Height restriction boost headed for ballot box

BY PRU SOWERS

NEWS WRITER

Local voters this November will be able to take the first concrete steps towards protecting their homes against storm flooding.

City commissioners at their April 1 meeting gave staff the go-ahead to begin drafting a ballot resolution that would allow property owners in flood-prone areas of the city to raise homes and commercial buildings up to five feet above the current 35-foot height limit. The referendum, if passed in November, will allow property owners in the federally designation VE and AE zones – which essentially covers the entire city except for property in the X zone – to raise the roof height of their property one foot for every foot they lift their first floor, up to five feet. That would mean that homes and commercial buildings could rise up to 40 feet in areas where the maximum building height is currently 35 feet.

Not only would the height change reduce property damage during storms, it would also reduce flood insurance rates, according to Don Craig, Key West city planner. He cited examples from federal flood insurance rate charts that predict annual savings in the V zone of 25 percent, approximately $1,300, by raising a property by one foot. Those savings go to 65 percent if the property is raised three feet, he said. In the A zone, annual premium savings are estimated at 41 percent, or $502, for the first one foot elevation, $678 for the second and $742, or 60 percent, for a three-foot rise.

“Once in place, [the referendum] will allow significant cuts in flood insurance across the city,” Craig said.

Between approximately two-thirds and three-quarters of the city is already in a special flood hazard area. And a federal flood zone remapping that will take place in 2017 is expected to put some homes in the prized X zone into the A zone, potentially putting economic pressure on those homeowners when their flood insurance rates go up.

“The City’s adopted climate action plan… anticipates an increase in the number of intense storms in the region and predicts that sea levels will rise between 3 inches and 7 inches by 2030,” according to a memo from Craig’s office to city commissioners. “In order for the city to adequately protect the city’s tax base and private property from high insurance cost and water damage, it is critical that the City’s land development regulations facilitate the ability for property owners to elevate their property above the flood plain.”

Although there is a downside to increasing property height limits in the city, including possibly affecting the residential beauty of Old Town, city commissioners agreed to begin the draft referendum process.

“If we can corral this and make sure it’s not misused, it’s a very worthwhile ordinance,” said Commissioner Teri Johnston. “It’s a fact of life that our flood zones are changing. We have to get out in front of this.”

“I think we better do it now before the ocean rises and engulfs some of these areas. It’s not that much higher,” said Commissioner Jimmy Weekley about the increase from 35 to 40 feet.

Even Last Stand, the local non-profit concerned with quality of life issues in Key West, was initially supportive of the proposal. Treasurer Mark Songer said that building height is one of the most important aspects of Key West’s appeal.

“The height restrictions adopted in the city charter have been an important means to preserve the charm and historic significance of Key West,” Songer told the commissioners. “[But] given the significant financial impact to our community of the looming [flood insurance rate] increases, the city is right to consider alternatives to lessen this impact.”

Residents will have several opportunities to comment on the draft referendum before it is placed on the November ballot. There will focus group meetings scheduled in April, then hearings before the Historic Architectural Review Commission on April 8, the planning board on May 15 and two public hearings at City Commission meetings on June 3and June 17.

 

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