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Camden County, Mo. —
Property owners on the Niangua Arm won't like it, but the Camden County Commission adopted a flood plain management ordinance that will show waterfront property as part of the flood area in Camden County.
The commission took the official action on Wednesday. The passage of the ordinance drew sharp criticism from Camden County Presiding Commissioner Kris Franken. along with Commissioners Bev Thomas and Thom Gumm. The commissioners agree the map is flawed and places a financial burden on the property owners.
The state and federal emergency management agencies recommended the ordinance, which replaces a set of flood plain maps adopted in 1993. In order to develop lakefront property, be eligible for the national flood insurance program, and comply with regulations, lakefront property owners will need to acquire a FEMA letter of map amendment (LOMA) that officially removed property from flood plain designation.
County commissions across Missouri have until June 15 to accept the new maps that FEMA drafted through an engineering analysis and a study by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
"(Camden County Planning Administrator) Chris (Hall) wanted to make sure that we did it a little early so we can give the notification to SEMA that we have indeed adopted it, so that they can forward to FEMA that we are in compliance, so that we are included in the national flood plain insurance program, and so we can continue to close real estate sales here at the lake, which is really what this is all about," Camden County Presiding Commissioner Kris Franken explained.
The USGS provided base elevation information. The USACE gathered data by flying over the lake in airplanes and estimating flood plain coverage.
"Without a boot on the ground — there's just a lot, a lot of mistakes in it, a lot of conjecture, guessing, assumptions, and those assumptions are costing individual people money," Franken said. "You're looking at $600-$800 a pop."
Franken's cash estimate refers to the cost of obtaining a letter of map amendment from FEMA. A LOMA requires statements from a licensed engineer or surveyor.
The adoption Wednesday morning completes a multi-year process. Camden County commissioners attempted to appeal to SEMA and FEMA officials to make a special case for the Lake of the Ozarks on the flood plain maps. After conference calls and other exchanges left the commission frustrated, it appealed to members of Congress for help.
Property owners on the Niangua Arm won't like it, but the Camden County Commission adopted a flood plain management ordinance that will show waterfront property as part of the flood area in Camden County.
The commission took the official action on Wednesday. The passage of the ordinance drew sharp criticism from Camden County Presiding Commissioner Kris Franken. along with Commissioners Bev Thomas and Thom Gumm. The commissioners agree the map is flawed and places a financial burden on the property owners.
The state and federal emergency management agencies recommended the ordinance, which replaces a set of flood plain maps adopted in 1993. In order to develop lakefront property, be eligible for the national flood insurance program, and comply with regulations, lakefront property owners will need to acquire a FEMA letter of map amendment (LOMA) that officially removed property from flood plain designation.
County commissions across Missouri have until June 15 to accept the new maps that FEMA drafted through an engineering analysis and a study by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
"(Camden County Planning Administrator) Chris (Hall) wanted to make sure that we did it a little early so we can give the notification to SEMA that we have indeed adopted it, so that they can forward to FEMA that we are in compliance, so that we are included in the national flood plain insurance program, and so we can continue to close real estate sales here at the lake, which is really what this is all about," Camden County Presiding Commissioner Kris Franken explained.
The USGS provided base elevation information. The USACE gathered data by flying over the lake in airplanes and estimating flood plain coverage.
"Without a boot on the ground — there's just a lot, a lot of mistakes in it, a lot of conjecture, guessing, assumptions, and those assumptions are costing individual people money," Franken said. "You're looking at $600-$800 a pop."
Franken's cash estimate refers to the cost of obtaining a letter of map amendment from FEMA. A LOMA requires statements from a licensed engineer or surveyor.
The adoption Wednesday morning completes a multi-year process. Camden County commissioners attempted to appeal to SEMA and FEMA officials to make a special case for the Lake of the Ozarks on the flood plain maps. After conference calls and other exchanges left the commission frustrated, it appealed to members of Congress for help.
"We talked to their offices personally and they just said there isn't anything they can do," First District Commissioner Thomas said. "It's a cost to the people and it's just a shame."
"We have made calls, had them on the phone, sent letters and had our representatives involved," Second District Commissioner Gumm said. "It's just one of those things. People are going to have to get letter of map amendments.
“If they're on a bluff or something, they're going to have to do that."
The only option besides adopting the ordinance would be to opt out of FEMA's flood plain maps. Opting out would make Camden County property owners ineligible for the national food insurance program, which would put an effective halt to real estate transactions and development unless the buyer or developer paid with cash on hand.
"For a county like ours, it would really be devastating because people can't get bank loans. They can't borrow on property, so it's not really an option that we could even entertain," Thomas said.
Franken noted one positive from the county government's negotiations with FEMA.
"They did say that they would honor the old LOMAs," Franken said.
Property owners who have already been through the process of hiring a surveyor and acquiring a LOMA will not have to go through the process again with the new maps.
Lake of the Ozarks property owners in Miller, Morgan and Benton counties will also need to obtain LOMAs through FEMA — a process that takes four to six weeks — in order to make property transactions.
Contact Lake Sun reporter Rance Burger at rance.burger@lakesunonline.com.
