Is your flood insurance too high in Miramar? The city wants to help. Here’s how
Residents in flood-prone areas of Miramar could eventually see lower flood insurance premiums under a city initiative aimed at improving flood management.
The City Commission took its first steps this week toward creating a permanent Floodplain Management Planning Committee aimed at helping the city better prepare for flooding, which could lead FEMA to offer residents savings on their flood insurance premiums.
The ordinance, which passed 5-0 on first reading on Wednesday, May 20, would establish an advisory committee to assist the city on floodplain management issues, including oversight of the city’s Floodplain Management Plan and continued participation in FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program and Community Rating System.
Under FEMA’s CRS system, participating cities can qualify residents for flood insurance discounts ranging from 5% to 45%. The better a city’s rating, the larger the insurance discount residents can receive.
“This committee helps ensure the city remains proactive and organized in addressing flood risks while maintaining compliance with FEMA requirements that can benefit residents through flood insurance discounts,” Nixon Lebrun, Miramar’s director of Building, Planning and Zoning, told commissioners during the presentation.
Communities earn credits for adopting floodplain management practices that go beyond minimum federal standards.
City officials say Miramar faces significant and recurring flood risks because of its low-lying geography, extensive canal system, dependence on stormwater infrastructure and exposure to tropical weather systems.
The proposal says those risks are expected to worsen because of climate change, sea level rise, groundwater rise and increasingly intense rainfall events.
According to the city’s floodplain planning process, about 92,700 people in Miramar are at risk from flooding. The city also identified 23,922 buildings within the city’s Special Flood Hazard Areas and another 5,795 structures located within moderate-risk areas.
The new committee would focus on “flood risk reduction, flood vulnerability minimization and long-term resilience strategies to better protect the residents and properties of the city from the effects of flood hazards,” Lebrun said.
If passed on second reading on June 3, the ordinance would establish the advisory committee to oversee implementation of Miramar’s newly adopted Floodplain Management Plan and a public information campaign focused on flood hazards and preparedness.
