8.2 Nat'l Flood InsuranceCITY OF SALINA
AGENDA SECTION:
NO. 8
ITEM
NO. 2
Administrat ion
REQUEST FOR COMMISSION ACTION
DATE
4/22/1985
TIME
4:00 P.M.
ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT:
City Clerk
D. L. Harrison
BY:
APPROV ED FOR
AGENDA:
~¥:
A request, was received from Alice Denning, Chairperson of the AD HOC Committee
appointed by Mayor Charles Roth to study the National Flood Insurance Program,
to be present at the meeting for the purpose of reporting to the Commission
with recommendations.
COMMISSION ACTION
MOTION BY
SECOND BY
TO:
Millwood ·
Better
Realty, Inc. !
1101 South Ohio, Salina, Kansas 67401 Telephone (913) 825-2177
April 18, 1985
To Whom it May Concern:
I hereby request to be placed on the City Commission agenda for
April 22, 1985, for the purpose of reporting to the Commission
with recommendations from the AD HOC Committee appointed by
Charles B. Roth to study the National Flood Insurance Program.
Al~e~Den ni
Chairperson
To Merle Hodges, Mayor, and the Salina City Commission
RE: National Flood Insurance Program as it pertains to Salina, Kansas
Gentlemen:
After many hours of study and consultation with Bill Funk, Kansas Depart-
ment of Water Resources, Neil Stevens of Bucher and Willis who established
the base fl o~d elevations for FEMA and Maurice Bowersox'of Wilson and Co.
who was responsible for Wilson and Co. South Salina Drainage Study, we wish
to make the following recommendations in the hopes of protecting the pri-
vate property rights of Salina residents:
1. Salina's 90 day appeal period is drawing to a conclusion, February 21
to May 21, and it appears that a technical appeal is not feasible; therefore
a direct appeal to our area congressional delegates is suggested, together
with a stated plan of action.
2. Immediate funding of an engineering review to analyze the cost
effectiveness of the implementation of selected portidns of the incompleted
projects in phase 1 and 2 of Wilson and Co.'s South Salina Drainage Study.
Many of the items in Phase 1 have been completed; for instance the drainage
ditch east of Twin Oaks to Knox Sand Pit. Many items would not be essential
immediately, thus the cost could be substantially less than the original
estimates. Completion of selected items could lower the base flood eleva-
tion throughout Salina as far north as the Lakewood Park area. An estimated
time frame for the study is 90 days.
3. Due to FEMA's (Federal Emergency Management Agency) ban on travel
by their representatives, a Kansas City trip is recommended to confer on
the interpretation of various technical aspects of the program. Representa-
tives of the City should include Don Hoff and Keith Rawlings, a City Commis-
sioner, an AD HOC Committee member, a Realtor and a Homebuilder. This would
promote City-wide understanding of the program.
4. Attempt to modify the ordinances by local government and special
interest groups contact of legislators with the following modifications
suggested:
a. Exemption of existing homes in the 100 year plain from the
financially disastrous flood proofing requirement if 51%
destroyed.
b. Ordinance insurance to protect homeowner from losing his equity
if he can not rebuild as per provision of current ordinance.
c. Current regulations requires basement floor to be considered
1st floor and therefore above base flood elevation in new
construction, substantial improvement or repair of 51% des-
troyed property, thus eliminating basement construction (a
near necessity in Kansas). If grade around structure could be
elevated so that base flood elevation was no closer than 15
feet to structure, structure would be exempt from regulation.
d. Provision for city not wishing to adop~ program to sign agree-
ment not to request federal disaster aid in case of flooding.
(Stated purpose of program is to reduc~ Federal disaster aid
expenditure.)
(Attached is a copy of a flyer distributed last week at the National Associa-
tion of Realtors legislative rally in Washington, D. C.)
Alice Denh~ng ,//71 ~ :
Chairperson
SAL INA (KANSAS) BOARD OF REALTORS® ~ INC.
RE: NATIONAL FLOOD DISASTER PROTECTION
ARE YOU AWARE THAT THE NATIONAL FLOOD DISASTER PROTECTION ACT can cause devaluation of resi-
dential and commerical property in communities across this nation!!!
There have been many regulations established through the years in relation to this act. One
of those regulations is the Model Flood Plain Management Ordinance. This ordinance must be
adopted by a city, if in fact, areas in that city are within the boundaries of the floodway, in
either a 1OO or 500 year flood plain, as designated by the U. S. Corps of Engineers, to be eligible
to obtain flood insurance.
The simple truth is, if a city refuses to adopt the model ordinance, as worded by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, federally subsidized flood insurance will not be available for any
properties in that city, and in all probability no federal fu~ing ~'i~! be available fo? ut~!i.-
ties, schools, etc. In addition, homes in the 1OO year flood plain are not eligible for VA, FHA
or any federally regulated loan program.
This ordinance provides that any structure which existed in a flood plain when the model ordi-
nance was adopted, that should be 50% or more destroyed by fire, flood, win~, etc., cannot be
repaired, unless the property is flood proofed in accordance with the standards set forth by the
National Flood Insurance Program regulations. This could be any number of requirements, such as,
stilts, raising basement openings, raising the elevation of the lot, building flood walls, etc.,
however, you may not change the flow of the water in such flood proofing.
An example of a problem that could exist is, a customer pays $100,O00 for a home, takes a
mortgage for $80,000, and six months later the property sustains $51,0OO in damages. Repairs are
not allowed to be made, the insurance company pays $51,OOO to the lender which leaves a balance
of some $29,000 mortgage, plus the owner's $20,000 equity. Does the owner let the mortgagee fore-
close, have a property they must bulldoze down and the owner lose;his $20,000 equity? THERE IS
CURRENTLY NO PROVISION WHEREBY OWNER CAN RECOVER HIS LOSSES. HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE DOES NOT COVER
THIS SITUATION. Such an ordinance also dictates how new properties must be constructed, as to
basement openings, lot elevations, etc. Under this ordinance, there are some cities that will
just have no place to build, in other words, there will be no growth.
It will definitely affect the decisions made by industry to build and/or locate in some cities,
due to the cost of flood insurance, the amount of flood insurance available, and the restrictions
on construction. Many of our cities were founded on major rivers for the purpose of transporta-
tion, water and assessed values. However~ to be in a flood area does not mean the city is lcoated
on a major river. Smaller streams, flat land, etc., can and does present this same problem.
The city of Salina, Kansas, for instance, is having major problems with the program, and is
designated flood prone because of poor surface water drainage.
In summary the effects of the program can be as follows:
1. Property can be devaluated or worthless.
2. Families could be ruined financially.
3. Industrial development land is limited.
4. New industry is discouraged.
5. Tax rolls decrease.
6. All of the city is.affected.
We have asked the National Association of REALTORS® to investigate what is happening in other
areas of the nation. Kansas Association of REALTORS® President Don Bickle is asking for a meeting
with a staff person who represents each of our Congressman and Senators during our Washington
meetings this month.
Possible requests in these meetings could include modification of the ordinance in the
following ways:
1. Exemption of existing homes in the 100 year plain from the financially disastrous flood
proofing equipment if 51% destroyed.
2. Ordinance insurance to protect homeowner from losing his equity if he cannot rebuild as
per provision of current ordinance.
3. Current regulations requires basement floor to be considered 1st floor and therefore above
base flood elevation in new construction, substantial improvement or repair of 51% des-
troyed property, thus eliminating basement construction (a near necessity in Kansas).
If grade around structure could be elevated so that base flood elevation was no closer
than 15 feet to structure, structure would be exempt from regulation.
4. Provision for city not wishing to adopt program to sign agreement not to request federal
disaster aid in case of flooding. (Stated purpose of program is to reduce federal
disaster aid expenditure.)
In conclusion, the purpose of the legislation is admirable, the reduction of federal expendi-
ture; however, compromises must be found to eliminate devastating losses by individuals, businesses
and cities. The FEMA ordinance is so complicated as to even being vague with regard to its actual
economic and physical effect on real estate. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT EXPERTS IN REAL ESTATE HAVE
INPUT AS TO THE TRUE EFFECT THE FEMA ORDINANCE HAS ON THE ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF THE HOI4E OWNER
AND THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
4117-85