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Planning Commission <br />Meeting Minutes <br />May 9, 2019 <br />Page 3 of 6 <br />Howe asked what made these maps more accurate. <br />Zuccaro replied that they were more accurate because of better surveying and mapping <br />capabilities. He made the distinction between the "floodway," which is where the water <br />actually flows during a flood and the "floodplain," was where the water can back up onto <br />a property. There are higher regulatory standards for floodways. <br />Staff recommends approval of Resolution 9, Series 2019, recommending approval of an <br />ordinance amending LMC Chapter 17.56 concerning adoption of an updated Flood <br />Insurance Study and Flood Insurance Rate Maps, and the addition of reference to <br />penalty provisions. <br />Hsu asked about Louisville's flood rating. <br />Zuccaro explained that less risk meant lower ratings so the rating was not about the <br />quality of preparation necessarily. However, the City got points for doing storm water <br />maintenance and public education on the floodplain. <br />Hsu asked how the 2013 flood and climate change affected the projections. <br />Zuccaro replied that his impression was that engineers used a standard model for <br />floodplains based on topographical surveys and historic data that were likely adjusted <br />with new information from recent years. <br />Moline added that the 2013 flood had gone into the County's floodplain dataset. <br />Zuccaro reiterated that he did not know if the updated map included data from the 2013 <br />flood. He added that floods never looked exactly like the projections, because of highly <br />variable issues like trapped debris. <br />Williams stated that in the Town of Superior the surveyors felt confident in their recent <br />maps because they had more information than ever before. She felt confident that the <br />maps for Louisville used similar data and was much more exact than it was in previous <br />iterations. <br />Howe asked Director Zuccaro to speak more to the impact on citizens who might forego <br />insurance based on the new map only to have their houses flooded. <br />Zuccaro replied that the City's communications did not push insurance information or <br />recommendations, they only informed residents who had to have flood insurance. <br />Howe asked how many structures were added to the floodplain. <br />Zuccaro replied that it was fewer than a dozen. <br />Howe concluded that the floodplain changes could impact citizens significantly. <br />