4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018
Flood control: FEMA required county revisions by June 20
Continued from Page 1A
Management Agency has
required that the county adopt
updated flood-hazard maps
and make revisions to its land
use rules.
As a result, roughly 700
property owners in unincor-
porated areas of the county
may be required to, among
other things, pay for a permit
when developing their land or
seek approval before altering
structures.
FEMA has required the
county to make the revisions
by June 20. The agency first
released the updated maps
and flood-insurance require-
ments in 2016.
The county Planning Com-
mission voted 4-1 on Tues-
day — with Commissioner
Thomas Merrell the sole
opposing vote — to recom-
mend the changes to county
commissioners, who will have
the final say. Prior to the vote,
several people spoke in oppo-
sition to the changes during a
packed public hearing at the
Judge Guy Boyington Build-
ing. In addition, county staff
have fielded more than 200
complaints from residents
since notices of the changes
were mailed out in February.
Throughout the hearing,
Bruce Francis, the Planning
Commission’s chairman, reit-
erated that he sympathized
with the residents but felt it
was necessary to maintain
access to the flood-insurance
program.
“We’re confronted with a
problem that has been placed
upon us to make a decision for
the overall good of the major-
ity, hopefully, to obtain flood
insurance,” Francis said while
addressing the crowd’s disap-
proval. “Maybe it is that we
need to be attacking the polit-
ical angles of this, rather than
making that request here at
this hearing.”
A few of the residents sug-
gested the county break away
from the national insurance
program altogether.
“They’ve got you by the
throat on the insurance aspect,
but I would suggest that
you think about altering an
approach on insurance,” said
Henry Willener, who owns
property south of Seaside.
“Maybe get Washington and
Idaho — forget California —
and form a consortium to have
your own insurance group.”
Along with the recommen-
dation for county commis-
sioners to approve the rule
changes, the Planning Com-
mission advised that county
legal experts explain the
changes and work with the
federal agency to roll back
some of the regulations.
The most unpopular
change discussed at the meet-
ing would be an expansion
of the definition of devel-
opments that would require
property owners to pay an
$85 permit fee. Previously
exempt activities — including
minor repairs to a structure
that don’t alter its size, new
driveways that don’t change
the topography of the land or
signs placed by local public
agencies — would require the
permit once the rules go into
effect.
“They come up with these
ideas. They force it on the lit-
tle guy,” said Edwin Owen, a
farm owner. “I’m just afraid
that you start changing the
rules, not only do I have to go
beg for a permit, but then you
start talking about, ‘Oh, you
can and can’t do this,’ you
know, on a farm. It just both-
ers me.”
But it’s unlikely FEMA
will buckle on the expanded
permit requirements, Com-
munity Development Direc-
tor Gail Henrikson said. She
called the permit requirements
“non-negotiable,” along with
mandates to seek permission
for structure updates in cer-
tain areas.
“Frankly, staff isn’t any
more enthused about having
to go through this process and
working language changes
into the code any more than
you want to see them there,”
Henrikson said.
She said staff has worked
with FEMA to determine how
much latitude the county has
in reworking the changes, cit-
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Some residents are unhappy about potential county land use changes to comply with federal flood insurance demands.
ing an email the agency sent to
the county earlier this month.
“FEMA’s stand is that
the exclusions that Clat-
sop County has offered in
their definition of develop-
ment makes their definition
of development noncompli-
ant with the National Flood
Insurance Program,” wrote
Roxanne Pilkenton, a flood
plain management specialist
for the agency. “FEMA takes
the definition of development
seriously and, currently, push
back from the state of Idaho
has them facing suspen-
sion if they continue to allow
exemptions that are expressly
included in the definition of
development.”
County commissioners are
tentatively scheduled to hold
a public hearing on the subject
in April. If that hearing is con-
tinued, commissioners would
hold another hearing in May,
when they would potentially
adopt the changes.
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