ORDNC-2025-4 : Zoning Amendment Floodplain Overlay District

Transcript (~23 min @ 38:25)

Speakers identified by voice; unnamed voices are numbered within this recording. Auto-caption text — verify against the video.

▶ 38:23 Mark Garipay: Um, are you gonna speak to both or you want to do one?

▶ 38:28 Speaker 9: One and then we can do one and then the other one? Yes.

▶ 38:30 Mark Garipay: Okay. So we'll, we'll take the zoning amendments first.

▶ 38:32 Speaker 9: The floodplain amendment. Yes. I'm sorry. Sorry. Zoning.

▶ 38:34 Mark Garipay: Yeah. Zoning. Flip plain. Um, overlay district ID 1, 2, 5, 7, 7.

▶ 38:41 Speaker 9: Okay. Thank you for having me. I know this is a busy time for the council, but we have a timely zoning amendment, um, to to review with you, um, for your consideration, um, and approval eventually. Um, so, um, first slide there. Um, I wanted to explain a little bit about the flood regulations in Melrose. Um, we have our flood reg regulations in our zoning ordinance. Um, it, there's a floodplain overlay district in section 7.3 of the zoning ordinance. Um, the, this section references the FEMA flood map. So there, the flood map is, um, overlaid on the zoning and it's created by fema. Um, and there's just a reference to it in the, uh, regulations in this 7.3 of the, the, um, Melrose zoning ordinance. The purpose of the floodplain overlay district is to regulate development in flood pron area, flood prone areas to reduce risk, ensure public safety through reducing the threats to people and property help protect na natural floodplain functions like stormwater absorption, prevent public health emergencies from water quality contamination and pollution due to flooding. So the next slide, um, the reason for the zoning amendment, um, is that FEMA has updated the flood insurance rate maps, which are the official maps that depict the predicted magnitude and severity of flood hazards and special flood hazard areas. They've also updated the flood insurance studies, which are reports for each, um, county that contain a narrative of the flood history for each community. The engineering methods used to develop the flood maps, still water elevations, transect locations, um, with a detailed analysis and details of, um, regarding all the updates and revisions that have been made to the, the flood maps. So all communities that are participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, um, which Melrose is, are required to update all the regulations, um, by July 8th, 2025. Um, and if we don't, we won't be eligible for, um, the National Flood Insurance Program. Um, so the National Flood Insurance Program is administered by fema, um, and they work closely with private insurance companies to offer flood insurance to homeowners, renters, and business owners. Uh, the state has offered guidance on model, model ordinance, uh, on the content that must be included in the updating zoning amendment, um, including suggested sections language, um, to meet the federal regulations. And so we've worked with, um, DCR on drafts of this zoning ordinance. And from their review, they, they feel that it meets the federal, uh, requirements. Um, we've also worked with the engineering department, um, and inspection services and the city to, in drafting, um, these regulations with the planning board.

▶ 41:52 Speaker 9: So the next slide shows, um, a map that we've created to help residents easily identify the comparison between the 2028, um, flood map, which was the last time the map was updated to the proposed, um, flood map. Um, that will be in effect in July. So the, so this map is available on our website. Our, um, j Pitts or GIS analyst took the, the FEMA data and to create this map. Um, so you can put your, your address in and, and zoom in and, um, get a closer look of what, um, the differences are. Uh, so just to give a little bit of, um, an explanation of the different zones. Um, zone A, our area is subject to inundation by a 1% annual chance flood, which is, um, the 100 year flood plane that FEMA is trying to get away from that term, I believe because, um, these, these storms actually don't come at once every a hundred years. They are more frequent than that. Um, and so the, um, in the, the A zone, um, the predict, there's predicted elevations of the water, but it hasn't been determined by a flood study. And so these are typically areas that are inland areas. Um, we do have some in Melrose though. Um, the AE zones are subject are also subject to inundations by 1% annual chance flood. Um, but these areas are predicted by determined flood study, so with elevations. Um, and the base elevation of these districts is indicated on the flood maps. Um, the base flood elevation is the elevation associated with a, a flood event having a 1% annual chance of being equal or exceeded by any given year.

▶ 43:54 Speaker 9: Um, so we have the A zone and AE zone, and then the zone X is the 0.2% annual chance zone or the 500 year floodplain. Um, and so there, there are sections of Melrose that are in, in that zone that's the called a non-special flood hazard area. It's, um, a moderate to low risk, um, that zone X. And, um, it's interesting. So I read that in these areas, in this 500 year floodplain, um, they, these areas submit more than 20% of the national flood insurance program claims and receive a third of the federal disaster assistance for flooding. So it just goes to show that flooding can happen everywhere. And, you know, even in, um, areas that aren't in the, the Zone X, you, you know, you may experience flooding, um, in your property. So the high level changes of the, that happened in the flood or that are happening, um, with this new flood map that that's coming out, um, around ALP pond, there's areas that were in that ex zone that are shifted to, um, the AE zone, the northwest corner. There was a reduction in the A zone, um, but also shifting of some of the boundary lines in the southwestern area of the city. Um, there's an expansion of the a, um, in and near Mount hood, south southwestern corner, um, at Pine Banks. The Zone X was changed to, uh, zone A and there was a slight expansion, but that's mostly in the park. Uh, at K*m Park there's a new a zone. Um, and then just northeast of that, near Stanford and Maple Street, there is a removal of a large, uh, zone X, it's a orange kind of circle, um, in the middle of the city and then in the northwest section, um, there was a reduction in the A zone there. So this map is something that FEMA creates that we can't change. Um, it's just a reference in the, the text of the zoning amendment. Okay. And then to get in a little bit of detail of what's actually in the, the text of the code, um, most of the changes that are required, our additions to our regulations, um, to be in compliance. Um, so for example, we had to add a purpose. Um, the establishment section is just changing the map references. We added a local enforcement section, um, that identifies the building commissioner as the flood in the floodplain administrator. And there's also a reference, um, to other sections of the law that are applicable in these, um, in these zones. So the building code, there's sections, the, uh, wetlands Production Act, site plan approval. Um, so we added, added all those sections, making sure that people understand that there are other regulations when you're in these flood zones. We added a bunch of definitions. Um, the permitting section we renamed and expanded, um, to specify applicability to the, the zones. Um, the regulations were renamed and kind of reorganized. Um, there's now a variant section that was required to be in our regulations about variances from the building code and also variances from the zoning regulations. Um, there was a change to our requirement for notification of changes to the base flood elevation that we beca become aware of as a city. Um, we also added, had to add a disclaimer, a liability section and a variability section, um, to the, the zoning. And so the, um, the questions that as city counselors you'll likely receive are more related to, you know, how does this affect a specific property owner? Um, so by adopting these new zoning zone, um, flood zone regulations, Melrose can continue to participate in the National flood insurance program. Uh, all homeowners and businesses in these high risk areas with mortgages or federal federally regulated or insured lenders are required to buy flood insurance. So property owners may be contacted because there are properties that are now in that zone, a or AE that are required to, um, purchase flood insurance. They'll likely be contacted by their, um, lenders of their mortgages to purchase flood insurance. Um, property owners in Melrose will have, have the ability to have access to the kind of more affordable government back flood insurance, um, through the National Flood insurance program. Any property owner participating, um, any community participating, um, it opens up the ability for any re resident, whether they're in the flood plan or not, to buy flood insurance. And, um, if a property owner feels that their property is, um, incorrectly, uh, identified as being a flood risk because of their elevations, they can apply to for, to fema, um, for a letter of map amendment, um, it's called the Loma to, um, basically take their property out of the flood map. And FEMA doesn't actually change the map, they just attach the, um, approval to their property. And we receive that at, um, as you know, in the city and, um, keep a record of those properties that are no longer required to, um, purchase flood insurance.

▶ 50:01 Speaker 9: Um, and then the next, um, steps in this process. After the public hearing tonight, uh, the planning board will review, uh, the discussion that happens tonight and make any recommended changes to the zoning amendment to, and, um, submit it back to the appropriations, um, and oversight committee, um, where you can further discuss the, the amendment and then make the recommendation to the city council. And, um, we will just need a vote by July 8th of the, the full council.

▶ 50:36 Mark Garipay: Thank you. Um, so as, um,

▶ 50:41 Mark Garipay: I had mentioned, um, with regards to the floodplain ma floodplain map, we as a city council do not, cannot amend it. Um, and we, I would encourage, we've got some letters that any residents that we have heard from that they reach out to the planning department and they can educate them on how to work with FEMA in order

▶ 51:04 Speaker 2: to, um, and try to alleviate, um,

▶ 51:08 Mark Garipay: and petition to get removed from, from the, um, flood plain new floodplain. But it, uh, according, uh, talking to the city solicitor, our, um, as she mentioned, we do not change the, uh, map. This is in essence we're adopting the new ones. So it allows residents to, um, apply for insurance by, um, we have to have this done by July 8th in order to qualify for the residents to be able to apply for insurance that are in the flood map, flood zone.

▶ 51:35 Speaker 2: Anything else you'd like to add? Nope. Okay.

▶ 51:38 Mark Garipay: Any, uh, any questions from, from the council? Okay. Council Jamal, and then council Ro. Thank

▶ 51:45 Maya Jamaleddine: You. Thank you. So if, uh, any of the constituents, uh, reach out to us and we direct them, uh, to you guys, uh, what is the process that they have to go through, um, you know, to, to be able to make those changes?

▶ 52:00 Speaker 9: So there's a, you can submit the form online. It does require hiring, um, often hiring an engineer to, um, determine the, um, highest adjacent grade, which is like the, the land next to the, the structure to, um, determine what that elevation is and compare it to the, the base flood of elevation to make the determination if, um, there's, you know, no risk for that structure.

▶ 52:30 Maya Jamaleddine: I know we, we went through myself, went through this process and we were able to make those changes. So for all the constituents that they may have this concern, uh, it's not impossible, uh, I know it can be done, but they just have to hire and pay out of their own pocket to be able to get that, uh, changes if there is a possibility to make changes. Is that correct?

▶ 52:52 Speaker 9: That's correct. And I, you know, I can't speak to every situation. We will help people to evaluate, you know, their particular situation, but from my understanding, that's the process.

▶ 53:05 Mark Garipay: Thank you. Mm-hmm. Councilor Fanuc Chiro.

▶ 53:06 Cal Finocchiaro: Yes. Thank you. Um, and thank you for this presentation. Actually, just gonna piggyback on that, um, councilor Aldine, um, question. So that's the Loma just to, that's that's the application that they're putting on online. If they feel like they are incorrectly mapped and they want to try to get out it, but it's not a hundred percent sure that they'll be able to remove themselves from,

▶ 53:27 Speaker 9: Right. Okay.

▶ 53:31 Speaker 2: Yes. Alright. Thank you. Thank you. Councilor Stewart.

▶ 53:33 Robb Stewart: Thank you Mr. Chair. Thank you Ms. Maa for being here. Good to see you. Um, how, how many homes were affected in 2018 versus how many homes are affected now and what's, is it increased or decreased?

▶ 53:47 Speaker 9: So the, from my understanding, the 2018 map really didn't have sub any substantial changes. So this, this current map does, uh, change. Um, I don't have the number. We created that map so that, um, residents could go in and, and see there's, um, different layers that you can click on. And so one of the layers shows, um, you know, the change from, um, a kind of a decrease in your flood designation or, um, an increase in your flood designation. So, um, I, I didn't count, but we created that map. So we have the data easily accessible for people.

▶ 54:28 Robb Stewart: Okay. So any individual can go and see if they've been included or excluded.

▶ 54:34 Speaker 9: Right. There are, there are a number of properties that were taking out of the, okay. Zone A. So

▶ 54:40 Robb Stewart: Tuck your address in and we'll do it for you. Mm-hmm. Okay. Great. Um, and then, um, are they, are there any public or municipal buildings that are impacted, uh, that have either gone in or come out?

▶ 54:56 Speaker 9: That's a good question. I do not believe so, but I have, I have not asked, uh, looked for that specific answer. So I can do that.

▶ 55:03 Robb Stewart: Because if, if I understand this correctly, if we have a municipal building that has then entered the flood zone, we now have to go insurance, flood insurance, that property. Right?

▶ 55:13 Speaker 9: Right. I mean the, the schools, the, yeah, I'm not sure the middle school and the high school are right near El Pond. So

▶ 55:21 Robb Stewart: That's, that's exactly what I was thinking about is, okay, we're gonna have to buy flood insurance for the, the schools now. Yeah,

▶ 55:26 Speaker 9: I can look into that. Do,

▶ 55:28 Speaker 5: Sorry, sorry. They, they, they were built in the flood plan originally. Okay. So they, they carried the insurance. I, I actually don't think they're required to, but I, I don't know the answer to that. It's the, the requirement is tied to federally backed mortgages, so, okay. Presumably we're not mortgaging, I, I doubt we have a mortgage in the school, so I wouldn't know that we would need to do it. That's next year's plan. Yeah. We, we may have insurance, but I wouldn't think that's a requirement. But that's, I'm speaking just based upon general knowledge without specifics to the city's. Okay. And I believe,

▶ 56:02 Mark Garipay: I believe when the new middle school was built, they pushed it back to be out of the flood Flood plan. It

▶ 56:07 Robb Stewart: elevated at that time. Yeah. Yeah. So, Okay. So, so what I'm hearing then is that even if a municipal building was moved into there, there's not really a requirement for insurance because you said it's, it's, uh, a federally backed mortgage.

▶ 56:23 Speaker 5: I know it's, it's specific to federally backed mortgages. I don't know if there's another requirement that would require the city to purchase flood insurance, but I, to, to Councillor Ante's point that when the middle, when new buildings are built, you raise them so that they aren't as much of a flood hazard. And that was done with the middle school. Okay. We just get a lot of surprises. It would be nice to not get that surprise as well. Thank you. Thank

▶ 56:49 Mark Garipay: You. The old, old middle school was the first basement cafeteria was underground, so that was, that was the issue. Now, now everything's up,

▶ 56:57 Robb Stewart: Up above ground on cinder blocks. I love it. Thank you.

▶ 57:02 Speaker 2: Council Vandiver.

▶ 57:03 Kimberly Vandiver: Thank you. Uh, I was just looking for the, um, the map that you were talking about. I found a couple of things, but I, I, I just see where I can look at the 2018 maps in the Melrose GIS and I see a, um, there's five sections that, I think it's the 2025, but they're just like a PDF of current on, I'm not. Could you tell me where on the website I should be

▶ 57:24 Speaker 9: Looking? Sure. So on the planning page where, where you are, if you go under zoning and then zoning amendments on the,

▶ 57:32 Speaker 9: the left hand side, there's um, a dropdown

▶ 57:36 Speaker 3: Proposed zoning Amendments.

▶ 57:37 Speaker 9: Zoning zoning amendments. And um, the link is there with the link to the

▶ 57:44 Speaker 3: This one. Oh, thank you.

▶ 57:45 Speaker 9: The theme of maps are come in panels, so there's five PDFs, um, which can be hard to read. So that's why we created the other map. Um, that's more user friendly.

▶ 57:54 Speaker 3: Thank you so much. I have it now. Thank you.

▶ 57:58 Mark Garipay: Any, uh, other councils? Any planning board members have any questions? Any other councilors? I just have one quick question, um, on my, in my wood, um, I see, um, we have a lot of flooding off of Mont Burl and it looks like it flows that way through the golf course as, as a floodplain. What, what could be done? Is there anything that can be done in order to alleviate that that um, that flooding on the street now? I mean, I mean, it looks like to go straight through the golf course.

▶ 58:34 Speaker 9: So engineering has, you know, we collect inflow and infiltration fees from every development that comes in. And so, you know, we have more, more money as a city to, to do projects to help with storm water. And so, you know, engineering department is always actively working on those kinds of projects to, to help reduce flooding.

▶ 58:57 Speaker 2: Alright, great. Thank you.

▶ 58:59 Mark Garipay: Um, any other questions on, um, on this id on this, uh, floodplain overlay district?

▶ 59:08 Speaker 10: I just have one more question.

▶ 59:10 Speaker 2: Council Ro

▶ 59:12 Cal Finocchiaro: Yes. Thank you. I just wanna clarify, if someone is, has now been labeled in the flood zone, do they, it it, do they have to buy flood insurance? Is it imperative or can they,

▶ 59:22 Speaker 9: If they have a, a mortgage, then you know, they'll be contacted by the, the lender likely to, to buy flood insurance. Figured

▶ 59:30 Speaker 3: So, um, okay.

▶ 59:32 Speaker 1: Thank you.

▶ 59:35 Speaker 2: Council of machete. Just

▶ 59:36 Manjula Karamcheti: To build off on that, just to like clarify even further, the onus is on the lender to reach out to the person, the family, or the person with the mortgage. Just, I would assume the typical homeowner isn't looking for this map to find out. Right. And so just in terms of like knowing and being like in the process,

▶ 1:00:03 Speaker 9: Right? Yeah. From,

▶ 1:00:04 Manjula Karamcheti: Or should we be promoting and advertising this change to our constituents so they check themselves and make sure that they're covered? I right. That's why.

▶ 1:00:14 Speaker 9: So my understanding is whenever FEMA releases these new maps, you know, the mortgage companies are on it. 'cause they, you know, want to protect the properties that they're insuring. So, or you know, that they're involved with. So, um, you know, I I think they'll, they'll get the notice. Um, we also, you know, with the zoning amendment, um, posted, you know, on the city's website and so, you know, did some, you know How that goes, Some outreach for the people that um, that check those, those kinds of things. But, um, that, you know, that they should be notified and, and then, um, that I'm sure that will be when you get more calls about, um, what has happened. Okay. Thank you. Anyone else?

▶ 1:01:05 Speaker 2: What's the will of the committee on this? What's

▶ 1:01:09 Speaker 2: The Mr I'm sorry. Hold. You're gonna

▶ 1:01:10 Ryan Williams: Hold. Okay. I'll make a motion to hold this committee.

▶ 1:01:15 Mark Garipay: Second. Second. Uh, motion to hold. Um, ID, 1, 2, 5, 7, 7 zoning amendment floodplain overlay made by Council Williams, seconded by Council Stewart on discussion.

▶ 1:01:28 Speaker 2: All in favor a opposed that uh,

▶ 1:01:31 Mark Garipay: zoning amendment is held. Uh, next up we have ID 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 zoning amendment regarding marijuana buffer zone measurements. Okay? Okay.