator, but this has been um this has just come up in the last day or two. Um and I don't see any reason to make Planning Commission jump through the hoops to adopt a portion of

40:38this ordinance and then send it to the BCC when we're gonna redo um the whole process anyway. And we have an auto-adopt, auto-update provision in our current ordinance, which will, which will incorporate the latest map revisions.

40:58Okay, so we're going to be able to do Given that fact that you don't need to take action on this item. Do you still want staff to answer your question about the effect of the maps? And I'm directing that to Commissioner Cox or Chairman Gray?

41:14So for myself, I would uh you know, I want to say that Number one, I'm looking at my packet here and I don't see maps anywhere in this packet. I've looked at all read all 30 pages of the ordinance, the agenda memo. I don't see any maps. So I'm not quite sure how you can approve something that hasn't been put out there. Um, and I know that these maps are going to dramatically affect people. So I have a concern over that.

41:47Mr. Chair, this is Nancy Simpson. I'm the CRS Coordinator and I manage the flood program for Pasco County. Commissioner Cox, to address your question, the FEMA flood maps go through. Um A fairly extensive review process and with public input. And all of that was done in 2019 and was well publicized, and all public comment was taken into consideration, as well as any comments from local experts in floodplain administration and stormwater management. So if MEMA

42:18takes all of those comments under advisement, there's also a 90-day appeal period. Period when the preliminary blood maps are released. There was no appeals received by FEMA during that 90-day timeframe. And so after that 90-day timeframe was up and there was no appeals, FEMA pushed the maps from preliminary to pending. And so now We had a nine another 90 days to adopt our new flood maps that FEMA provided for us. They did all the modeling, they

42:48did all the studies. Um And so this is very well publicized, and we do have a link on our website to see all of the changes as well. FEMA also provides a GIS interactive map on their website. It's called FEMA Map Changes Viewer. You can Google that exact phrase and it will come up in your Google search bar or Bing whichever search engine you prefer. And so you can type in a specific address and it will take you to that address to show you where the changes are for specific

43:18properties. Thankfully, we have really great technology that does provide that for us. In early January, myself and Mr. Cubelli, who has since left our county, worked with the PIO office to um put out a press release announcing that the changes would take effect on uh June 5th and providing the links to those um websites that I mentioned about the GIS.

43:48So this So FEMA flood maps don't just pop up out of nowhere. There's lots of consideration and lots of technical data that goes into these changes. From my knowledge, I don't have specific numbers in front of me today. I was not prepared for that. But I can get that to you if you would like. But from my understanding, the changes in the flood maps, the trend is that base flood elevations are going to be reducing. Um, no less than one foot in most areas, and in some areas up to

44:18four feet lower than they currently are. So this is actually going to benefit a lot of people so that uh they don't have to elevate as high, um, which reduces some um construction material costs and engineering costs with that go along with that. But um As far as the footprint of the floodplain, it is not changing. To my knowledge, if it is, it's very nominal. I would say less than 50 properties, maybe even less than that. I can find out those exact numbers for you. later

44:49on this week or into next week, um if you wish to have those exact numbers. But um From my understanding, this change, like I said, is going to benefit more people than it's going to harm.

45:03So I would say that was probably the best explanation of this whole issue. So thank you for that. I appreciate it. It seems to me like staff should just withdraw this.

45:13Yes, that would be my recommendation is to withdraw. Since we do have the auto-adopt language in our ordinance currently, we can submit our ordinance as it is to FEMA for approval. That's where some of this confusion has also come in. The state has a consultant on retainer with the Department of Emergency Management at the state level. Her name is Rebecca Quinn and we've been working very closely with her on amending the ordinance to closely match the FEMA model ordinance that helps with compliance with our NFIP

45:43program, the National Flood Insurance Program. and C R S. Um so Withdrawing today will not jeopardize our standing with NFIP or CRS. But the intent of this ordinance was to improve our standing with CRS accreditation, to improve our CRS score. And after having looked at it a little bit more closely, I need to make sure that that language is concurrent with the points that I thought we were going to get with CRS. I

46:14think it is a a advantageous for us to withdraw and reconsider um the how we have the ordinance already uh written.

46:24I'll second that.

46:26Okay, so Mr. Chair, there's uh no action required on this item, so I think you can Move on to anything else on the agenda.

46:37And if you'd like to know any other questions, you can always email me, nsimpson at Pasco Countyfl.net. If you have any specific questions about floodplain, I'm the new resident expert. So I'm more than happy to help educate you on how FEMA works, how the NFIP works, how the CRS program works as well. Any questions you have about floodplain, you can direct them to me and I will uh take care of those for you.

47:06Mr. Chairman Mariano. Excuse me, I sorry, I had my my mic off. Um what was that email address again, please?

47:14N. Simpson, so Nancy Simpson, first initial, last name. at Pasco County. F L as in Florida. Dot net.

47:25Okay.

47:26And also you can call the customer service line and my extension is 8337. Oh I'm sorry, eight, seven, three, three.

47:36Okay. Dyslexic, huh?

47:39Yeah. I also it's my first time talking to you guys. So I'm a little, you know, a nerf. I used to run my own planning commission at my last job, but I knew them very well. So hopefully I'll get to know you guys a little bit better too. Yeah,

47:50we're mean and nasty.

47:53Well, Welcome to

47:54the county.

47:57Mr. Chair.

47:58All right, if that's if that's all Mr. Chair, I'll take a seat.