REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on the 2017 Annual Report Related to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System
Report
BACKGROUND
The City has participated in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) program since 2002. CRS is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements.
Flood insurance premium rates for residents and businesses are discounted to reflect the reduced flood risk resulting from the community activities meeting the three goals of the CRS:
1. Reduce flood damage to insurable property;
2. Strengthen and support the insurance aspects of the NFIP; and
3. Encourage a comprehensive approach to floodplain management.
The City works closely with the Santa Clara Valley Water District (District), whose participation in CRS dates to 1998. The District's participation in CRS allows them to document qualifying flood risk reduction activities they perform throughout the county. CRS credits for those activities are then transferred to each CRS participating community, including the City of Santa Clara, earning residents and businesses discounts on their flood insurance premiums.
The City is currently CRS class 8, which means the City's residents and businesses in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) are eligible for a 10% insurance premium discount, and others in the City not in SFHA are eligible for a 5% insurance premium discount. The average flood policy premium in the City is approximately $850, and average insurance coverage is about $300,000. Due to participation in the CRS program, the total flood insurance premium savings in the City is up to $80,000 per year.
DISCUSSION
The Program for Public Information (PPI) was introduced into CRS in 2013. The PPI encourages participating CRS communities to work tog...
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