REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Informational Report on Flood Insurance Coverage Assessment
Report
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clara has participated in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Community Rating System (CRS) of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) since 2002. CRS is a program through which FEMA rewards communities that perform floodplain management activities above and beyond the minimum requirements of the NFIP. As a result of the City's on-going effort to complete flood damage reduction activities, the City has been CRS Class 8 rated since 2002. The City's Class 8 rating provides a 10% reduction in flood insurance premiums for properties in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) and a 5% reduction in flood insurance premiums for properties outside the SFHA.
Every five years a FEMA representative visits the City to verify flood mitigation activities that have been implemented to determine the City's new CRS Class based on the latest CRS requirements. The next verification visit is scheduled for September 18, 2018 and will be based on the revised, more comprehensive CRS requirements. Recent CRS changes encourage communities to assess their current level of flood insurance coverage, identify where coverage needs improvement, and require staff to inform the City Council. By completing the flood insurance coverage assessment prior to the September 18, 2018 verification visit, the City will earn credit towards maintaining the CRS Class 8 rating. Subsequent to the verification visit, FEMA will issue a letter to the City indicating what final CRS Class rating, the City of Santa Clara will attain. An informational report will then be transmitted to the City Council.
DISCUSSION
City staff has reviewed flood insurance coverage within the City using the most recent flood insurance policy data provided by FEMA and based on the procedures specified in the CRS manual. The City currently has approximately 1,012 buildings within the SFH...
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