Community Assistance Visit
Preparing for a Community Assistance Visit from FEMA
Review Items
- Floodplain management ordinance
- Flood hazard map
- Permit files
- Floodplain development permit application
- Elevation certificates
- No-rise analysis documentation
- Variances issued
- Written administrative procedures
- Biennial Report
- Repetitive Loss Data
Purpose of the CAV
- Comprehensive assessment of the community’s floodplain management program
- Assist the community in implementing effective flood loss reduction measures
- Resolving issues or problems identified
- Documentation of deficiencies form the basis for taking enforcement action on behalf of and against the community’s participation in the NFIP
- Floodplain Management Ordinance
- Verify compliance with minimum NFIP requirements.
- Does your ordinance meet your needs?
- Flood Hazard Map
- Is it accurate?
- Age of map does not indicate inaccurate
- History of flooding compared to the map
- Permit files
- Development means any man made change to improved or unimproved development including but not limited to….
- All development in the SFHA shall have a floodplain development permit on file
- Final elevation certificate shall be provided for all new construction and substantial improvements
Variances Issued
- Documentation of variance and compliance with criteria and conditions for granting variance
- Documentation of letter to applicant notifying them of increased risk to hazard and increased cost of flood insurance
Written Administrative Procedures
- If the local floodplain administrator were gone tomorrow, how would the community handle issuing floodplain development permits?
Biennial Report
- Number of permits issued
- Number of variances granted
- Need for updated mapping
- Need for technical assistance
- Need for training
Repetitive Loss Data
- Two or more flood insurance claims totaling $1,000 or more in a consecutive 10-year period
General Documentation
- Number of building permits granted in the floodplain
- Number of variances granted
- Number of insurance policies (state can provide this information)
- Population growth
- Annexations and boundary changes
- Letters of Map Changes
- Submit-to-rate applications
- Number of repetitive loss properties (state can provide this information)
Probation
- Identification of violations
- One year to correct violations
- Increased risk to flooding in the community
- Potential for legal action against municipality by flooded property owners
- $50 surcharge on all flood insurance premiums
Suspension
- No flood insurance is available
- No federally backed loans in the SFHA
- No federal disaster assistance
- Other federal agency loans and grants may not be available
- Governing body may be held liable
- Denies the ability for property owner to purchase flood insurance
- Does not take positive steps to reduce risk to flooding given the knowledge of the flood hazard
Purpose of the CAV
- Provide technical assistance
- Identify potential violations
- Mitigate identified violations
- Identify weakness in community’s floodplain management program
- Strengthen the efforts of the community for flood reduction
- Provide guidance to assist community in educating elected officials and the community
From a presentation by Rhonda Montgomery, CFM NFIP, Coordinator, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, 109 SW 9th St 2nd Floor, Topeka, KS 66612, 785-296-2513, rmontgomery@kda.state.ks.us