Title
a. Accept the Monterey County Floodplain Management Plan Annual Report; and
b. Direct the Public Works, Facilities & Parks Director to continue implementing and enhancing all existing activities.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors:
a. Accept the Monterey County Floodplain Management Plan Annual Report and
b. Direct the Public Works, Facilities & Parks Director to continue implementing and enhancing all existing activities.
SUMMARY:
The Monterey County Floodplain Management Plan (FMP) Annual Report includes a discussion of performance measures within the following categories: 1) Administrative Action Items; 2) Program Action Items; and 3) Public Information Action Items. Within these categories, ongoing activities are discussed including drainage system maintenance, flood insurance, structural flood-control projects, and public outreach. The FMP Annual Report includes a recommendation that Monterey County Resource Management Agency (MCRMA) staff to continue to implement and enhance all existing activities. Following its dissolution, this function will be under the new Monterey County Department of Public Works, Facilities & Parks.
DISCUSSION:
The Community Rating System (CRS) was implemented in 1990 as a program for recognizing and encouraging community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) standards. Under the CRS, flood insurance premiums are adjusted to reflect the reduced flood risk resulting from community activities. The classification system ranges from Class 10 to Class 1. At the entry level, Class 10, communities receive no discount on flood insurance premiums. A five percent (5%) discount on flood insurance premiums is provided for each class improvement. Monterey County has voluntary participated in the NFIP/CRS for over 25 years. Because of the community’s proactive efforts in reducing flood risk, flood insurance policyholders receive reduced premiums for buildings in the floodplain. In October 2018, Monterey County completed a CRS Cycle verification with the Insurance Services Office. This effort was led by MCRMA with support from the Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) who previously performed this function for Monterey County. Through this process, Monterey County earned sufficient credit to be upgraded from a Class 7 to a Class 5 community, effective October 1, 2020. As a result of the CRS Class 5 rating, Monterey County residents will receive a discount of 25% (up from a discount of 15%) on NFIP Flood Insurance in the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) and a 10% discount outside the SFHA.
The FMP was developed in accordance with the NFIP CRS guidelines to: 1) identify the flooding sources affecting Monterey County Repetitive Loss Properties (RLPs); 2) establish and implementation plan to reduce flooding and flood related hazards; and 3) ensure the natural and beneficial functions of our floodplains are protected. As required by CRS guidelines, a community with ten (10) or more RLPs must prepare a FMP to describe its repetitive loss problems, prepare maps of the repetitive loss areas, and undertake an annual outreach program targeting repetitive loss areas. An RLP is a property for which two (2) or more claims of at least $1,000 have been paid by the NFIP within any given ten-year period since 1978. There are 109 RLPs in Monterey County. The FMP is updated on a five-year cycle. The last revision was adopted by the Board of Supervisors on November 17, 2015 by MCWRA supported by MCRMA (file # 15-1181). The FMP 5-Year Update is being launched this year in conjunction with the Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP) Update with the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services and is scheduled to be completed in 2021.
Annual reports are prepared to review and evaluate the FMP implementation plan in the intervening years between five-year updates. Given the long-range nature of the FMP, it is important to evaluate the progress toward accomplishing the goals and objectives of the plan. The necessity for regular review and evaluation is an explicit requirement to maintain the benefits of a CRS Class 5 community rating. Both the FMP and the annual report are required to be made available to the public through submission to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors (Attachment A).
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
MCRMA staff worked in collaboration with MCWRA to complete the FMP annual report as the floodplain duties transferred from MCWRA to MCRMA in late 2019. MCRMA, and its successor, the Department of Public Works, Facilities & Parks, is completing the five-year update to the FMP and is working with the Office of Emergency Services to include the updated FMP in the MJHMP Update, anticipated in 2021.
FINANCING:
Staff time to develop the FMP Annual Report is funded as part of the FY21 Adopted Budget for the RMA General Fund, Appropriation Unit RMA013. FMP Updates were historically funded by MCWRA through parcel assessments included in annual property tax bills. When the FMP responsibilities transferred to the MCRMA, the parcel assessment funding did not follow as part of the MOU. MCRMA is in discussion with MCWRA regarding the timing and quantity of funding to come to MCRMA’s successor for this ongoing work. Once discussion has been completed, funding options will be presented to the Budget Committee and MCWRA Board of Directors for consideration.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
The FMP supports the Board of Supervisors’ Infrastructure and Health and Human Services Initia- tives by facilitating planning and development of sustainable infrastructure that balances environmental protection with maintaining flood protection for flood-prone properties and public infrastructure.
___ Economic Development
___ Administration
X Health & Human Services
X Infrastructure
___ Public Safety
Prepared by: Karen Riley-Olms, Management Analyst II (831) 755-5132
Reviewed by: Melanie Beretti, RMA Services Manager
Approved by: Shawne Ellerbee, Assistant Director of Public Works, Facilities & Parks
Approved by: Randell Ishii, MS, PE, PTOE, Director of Public Works, Facilities & Parks
Attachment:
Attachment A-Floodplain Management Plan Annual Report
(Attachment on file with the Clerk of the Board)