Flood Plan Policy Report 1974 •
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FLOOD PLAIN POLICY 'REPORT
February 19 , 1974
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This report is intended to serve as a guide to- the Planning
Commission in making a determination of whether or not to
recommend to the appropriate governing body participation in
either the Flood Insurance Program or Flood Plain Zoning.
The Planning Commission has already done the following:
April: 24 , 1973 - Special meeting of the Planning Commission
- A motion approved recommending denial of the flood
plain concept as a part of the Land Use Plan.
- dA motion approved recommending that the general
concept of flood plains be written down with a
warning about the flood plain area and giving-non-
. mandatory elevations as guidelines.
- , A motion approved that residential development
shall not be encouraged to occur in areas subject
to flooding.
May' 10 , 1973 - Meeting with the Corps of Engineers and .
• Kansas Board of Water Resources .
,• Explanation of the Flood Insurance Program of 1968 .
May 22; ±973 ,- Special meeting of the Planning Commission
Attion"approved that the Planning Commission
accept the recommendation of Oblinger and Smith,
: whereby the .Planning Commission will direct Oblinger
and .Smith to draw up flood plain zoning regulations
in accordance with their recommendation that two
zoned_ be. adopted :
(1) Floodway
(2) Fringe Area of the Floodway
January 14 , 1974 - Meeting with the Corps of Engineers and
Kansas Board of Water Resources .
• More detailed information concerning amount of
development permitted in the flood plain (encroachment
study) .
• Brief explanation of implication of new federal
legislation (Flood .Disaster Protection Act -of 1973) .
In summary then, the status of flood plain zoning is that two (2)
zones will be included in the proposed zoning ordinance now being
proposedby Oblinger-Smith and a decision was made not to include
the flood plain concept in the proposed Land Use - Plan.
No firm decision has been reached regarding Salina ' s participation
in the Liood Insurance Program. . A brief summary of the new
legislation follows.
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Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1'973
A Summary
The Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-234) , which
was signed into law by the President on December 31, 1973 ,
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significantly expands the availability of flood insurance and
will force from 10, 000 to 12 , 000 flood-prone communities into
measures designed to minimize their flood hazard or be faced
with the loss of federal assistance. Salina is one of these
communities .
A-White House statement, . released as the law was signed, said
that the Act "will call upon owners of property in flood-prone
areas to purchase flood insurance if they are to benefit from
financial assistance for their property from the federal
government or from any federally-insured, regulated, or supervised
lending institution. It will also encourage forward-looking
officials to adopt and to enforce adequate and appropriate
land use and other control .measures to reduce the probability
of losses resulting from floods. " '
The program establishes several significant dates :
July 1, 1974 HUD Must identify flood-prone communities
and notify their chief executive officers . -
• January 1 , 1975- - date to prove that a community is not
flood prone or to apply for participation.
July 1, 1975 - federal money is to longer available to
businesses and individuals for construction or purchase
purposes (incl. FDIC, FSLIC, FHA, etc. ) , unless the
community has qualified for the program.
(See attached timetable for more detailed breakdown)
In order to qualify for the Flood Insurance Program, communities
must adopt, or have in effect, a building permit system which
allows for review of new construction to guard against obvious ,
locally-known flood hazards. It will probably be advisable for
each community to initiate some sort of flood plain zoning in
order to effectively complement the permit system.
Some of the other features of the law are :
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- Structures in existence or started before the area
was identified as hazardous are not required to have
insurance.
- The subsidized coverage limit for residential buildings
is $35, 000 for single. family residences -and $100 , 000 for
others .
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- Consultation with local officials when determining
flood-prone areas and the application of land manage-
ment criteria .
- Both individuals and communities have a period during
which they may appeal HOD ' s determinations .
As should be apparent, any attempt at control of flood plains
will necessitate detailed engineering- studies (see attached report
from Engineering Department) in order to accurately determine
the limits of flood-prohibited construction .and the extent of
-restrictions to be placed on construction occuring within buildable
areas . Without it, no realistic "elevation guidelines" can be
determined.
Therefore, in order to effectively comply with the previous
intentions of the Planning Commission and warn developers and
builders of a flood hazard by giving these elevation guidelines ,
active participation in .the Flood Insurance Program should be
encouraged .
It is the recommendation of the Planning Department staff that
this course of action be vigorously pursued.
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Timetable for Participation in Flood Insurance Program
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fHUD identifies community as flood prone. (All such communities are to 1
be identified within 6 months after enactment of the legislation . ) I
The community applies for eligibility. Application includes proof of
a building permit system in force which allows reviece of new construction
to guard against obvious , locally-known flood hazards. •
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'IUD approves application. Subsidized flood insurance becomes " available
. for existing structures and new construction regardless of location
- in community. (An equal amount of unsubsidized insurance will not be
available until after completion of a time-consuming actuarial study. )
(HUD identifies special flood hazard areas within the community (usually
within 3 to 6 monthsaatter community applies for eligibility) .
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New construction within special flood hazard areas is no longer eligible
for subsidized insurance, but must wait for completion of actuarial
studies to determine insurance rates . The community 's flood hazard
ordinances must take precedence over all other laws and ordinances within
special flood hazard areas.
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THUD provides water surface elevations for the community ' s 100-year flood
and makes available the results of the actuarial study (usually 1 to 2
years after community enters the program) .
Within 6 months, the community must require all residential new construction
or substantial improvements (50 percent or more of cash value) to have
lowest floor, including basement, elevated to or above the 100-year flood
level. For nonresidential construction there is an option of either
elevation or floodproofing. In riverine situations, any use •must be
prohibited that will increase water surface elevation more than 1 foot
: at' any point .. Flood insurance- is made available at actuarial rates
• to new construction in flood hazard areas (also available to all others
. in community) . No -federal financial assistance or federally related
assistance is available for new acquisition or- construction projects in
special flood hazard areas unless fully covered by available insurance .
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THUD provides floodway data for specific community.
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Community has 6 months to (1) designate floodway for passage of water
of 100-year flood so as not to increase water surface elevation more than
1 foot , (2) prohibit expansion of non-conforming uses in floodway, and
(3) prohibit fill or encroachments in floodway that would impair its
ability to carry or discharge water.
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FLOOD PLAIN MANAGEMENT - Engineering Department Report
RE : Petition No. 3332 - J. Barton Webster
P . I .P . Development - The Lee Hardware Company
It would appear to be an impossible task for the City Engineering
Staff to establish elevations for flood plains at this time .
To establish these elevations requires a detailed hydrologic study
of the entire drainage area . These elevations then become: ve- ry
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critical in establishing the areas to which flood plain zoning
would apply. These elevations would define the boundary between
the area of the flood plain which could be encroached upon
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under certain conditions and the area of the flood plain which •
must be designated as a floodway and prohibiting any development
that would inhibit the flow of flood waters in any manner.
The above referenced developments are both in an area that would
be part of the Dry Creek Flood Plain. Any attempt to state an
elevation at• this time to which they should build their development
would be a hazardous guess at best. Any valid study which would
define areas and elevations for flood plain zoning would have to
include the entire potential flood plain area-. Any infringement
• on the flood plain in one area would have to be compatible with
an infringement which could be allowed in another area.
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For the City to attempt to establish flood plains and flood
elevations on our own would probably cost around $250 , 000 .00
and take approximately a years time. In addition, I do not know
what liability the City may incur_. from such action.
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