HomeMy Public PortalAbout10E Information about joining National Flood Insurance ProgramDATE:
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
AGENDA
ITEM 10.E.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
MEMORANDUM
December 15 , 2015
The Honorable City Coun ci l
Bryan Cook, City Manager
Via : Michael D. Forbes , AICP , Community Developmen t Dire ctor ~
By: Bryan Ariizumi , Public Safety Supervisor '¥r"'
INFORMATION ABOUT JOINING THE NATIONAL FLOOD INS URANCE
PROGRAM
RECOMMENDATION :
The City Council is requested to receive and file this report .
BACKGROUND:
In 1968, Congress created the National Flood Insuran ce Program (NFIP) to help
provide a means for property owners to finan c ially protect themselves .
ANALYSIS:
S ince standard homeowners insurance does n't cover flooding , the NFIP offers flood
insurance to homeowners, renters , and business owners. However, the commun ity that
they live in must participate in the NFIP . At this time , Temple City does not participate
in the NFIP .
With th e threa t of El Ni no approaching , Temple City residents have been trying to
obtain flood insurance and have been told that they do not qual ify for f lood insurance
since Temp le City is not participating in the NFIP .
Staff has co ntacted the Federa l Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which
administers the NFIP, to obtain information on how Temple City ca n join the NFIP . To
join the NFIP , Temple City must:
1. Adopt a Resolution of Intent, which indicates the City 's exp l icit desire to
participate in the NFIP ;
City Council
December 15, 2015
Page 2
2. Complete an Application for Participat ion in the NFIP ; and
3. Adopt and submit Floodp la in Management Regulations that meet or exceed
the minimum requirements of th e NFIP to reduce the risk of flooding .
The City's FEMA rep resentative w i ll provide a NFIP Participation Package , which wi ll
include information and templates to comp lete t he above l isted requirements . Once the
Resolution of Inte nt and Application for Participation are submitted to FEMA , it may
take 30 days to process the City's request to join the NFIP .
Staff will come back to the City Council to adopt the Resolution of Intent at a
subsequent C ity Counci l meeting.
CITY STRATEGIC GOALS:
Participation in the NFIP would further th e City Strategic Goals of Good Governance
and Public Health and Safety.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item does not have a fiscal impact as there is no cost to join th e NFIP .
ATTACHMENT:
A. Joining the National Flood Insura nce Program-FEMA 496
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Joining the National Flood Insurance
Program
The National Flood Insurance Pr ogram (NFIP) was es tabli sh ed with the pass ag e of the National
Flood Insurance Act of 1968 . The NFIP is a Federal program enabling property owners in par-
ti cipating communities to purchase insurance as a protection against fl ood losses in exchange for
State and community floodplain management regulations that reduce future fl ood damag es . Over
20 ,000 communities participate in the Program.
The decis ion on whether to join the NFIP is \·ery important
for a communiry. There is no Federal law that require s a
conununity to join the Program and community participation
is vo l untary. A benefit o f participation is that yo ur c it izen s
are provided the opporrunity to purchase fl ood insurance to
protect themse lves from flood losses. Another consideration
is that a community that has bee n identified by th e
Department ofHomeland Security's Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) as being flo od-prone and has
not joined the NFIP within o ne yea r o f being no tifi ed of
being mapped as flood-pro n e w ill be sanctioned . This
means that Federal agencies cannot provide financia l
assistance for buildings in fl ood hazards areas.
FEMA is required by law to identify and map the Na tion's
fl ood-prone areas. The idemificat io n of fl ood hazards serves
many impo rtant purposes. Id entifyin g fl ood hazards cr eates
an awa r en ess of the haza rd, especiall y for tho se who li ve
and wo rk in flood-prone areas. Maps prov ide States and
communi ties with the information needed for land u sc
p lannin g an d to reduce fl ood r isk to flo odplain
develop m ent and implement o ther health and safety
require ments through codes and regulations. States <md
communities can also use the information fo r emergency
management.
To participate in the NFIP, a community must adopt and
enforce flo odplain managem en t reg u la tions that meet or
exceed the m inimum requirements of the Program. These
requirements are intended to prevent loss oflife and property
and reduce taxpayer costs for disas ter relief, as well as
minimize economic and socia l hardships that res ult from
flooding.
When FEMA p rovides a com m unity with a fl ood haza rd
map, th e community should carefully review these maps
and determine whether flood ins ura nce and fl oodplain
management wou ld benefit the com munity and its ci tizens.
In making the decision whether to join the NFIP,
communities need to keep in mind that homeowners'
insurance policies generally do n o t cover fl ood losses , and
many homeowners and other property owners are often
unaware that their property is flo o d -pro ne. Even if your
community has nm been identified as fl ood-prone by
FEMA , yo ur commlmity can s till join the NFIP. By
participating in the NFIP, property owners throughout the
community will be able to purchase flo o d insurance.
Communities that have been identified as fl ood -prone by
FEMA need to keep in mind that property owners in a n on -
participating community are ineligible for most forms of
disaster ass istance within th e ide ntifi ed flood hazard areas.
This does not affect communities that have not had fl ood
hazards identified by FEMA.
What must a community do to join the NFIP?
To join the Program , the community must submit an
application package that includes the fo llowing irlformation:
• App lication For Participation in the Nationa l Flood
Insurance Program (FEMA Form 81-64):
This o ne-p age form asks for the foll owing informatio n :
• Co mmunity name
• Chief Execu tive Officer
• Person resp onsible for administe ring the community's
fl oodplain management program
• Conu11w1it y reposito ry fo r public inspection of flood
maps
• Es timates o f land area, population, and num ber of
strucwres in and outside th e fl oodplain
• Resolution of Intent: The community must adopt a
resolution o f intent, which indicates an explicit desire
to participate in the NFIP and commitment to recognize
flood hazards and carry o ut th e
objectives of the Program.
IMPORTANT FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Floods are th e most common and most costly natural disaster in the Un ited
States.
Before most forms of Federal disaste r assistance can be offered, the
President must declare a major disaster.
Flood insurance claims are paid whet her or not a disaster has been
Presiden tially declared.
The most common form of Federal disaster assistance is a loan, which must
be paid back with interest.
There are abo ut 4. 7 mill ion flood insu ran ce policies in force in more than
20,000 communities across the U.S.
Over the life of a 30-yea r mortgage, there is a 26 -pe rcent (or 1 i n 4) cha nce
that a building in a floodplain will experience a flood that will equa l or
exceed the 1-percent-chance flood (100-yea r flood).
Since 1969, th e NFIP has paid over $14 bill ion in flood insurance claims
that have helped hundreds of thousands of families recover from flood
disasters.
Approximately 25% of all claims paid by the NFIP are for policies outside of
the mapped floodp lai n.
CAN YOUR COMMUNITY AFFORD NOT TO PARTICIPATE?
• Floo dpl ain Management Reg ul ations: The conummity
must ado pt and submit fl oodplain management
r egulatio n s that meet o r exceed the minimum fl o od
plain m anagement requirements o f the NFTP.
Please contact your FEMA Reg ional Office o r the NFIP State
Coordin ating Agency for inform ati on abo ut joining the
Program. These offices will provide an application . samp le
resolution, and a model fl oodplain management o rdinance.
(S ee "For Assi stan ce" on the b ack page fo r contact inform ation)
What are the requ ire m e nts t h at a commun ity must a d opt?
The NFIP r equirements ar e desi gn ed to e n sure that new
buildings and s ubs tantially improved existing b uildings in
flood -prone areas are protected from fl ood damages. The
minimum NHP fl oodplain mana g em e nt requiremems th at
a commun ity m ust adopt are located in Title 44 of th e Code of
Federal Reg ulations (44 CFR) section 60.3 . T h e specifi c
requirements that a communit y m u s t adopt dep end o n the
type of fl ood hazard data that is p rovided to tl1 c com mu nity
by FEMA.
In addition to m eeting the r equ irements of the NFIP, a
community's floo dplain managemen t regulations m u st b e
legally enforceable. T his m eans that th e regulati o n s m u st
meet applicable provisions o f State enabling laws, w hich
authorize communities to enact an d enfo rce fl oodpla in
managem e nt r egula tion s and be adopted thro ugh a process
that m eets applicable State and local due process procedu res.
State autl1ori ty for fl oodplain m anagement varies fro m State
to State. Some States r equire that communities reg ul a te
flood p lains to a higher standard than the mininmm N FI P
r equire m ents fo r certain as p ects of fl oodplain managem e nt .
Some States h ave a requirement tha t conununities m ust
submit the ir fl oodplain management regulatio ns to th e St ate
fo r approval. Communities s h o uld contact tl1 e Star e NFIP
Coor dinating Ag e n cy fo r assistan ce o n s p ecifi c St ate
requirements that m u s t also b e m e t.
As indicated a b ove , th e FEMA Reg ional Office o r tl1e NFIP
State Coor dinating Agen cy ca n p rovide th e community w ith
a m o d el fl oodplain management o rd inance and guidance
o n the s p ecific requireme n ts the community will need to
adopt.
What type of regul ations ca n a community adopt?
Community fl oodplain manage m ent regulations are u sually
found in the fo llowing types of r egulations: zon in g
o rdinances , building codes, su bdivision o rdinance,
sanitary regulat ions, and "stand alone" floodp lain
management ordinances. H ow your commun ity approach es
flo o dplain managem ent depends o n Sta te laws and
regulations and also h o w your community chooses to
manage its fl ood haza rds.
What happens if a com mu nity is id entified as flood-
prone, but does not join t h e NFIP?
The fo ll owing sancti o n s apply if a community d oes n o t
qualify fo r parti cipation in tl1e NFJP within one year o f bei ng
identified as flood -prone by FEMA. Non -participating
commu n iti es that have n o t b een id e m ifi e d as flo od-p ron e b y
FEMA are not su bj ec t to tl1 ese sanctions.
• Property owners will nor be a ble to purchase NFIP
fl ood i:n smance p o licies and existing poli cies wiJJ not
b e re n ewed.
• Federal grants o r loans for develo pment \vill n o t b e
available in idemified fl ood hazard areas under
progr ams admin istered b y Federal agencies s u ch as
the Department of Housing and Urban Development,
Envi r o n m ental Prot ectio n Agen cy, and Small Bu si ness
Admin is t ration.
• Fede ral disaster assistance fo r fl ood damage will n o t
be provided to repair in surable buildings located in
identified fl ood hazard areas.
• Federal m ortgage insurance o r loan guarantees, s uc h
as those w r itten by the Fe deral Ho u sing Administration
and t he Dep artme n t ofVerer an Affai rs , will n o t be
provide d in identified floo d hazard areas.
• Federally in sured o r r egulated lending institmio n s , s u ch
as banks and cr edit unio n s , a rc allowed to make
con venti onal loans for insura bl e buildings in fl ood
h aza rd areas of nonparticip ati n g communities.
However, th e lender must n otify ap p li cants th at th e
property is in a flo o d hat.ard area and that the property
is not eligible for Federal disaster assis tance. Some
lenders m ay voluntarily c hoose n ot to make these loans.