By Meghan Daniel for The Island Eye News
After years of construction, a new flood insurance rate map came into effect on January 29, affecting the entire county of Charleston.
According to a press release from Charleston County on August 5, 2020, the new flood maps were “produced through a partnership between the Charleston County government, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Federal Emergency Management Agency ”. They will impact the “flood insurance requirement and cost for some Charleston County residents” as well as “basic flood lift requirements for new homes and construction companies.
Flood maps are reviewed periodically, based on changes in environmental and development-related conditions. The new flood maps are expected to degrade many properties from high-risk coastal areas (V, VE) to areas of moderate-low or high risk (A, X). The changes could mean lower flood insurance premiums for some homeowners, as FEMA’s flood maps serve as the basis for National Flood Insurance Program regulations and flood insurance requirements.
Owners are advised to contact their insurers for information on lower rates.
However, Bruce Spicher, an officer on the Kiawah Island building, pointed out at the city council meeting on January 5 that reducing flood rises will be “beneficial to insurance premiums [have] created adverse effects when we started looking at how we designed houses. “Reducing the elevation requirements of the flood base will allow new buildings to use minimum construction heights, which will consequently affect“ roof height rises and our ability to park under houses, ”explained Spicher.
Kiawah Island Planning Director John Taylor said the city is in the process of revising Ordinance 2020-14, which “would essentially redefine how we interpret the height of buildings, including a new definition [and] will align the elevation of the existing flood base with a new term: elevation of the building base height This ordinance, he said, is the result of concerns brought to the attention of the city by design teams, architects and contractors and will be presented at the meeting February Council during a public hearing.
“On average, most properties in the city will see no change in their base flood elevation or a small reduction (1 to 2 feet) in BFE,” said Seabrook Island city manager Joe Cronin. “Some properties will see a greater decrease in BFE (3 to 5 feet). Some will move from VE zones to AE or vice versa, and a handful of properties on higher ground will be removed from the special flood risk area entirely. “
Residents have been “very receptive” to efforts on behalf of the city for the past three years to inform the public about the new flood maps and most indicated that the new maps are in effect, said Cronin.
Sullivan’s Island responded to the new flood maps by ratifying an amendment to the city’s existing construction decree. Ordinance 2021-01 amends the city building code in support of floodplain management regulations.
Isle of Palms approved an ordinance in 2018 in light of the preliminary maps that were released by FEMA that a document published by the city at the time called “more conservative [than FEMA’s zoning determinations] regarding the risk of catastrophic damage. ”The same document described FEMA’s preliminary maps“ in alarming contrast to current maps ”and explained the need for the ordinance as follows:“ Without this alteration to the ordinance, over time, the city’s resilience to flood losses can be compromised. Some areas on Palms Island that are identified on the preliminary (new) flood maps are not in a flood zone, which means that properties would not be required to have flood insurance and new houses could be built on the level. “
This decree establishes a minimum standard elevation requirement of 14 feet, or basic flood elevation – whichever is higher – for both new buildings and homes undergoing substantial improvements, defined as works with a value greater than 50% of the value of the existing house.
As the maps take effect at the state level, each county in Charleston County will review them and adopt them in their ordinance code. FEMA offers a flood map service on its website that allows homeowners to search for their zoning designation using an address, location or latitude / longitude coordinates.