City Delays Vote on Another Planning Commission Floodplain Reg Proposal (10/11/21)

The City has temporarily set aside voting on a Planning Commission proposal to amend the city’s existing Flood Plain Regulations. The amendments were reported to be negotiated among the city staff, DNREC, and FEMA. Although the city suggests the new rules would only apply to major subdivisions, the actual language of the proposal does apply that restriction to every provision. After 14 days, the city staff finally acknowledged that every homeowner in the flood plain will be required to comply with the new requirement that any new or replacement water or sewer system must be designed to “eliminate infiltration of flood waters in the systems.” No explanation was provided as to the conflicting representations nor was any guidance provided about how one eliminates floodwater. For a copy of the proposal, click here. For a copy of the city’s explanation, click here.