FLOOD06802

• County: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Community Flood Mitigation Planning Guidebook State of Wisconsin
• Date: 10/28/1995
• Prepared For: Wisconsin
• Prepared By: Wisconson DNR
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Flood Mitigation/Flood Warning/Watershed Restoration

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Updating the floodplain
zoning ordinance

Many communities have not updated their
floodplain zoning ordinance for some time.
Updating the ordinance is a relatively easy and
inexpensive way to ensure that the community
remains eligible to participate in the National
Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

An updated ordinance will have the latest
floodplain development standards, which will
lessen the risk for floodplain structures. For
existing development (legal nonconforming
structures), the standards assure that additions
and modifications to these structures are
protected to current state and federal standards.
It also limits the amount of additions and
modifications over the life of the structure,
thereby limiting future potential damages.

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National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP)

Participating in the NFlP can benefit landown-
ers in several ways:

,/ Property owners are eligible to purchase
flood insurance. Flood insurance is not
available in non-participating communities.

,/ Property owners are eligible for more
disaster relief than those in non-participat-
ing communities.

Only participating communities are eligible
for mitigation funding. One popular
mitigation activity is an information and
education program, designed to publicize
the benefits available through the NFIP, and
the regulations pertaining to floodplain
development.

,/ Communities which go beyond the mini-
mum standards of the NFIP can obtain
cheaper insurance rates for their citizens
under the Community Rating System
(CRS) of the NFIP. For more information
about CRS, contact the CRSIISO contact
for Wisconsin listed in Appendix A.

2 Evaluating alternative actions

One property versus several
properties

Evaluate the alternative actions case by case,
property by property. An alternative applOpriate
for one property may not apply to anothet. For
example, local floodplain zoning ordinances do
not allow residential uses in a floodway.
Therefore, acquisition/relocation would be the
only viable alternative for residential and
commercial structures located in floodways.
However, you must evaluate how the alterna-
tives might impact other properties. For
example, floodproofing or elevation may impact
adjacent properties by changing the course of
flood flows.

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COM'!UNITY FLOOD MITIGATION PLANNtNG GUIDEBOOK