Planning Board considers new flood maps

New flood insurance rate maps for about 1,000 Evergreen properties will be considered by the Flathead County Planning Board at a public hearing on April 10.

The revised maps determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency become effective June 18, but the county must adopt the maps by that time or face suspension from participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.

The program enables property owners to purchase subsidized insurance protection from the government against losses from flooding.

Noncompliance also would subject the county to other prohibitions outlined in federal law. Without participation in the National Flood Insurance Program, lenders couldn’t make federally backed loans on properties within the flood plain and the county would have more limited access to federal disaster relief in the event of a flood.

The new maps will become an amendment to the county’s flood-plain regulations.

The biggest effect the flood elevation changes have on property owners is future use of their properties. The maps are designed to reflect the flood risk at specific sites.

Owners are required to obtain flood-plain development permits for construction. For new construction, fill material must be hauled in to result in new structures sitting at least 2 feet above base flood elevation.

The flood-plain designation also can affect a property owner’s requirement to purchase flood insurance.

The Planning Board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the county commissioners, who will make a final decision prior to the June 18 deadline.

A second public hearing at the board meeting involves a zone change request in the U.S. 93 North zoning district by Gerald Penney, Bartley and Ardith Tillotson, Barbara Penney and Thomas Penney. 

They want to change the zoning on 40 acres from suburban agricultural with a 10-acre minimum lot size to rural residential with a 2.5-acre minimum lot size. The properties are located along Hodgson Road.