As of August 28, 2008 FEMA completed the first
comprehensive review of flood zones throughout Lee County in
22 years. As a result, your property may have been included
in the 195 square miles of land acclimated into a Special
Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), or floodway, commonly known as the
100-year floodplain!
The use of fill will be restricted in the new floodways, potentially creating a site that can not be developed.
If your existing single-family home is now in a FEMA floodplain (SFHA), we can evaluate your property and determine whether or not your property can be removed from the floodplain Eliminating the need for FLOOD INSURANCE!
We can evaluate your property and determine whether or not your property can be removed from the floodplain by performing a floodplain analysis, allowing you to compensate for the difference in elevation on-site. In addition, we can perform a CLOMR or LOMR, which is an administrative process requesting a modification to the FEMA determined elevation (i.e, remove property from the floodway area). These methods will help you develop your site as intended and may lower insurance rates or eliminate flood insurance.
The maps establish flood zones and floodways and set base flood elevations for new construction. Parcels in the Special Flood Hazard Area have required base flood elevations. That means the lowest floor of livable space must meet a minimum height requirement. Plans for all new buildings are subject to these elevation requirements. Some additions to existing structures as well as some sheds might also be subject.
We can determine if you are in a new Special Flood Hazard Area, or visit these resources:
Lee County's map modification is part of FEMA's nationwide updating of flood maps. In addition to base flood elevations, the maps also set insurance rates for the National Flood Insurance Program.
Development permits in floodways will be affected by these
new maps. Building permits for projects with
already-approved Zoning Resolutions and Development Orders
may still be subject to special conditions as a result of
these new maps. The use of fill will be restricted in the
new floodways.
Feel free to give us a call with any questions regarding
your site elevation, our methods of resolution, or site
development questions.
If
you are a homeowner and believe your property is not located
in the designated 100-year floodplain [also known as a
1-percent-annual-chance floodplain, or Special Flood Hazard
Area (SFHA)], as shown on the effective Flood Insurance Rate
Map or Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map for your community
and you would like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
to make an official determination regarding the location of
your property relative to the SFHA, you may request a Letter
of Map Amendment (LOMA) or a Letter of Map Revision Based on
Fill (LOMR-F).
The tutorials in this series were designed to walk you
through the application and information-gathering processes
that you must follow to request single-lot/single-structure
LOMAs and LOMR-Fs. The tutorials in this series also provide
you with online tools to complete portions of the MT-EZ form
(used for single�lot/single-structure LOMAs) and MT-1 forms
(used for LOMR-Fs), which you may then print and mail to
FEMA at the address provided in the form instructions with
all required supporting information, signatures, and review
and processing fees (only for LOMR-Fs).
Additional information about the LOMA and LOMR-F request
processes follows. If you have not already done so, we
encourage you to download copies of the MT-EZ and MT-1
forms, available in the Forms section of this site, before
launching the tutorials.
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulations require
flood insurance for insurable structures located in SFHAs
that carry a mortgage loan backed by a federally regulated
lender or servicer. The SFHAs are the areas subject to
inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance) flood, which is
also referred to as the base, or 100-year, flood.
For a LOMA to be issued to remove a structure from the SFHA,
NFIP regulations require that the lowest adjacent grade (the
lowest ground touching the structure) be at or above the
Base Flood Elevation (BFE). To remove an entire lot from the
SFHA, NFIP regulations require that the lowest point on the
lot be at or above the BFE.
A LOMR-F is submitted for properties on which fill has been
placed to raise a structure or lot to or above the BFE. NFIP
regulations require that the lowest adjacent grade of the
structure be at or above the BFE for a LOMR-F to be issued
to remove the structure from the SFHA. The participating
community must also determine that the land and any existing
or proposed structures to be removed from the SFHA are
"reasonably safe from flooding." To remove an entire lot and
structure, both the lowest point on the lot and the lowest
adjacent grade of the structure must be at or above the BFE.
The issuance of a LOMA or LOMR-F by FEMA eliminates the
Federal flood insurance purchase requirement as a condition
of Federal or federally backed financing. However, lenders
retain the prerogative to require flood insurance as a
condition of any loan as part of their standard business
practices, regardless of the location of the structure.
Certain sections of the LOMA and LOMR-F application forms
must be certified by a Registered Professional Engineer or
Licensed Land Surveyor. Therefore, requesters may incur
certain fees associated with obtaining data and hiring a
Registered Professional Engineer or Licensed Land Surveyor
to provide and certify certain information that must be
submitted with LOMA and LOMR-F requests. Information about
the required supporting information and FEMA review and
processing fees (only for LOMR-Fs) is provided in the MT-EZ
and MT-1 Forms Packages, available in the Forms section of
this site, and in the LOMA and LOMR-F modules of this
tutorial series.
If your house was built on natural ground and its lowest
adjacent grade is at or above the BFE, and you would like to
request a LOMA, please go to the LOMA Tutorial. (See minimum
system requirements and specifications below.)
If your house was built on fill (or has been elevated by the
placement of earthen fill), and you would like to request a
LOMR-F, please go to the LOMR-F Tutorial. (See minimum
system requirements and specifications below.) Fill is
defined as material from any source placed to raise the
ground to or above the BFE. The common construction practice
of removing unsuitable existing material (topsoil) and
backfilling with select structural material is not
considered the placement of fill if the practice does not
alter the existing (natural grade or ground) elevation,
which is at or above the BFE. Fill that is placed before the
date of the first NFIP map showing the area in an SFHA is
considered natural grade.
