T’bonne eyes changes to flood ordinances

Terrebonne Parish officials have presented the early stages of a plan to amend the parish’s flood-related codes that guide property sale, development and renovation.

Officials are eyeing several changes to existing parish ordinances in what is said to be an attempt to go beyond federal regulations in safeguarding new development from flood risk, as well as protecting existing assets and the environment from new development.

Optimally, the changes would result in a better Community Rating System (CRS) score, maintaining or increasing discounts to insurance premiums through the National Flood Insurance Program, officials said.

Before the proposals are brought to the council, parish leaders want to hear from residents and developers, Terrebonne Planning and Zoning Director Pat Gordon said. Four public outreach meetings are scheduled for the next two weeks.

“We don’t want to just go out to the parish council or start holding public hearings on these ordinances if we don’t believe it has a good chance of passing or if the general public feels it’s too cumbersome in the end,” Gordon said. “We want some feedback. We’re doing outreach before we prepare the actual document.”

The proposals – which are far from formal at this stage – were born from a study conducted by the Baton Rouge infrastructure planning firm CSRS and meetings between the parish’s certified floodplain managers, chief building official and parish leadership.

“This is only for discussion purposes,” Parish President Michel Claudet added. “We want to do what we can do to lower our (CRS) rating. That’s the most critical thing because when that happens, it affects all of the parish.”

As of now, one proposed outcome would be the banning of concrete slabs from new development in the Terrebonne floodplain. Another adds disclosure mandates for property sellers. Other changes suggest increasing the required development to heights between 1-2 feet above FEMA guidelines, depending on the flood zone, and requiring all ductwork, mechanical equipment and other utilities to be above that “freeboard” level.

Roughly 10 other ideas are available for viewing at www.floodsafeterrebonne.com. They cover three primary categories: real estate disclosures, stormwater and drainage management and home elevation and construction/renovation requirements.

Terrebonne Parish’s CRS score – which, although parish government is consolidated, is kept separate from the City of Houma’s – is tied with East Baton Rouge and Jefferson parishes for the best throughout the state at a Class 6. The scale ranges from 1-10, with lower classes meaning greater discounts. Terrebonne’s score provides a 20 percent discount to properties located in a floodplain.

Regardless, each individual proposal is geared at decreasing risk to the parish and are thus are beneficial based on their own merits and will score various points toward CRS, said Jennifer Gerbasi, Terrebonne’s recovery planner and a certified floodplain manager.

Four public meetings have been scheduled beginning today., and public input is encouraged.

The public meetings are scheduled for June 19 and 25:

– At noon, today at Holiday Inn, 1800 Martin Luther King Blvd., Houma

– At 6 p.m., at Dulac Community Center, 125 Coast Guard Road, Dulac

– At noon, June 25 at Gibson Elementary School, 6357 S. Bayou Black Drive, Gibson

– At 6 p.m., June 25 at Montegut Gym, 107 Recreation Drive, Montegut

Terrebonne’s introspection is coming at a time when coastal leaders continue to haggle with federal lawmakers over implementation of the Biggert-Waters Act.

Biggert-Waters, passed in Congress last year as a means to put the NFIP on stable footing after numerous costly disasters in the last decade, would over time result in exponentially greater flood-insurance premiums as grandfather exemptions are phased out, making it more difficult for owners to maintain mortgages, protect assets and sell property. Louisiana realtor and banking associations have joined the cacophony of criticism expressed by elected officials from flood-prone areas in the local, state and national arenas.

“Now more than ever, as federal policy threatens to make flood insurance out of reach for many of our residents, it is important that we do everything possible to reduce the risk of damage to our homes and businesses in a flood event and earn discounts on our flood insurance premiums,” Gordon said.