The Belvedere City Council adopted an ordinance last week to change the way the city defines and measures height, including a 29-foot limit from grade to rooftop for homes on the lagoon. The move is in response to the Federal Emergency Management Agency flood mapping put in place in 2009, which identifies approximately 87 acres of the lagoon within the 100-year flood zone.
The new city standard satisfies FEMA regulations while also restricting how high homeowners can rebuild their houses, a concern many community members shared, said City Manager Mary Neilen.
“Everyone at some time will need to improve their home to raise it above flood level,” she said.
“The concern was, some residents said, ‘Well, I have no plans to renovate now, but I don’t want these towering homes above me,’” she said.
Since 2009, city officials struggled with how to address the issue.
FEMA required homeowners planning to make renovations to 50 percent or more of their house to raise their homes above the base flood elevation level, which was set to 9 feet, in addition to the city’s ordinance to include a 1-foot freeboard buffer.
The new rule establishes an allowable height of 22 feet to be measured from the base flood elevation, and up to 26 feet if the house includes setbacks. But the maximum height from grade would be 29 feet.
“We have varying grades on the lagoon,” Neilen said. “We had to figure out how to allow those who wished to, to build a two-story house. We didn’t want a pancake situation, nor did we want houses on long stilts.”
Houses on the higher grade might only need to raise their homes 1 or 2 feet before they could build, while those on the lower grade may need to add another 5 or 6 feet, she said.
Councilman Marty Winter, who served on the Planning Commission for eight years, said at one point flooding was a huge problem for the lagoon.
“The main thing is that if you want to get flood insurance, you have to be compliant,” he said.
To make sure renovation projects are on track, City Planner Irene Borba said they will have a ad-hoc subcommittee of staff and commissioners to enforce regulations.
“You may not always consider all at once the potential implications,” she said. “We will be there to provide the best information to the architects.”
With the homes that were developed in the 1950s and ‘60s, people are looking to remodel, Neilen said.
“The homes aren’t getting any younger,” she said.
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