Flood plain maps given approval
Flood plain maps given approval
0 Comments | Buffalo News, Jul 28, 2010 | by Thad Komorowski
The long-contested federal flood plain maps were approved by the Town Board om Monday night, after the announcement that at least 130 more homes were removed from flood designation areas.
The board voted, 3-1, to adopt the maps as proposed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cap off a nearly two-year effort to fight the proposal that caused increased flood insurance rates for numerous property owners.
FEMA’s maps changed flood elevation levels and put numerous properties into designated flood plains. Once a property is in the flood area, mortgage companies require the owner to purchase flood insurance, which can cost as much as $1,100 a year.
The board and residents have opposed the maps since they were proposed in September 2008. Wendel Duchscherer Architects & Engineers, the town’s engineering firm, was contracted to prepare new elevation maps.
Prior to the vote, Tim Walck of Wendel told the board that FEMA’s representative had accepted the town’s model for the Sawyer Creek and Bergholz areas.
“It looks like about 130 more structures have been removed,” Walck said.
He noted that the new areas included properties north and south of Niagara Falls Boulevard, including buildings on the Crestwood Health Care Facility campus. Since staging the fight, about 750 homes have been taken out of flood areas, Walck said.
Although the original maps were approved, the town’s additional changes this year will be added later.
Supervisor Robert B. Cliffe, who voted against the approval, said the board could have waited a few more weeks to see how the federal government would react to the FEMA mapping process
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