Lewes Mayor and City Council will host a public hearing at 5:30 p.m., Monday, April 1, in the Margaret H. Rollins Community Center at 110 Adams Ave. We hope you will attend in person or virtually (see the City of Lewes website under agendas for the link to connect via Zoom).
The important issue of protecting our home from flooding is the focus. Nearly 68% of the land area in Lewes and about 45% of city parcels are in floodplains.
During the past year, the Lewes Planning Commission’s Environmental Subcommittee has diligently researched, discussed and reached a consensus on a proposal to increase freeboard height (i.e., the distance between the first floor and the base flood elevation). This proposal will be discussed at the public hearing. We want you to know the facts and encourage you to attend the hearing to learn more about our city’s geographic vulnerabilities, and the opportunities and action you may want to take to protect your existing or new home.
The proposal is based on science, engineering and economics. The committee took a holistic approach, examining impacts by floodplain areas (the 1% annual chance or 100-year floodplain, the 0.2% annual chance or 500-year floodplain, and areas outside of these regulated floodplains). The proposal is as follows:
• All new construction in the 1% floodplain would be required to increase the freeboard from the current requirement of 18 inches to a minimum 36-inch freeboard with an increase in maximum structure height of 1.5 feet to accommodate design flexibility
• All existing homes in the 1% floodplain can stay as they are with no new alterations required, unless they were to experience substantial damage or make substantial improvements, with costs equaling or exceeding 50% of the market value of the structure (not including value of the land). Then, the improvements would trigger the need for the entire structure to be brought into compliance with all city codes, including the freeboard requirement
• Construction in the 0.2% floodplain would be permitted on a voluntary basis to take advantage of the 1.5-foot structure height increase if the building implemented a freeboard height of 18 inches during new construction, after substantial damage or due to substantial improvements (none is required currently). This would become official city code two years after adoption, with an interim period being voluntary if the additional height was desired
• All homes outside these two regulated floodplains, if they so choose on a voluntary basis, could elevate their existing home, or build new and incorporate 18 inches of freeboard along with a 1.5-foot height increase.
We believe this is a commonsense approach to protecting homes, ensuring new development that is more resilient, while also respecting individual property owners’ rights to keep their current home as is. We welcome the community dialogue at the public hearing.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.
