City, county compromise on floodplain regulations

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

The flood of '97 claimed five lives in Fort Collins and sent officials scurrying to make the city safer in the future. As a result, the city adopted more restrictive Poudre River floodplain regulations in 2000, causing a lack of consistency between the city and Larimer County in terms of floodplain rules.

In February, some of those regulations were scaled back by the city council, the result of work by the city and county to bring their floodplain regulations closer together. At the same time, the county made some of their floodplain regulations more rigorous. "It's a compromise plan," noted Bob Smith, water planning manager for Fort Collins. Larimer County commissioners approved the changes in January.

The new rules mean that some development will be allowed where it was not allowed before. Smith said that about 100 acres of land, located in various places along the Poudre, could now be developed. However, there will still be major restrictions imposed on any development in the 100-year floodplain, he noted. For instance, no new residential development will be allowed within the floodplain.

The primary areas of compromise with the new regulations involve the "floodway rise," which is the allowable river rise in a 100-year flood; the elevation above the floodplain required for new structures in the floodplain; and which critical facilities will be allowed in the 500-year floodplain.

Fort Collins is going back to an allowable floodway rise of 6 inches, a reversal from the limit imposed in 2000 of 1.2 inches. This matches the county's allowable rise and allows for more fill and development along the banks of the river.

In terms of building elevation, the city stayed with its post-flood rule that buildings must be elevated 24 inches above the 100-year floodplain. The county agreed to match that rule, changing its requirement from 18 inches to 24.

The city also eliminated an extra layer of regulation imposed after the '97 flood, called the "product corridor." Fort Collins had not allowed any development or any variance procedure in that corridor, a situation that drew ire from many property owners. The product corridor rules were "very restrictive" for development, according to Jim Hibbard, water engineering manager for the city.

Another compromise was reached regarding critical facilities that will be allowed in the 500-year floodplain. Previously the city allowed no such facilities and the county allowed all critical facilities. The two entities agreed not to allow life-safety or emergency response facilities, such as schools and fire stations, but to allow some facilities with hazardous materials, such as gas stations.

Weakening the hazardous materials restrictions in the 500-year floodplain caused councilman David Roy to vote against the new regulations.

The city and county did not agree on which critical facilities should be allowed in the 100-year floodplain. The city allows none, while the county allows hazardous materials facilities.

Even with the looser floodplain rules, much of the Poudre's floodplain within the city won't be developed because it is public land. That lessens the impact of the floodplain changes, Smith noted. "Realistically, you're not going to have a 6-inch rise," he said.

Both Fort Collins and Larimer County have floodplain regulations stricter than those of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The governing bodies made a conscious decision to be more restrictive, Smith said, and there are benefits to residents resulting from that stance. FEMA rewards communities that are proactive in minimizing flood hazards by charging lower flood insurance premiums.

Monica Sweere, a developer who has dealt with the city's floodplain regulations, said the city's process has "no inherent logic" and that its "excessive regulations" nearly killed her housing project. She is currently building out Old Town North, a development near East Vine Drive and College Avenue that will include some affordable housing.

Sweere said she added $1.2 million in fill to her property, which was located in Dry Creek's 500-year floodplain, to remove it from FEMA's floodplain designation and that of the city. After she received the necessary letter from FEMA, it took her an extra six months and $100,000 to clear the city hurdles. In the end, the city's water board granted her a waiver from the city floodplain regs, and she was allowed to break ground on the project.

Sweere would like to see a public discussion to determine if the community really wants floodplain regulations that exceed the FEMA guidelines.

In regards to regulations imposed on the Poudre floodplain after the '97 flood, Sweere said the city has a moral obligation to determine if designations like the Product Corridor harmed property owners, and to make compensation if it is warranted.