Syracuse, NY - Federal and state officials are hosting meetings this week in Syracuse to explain new flood hazard zone maps and how they affect Onondaga County residents. The meetings, 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center, were called at the request of Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., after local officials were surprised by...
Syracuse, NY - Federal and state officials are hosting meetings this week in Syracuse to explain new flood hazard zone maps and how they affect Onondaga County residents.
The meetings, 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center, were called at the request of Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., after local officials were surprised by the April announcement that the maps would be finished soon.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to add about 2,400 homes and buildings to the Onondaga County flood zone. The affected property owners with mortgages would be required to purchase flood insurance, which costs $500 to $2,200 a year on a typical older home.
At the meetings — at the convention center, 800 S. State St. — residents who think they may be affected will be able to review the maps and hear a presentation by FEMA and state Department of Environmental Conservation representatives.
The panel will explain the mapping process, the federal flood insurance program and the appeals process for people who believe their property should be removed from the flood zone, said FEMA regional mitigation division Director Timothy Crowley. There also will be a question-and-answer session, Crowley said.
About 1,100 of the affected parcels are in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods on Syracuse’s south and southwest sides near Onondaga Creek, which has not flooded recently.
FEMA removed 2,700 buildings from the flood zone in the preliminary maps.
Local, state and federal officials criticized FEMA for not giving sufficient notice to municipalities affected by the changes, which were originally scheduled to take effect two months ago.
FEMA agreed to delay finalizing the maps until next year and offered Syracuse more time to appeal the changes. The city is working with contractor C&S Cos. engineers to prove FEMA should shrink the flood zone within Syracuse. The city has until Sept. 15 to appeal.
The DEC’s chief of floodplain management, Bill Nechamen, will be on the panel with Crowley and others. The DEC partnered with FEMA on the updated maps, created with better technology than was available for the older maps, Nechamen said.
“We want to try to give people more accurate information about insurance, development in relation to the flood hazard zone and flood risks,” Nechamen said.
FEMA has been updating maps throughout the country.
The House of Representatives passed legislation in July that would delay by five years the requirement of flood insurance for properties added to flood zones throughout the country. The Senate has not considered the bill. The legislation was proposed by Rep. Dan Maffei, D-DeWitt.