Washington, D.C. -- The federal government agreed Monday to give Onondaga County more time to appeal a decision that would require the owners of 2,383 local properties to buy flood insurance. Syracuse and Onondaga County now have until Sept. 15 to convince the Federal Emergency Management Agency to exclude the properties from its new flood-hazard maps, according to U.S. Sen....
Washington, D.C. -- The federal government agreed Monday to give Onondaga County more time to appeal a decision that would require the owners of 2,383 local properties to buy flood insurance.
Syracuse and Onondaga County now have until Sept. 15 to convince the Federal Emergency Management Agency to exclude the properties from its new flood-hazard maps, according to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer.
Schumer, D-N.Y., plans to announce the agreement today during a visit to the banks of Onondaga Creek at Walton Street in Syracuse, where the creek travels through Armory Square. The original deadline to appeal FEMA’s proposed flood-map changes passed in March.
Schumer, however, said FEMA gave local residents inadequate notice of the proposed changes. Many public officials said they were unaware of the proposed flood map changes until a Post-Standard report in April. Schumer asked FEMA last month to grant more time.
Under Monday’s agreement, as Schumer had requested, local governments and homeowners will not be charged a fee to appeal the designation. FEMA also agreed to hold a community forum in Syracuse to educate local residents on what information is needed to challenge its proposed map changes, Schumer said.The senator said he was pleased that FEMA is willing to listen to local property owners — many of whom maintain they live far from any flood plain.
“FEMA did the right thing in extending the deadline to submit information,” Schumer said. “It will give homeowners, business owners and local governments more time to prove that they shouldn’t be in the flood plain, and allow them to submit that information without a charge.”
The flood map changes initially were due to become effective Nov. 4.
Property owners in the new flood hazard zones will be required to buy federal flood insurance, which can cost from $500 to $2,000 per year for a policy. No exemptions are given to nonprofit agencies or those living in poverty. About 1,100 of the affected parcels are in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods on Syracuse’s South and Southwest sides, a short distance from the creek.
Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner has ordered an engineering analysis of the creek that the city will use as part of its appeal. That analysis will be completed in a matter of weeks, said Tim Carroll, Syracuse’s director of mayoral initiatives. Carroll said FEMA officials also have agreed to meet in Syracuse early next week to discuss the proposed map changes.
U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei, D-DeWitt, praised Monday’s agreement with FEMA. He is also pursuing a separate House amendment that would give any property owner added to a flood map up to five years to buy the mandated insurance.
Maffei’s amendment to the Flood Insurance Priorities Act of 2010 passed 64-0 in April in the House Financial Services Committee. The legislation must still be approved by the full House of Representatives.
Contact Washington correspondent Mark Weiner at mweiner@syracuse.com or 571-970-3751.