LELAND — After Hurricane Florence, Leland appears hesitant to allow new developments in the floodplain without gathering as much information as it can.
Local governments base their flood ordinances on state-generated maps, bound by the federal requirement to keep track of the 100-year floodplain.
RELATED: Two Leland development projects put on hold amid flooding concerns
But what happens when multiple 500-year flood events happen within a few decades?
Flood study
Last month, the town delayed taking any action to approve two developments, both located in or near the floodplain. Both developments will be reviewed next week by Council, but staff recommends no action on one and delaying the other a second time.
To help inform its staff and elected officials, Leland has asked state and federal stakeholders to conduct a comprehensive flood study of the Town Creek basin, where the town’s most significant flooding occurred.
In an Oct. 29 letter sent to the state floodplain mapping director and federal floodplain mitigation chief, Leland Mayor Brenda Bozeman asked both to consider undertaking a flood study of the Town Creek basin.
She cites devastation in Stoney Creek, where 44 homes flooded, some with as much as eight feet of water. Less than half of the homes that flooded were located inside the 100-year floodplain and 35 homeowners are currently petitioning for a buyout.
Pointing to bipartisan efforts for regional flood studies at the state level, Bozeman asks for a Town Creek-specific endeavor to observe development patterns over the last 20 years.
Recognizing the town does not have the ability to take on such a study in-house, Leland’s assistant town manager, Neil Brooks, said a study would help the town in its post-Florence decision-making.
“The whole area – the question is – how is it going to be developed?” Brooks asked. “And in what manner?”
He hopes a study could address some of his questions, including: “What is the hydrology of the town creek basin? Where does flooding occur? What are any impacts of development in the last 20, 30, 40 years out there?”
Stoney Creek residents also want answers. Randi Jo Rooks, a Stoney Creek resident whose home flooded two months ago, wants to make sure future developers remember what happened to her community.
“Was it just a freak flash flood and we really can just have peace?” she asked. “I don’t have scientific proof that a huge portion of the water was because of poorly researched development.”
100-year-flood event
If someone wants to develop property in town limits inside the 100-year floodplain, it triggers the requirement for a development permit application, subject to staff review and oversight.
But during Florence, homes outside the 100-year floodplain flooded, outside most local building codes’ requirement for heightened flood-proof standards and outside the federal requirement to own a flood insurance policy.
In a state where building codes are slow to respond to new data, a 2015 Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety report found, what is the likelihood the floodplain gets expanded?
John Dorman, director of the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program, said flooding outside the floodplain in no way suggests state-generated maps aren’t accurate.
“We have the best maps in the world,” he said. “We’ve been the custodian of the maps since 2000.”
Dorman’s department conducts the research, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) puts a stamp of approval on it.
Bozeman and other Stoney Creek residents have questioned whether the installation of the Interstate 140 bypass could have contributed to the area’s flooding, but Dorman said that’s not the case.
The new maps adopted in August incorporate the most up-to-date data available, Dorman said, including the new bypass. The state’s maps consider recent data, Dorman said, and take into account hundreds of historical storms.
“One of the things that the state could look at — do we extend the modeling to something that is greater than the 100, 500-year-floodplain?” he asked.
Building in the meantime
Floodplain maps do not include predictive analysis beyond the 500-year floodplain. Hurricane Florence was a 1,000-year event, according to the National Weather Service.
If communities want to stay on the safe side and earn residents lower insurance rates, Dorman said they are free to adopt a more expansive floodplain ordinance.
“By building up, you’re building safer,” he said. “With more robust flood prevention ordinances, you also get a better flood insurance premium rating.”
This spring, Brunswick County received its first Community Rating System (CRS) score, translating to a 10 percent reduction in flood insurance premiums. As of last year, neither Leland nor Wilmington were CRS participating communities.
While Leland awaits a study, or at the least, a sit-down with the state, developments in the floodplain will remain on the table.
When asked how Council plans to make informed decisions about a proposed development like Bishops Ridge –in the floodplain directly adjacent to Stoney Creek — Brooks said staff will gather all the information it can.
“As staff, what we try to do, we try to provide the most information that we can,” he said. “It’s up to the council or planning board or whoever it is to determine how comfortable they are with the information they have to move forward.”
Send tips and comments to Johanna Ferebee at johanna@localvoicemedia.com