HomeMy WebLinkAbout111624 email - Comments re the Flood Damage Prevention OrdinanceALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
I am writing to provide public testimony related to the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, on behalf of the Local 20/20 King Tide team. We encourage you to vote to approve the draft
ordinance.
Climate impacts for this area, as summarized in various climate studies from North Olympic Development Council <https://www.noprcd.org/climate-action-toolkit/climate-change-impacts>
, include more intense precipitation, more rain on snow events, and rising sea levels. All of these can increase both coastal and riverine flooding. The draft ordinance helps prepare
our community for these impacts by ensuring that development in flood prone areas is better designed to withstand higher waters. While these may add cost in the short term, they help
our community members in the long term by protecting them from possible injury, and potential larger financial costs if buildings are damaged. It also protects our environment, by reducing
the risk of pollutants ending up in our waterways. And it can help reduce insurance costs if the Community Rating System is applied for, which we encourage you to do. In fact, doing
so is one of the adaptation strategies recommended in the 2015 Climate Change Preparedness Plan for the North Olympic Peninsula <https://irp.cdn-website.com/6c85e905/files/uploaded/The+NOPRCD+Climat
e+Change+Preparedness+Plan+for+the+North+Olympic+Peninsula.pdf> (strategy CI-9.)
We all are aware of the housing affordability crisis in our county. But short term savings that can result in potential impacts on human health and longer term financial costs are surely
not the answer.
Given that the Base Flood Elevation in the ordinance is based on historical data, and does not specifically include climate impacts, we would argue that the draft ordinance could also
be improved by increasing the flood proofing needed to a higher level, such as Base Flood Elevation + 2’, as the City of Port Townsend has done (see for example, 16.08.170 of the Port
Townsend municipal code.)
The Local 20/20 King Tide team has seen firsthand the coastal flooding that has already started to impact areas of the county (see for example, this report <https://l2020.org/king-tide-dec-27-22-new-
high-at-pt/> on the 12/27/22 flood event). And as you likely know, there have been a range of flood events across the country and worldwide in the last year. The lives that have been
ended and/or upheaved is tragic. We encourage you to do your part in reducing risks and passing the flood ordinance.
Thank you,
Cindy Jayne, for the Local 20/20 King Tide team