The following article is from the February 24, 2023 Lake City Reporter.
Feedback floods in on FEMA maps
By TONY BRITT tbritt@lakecityreporter.com
More than 40 people gathered at the Westside Community Center on Thursday evening to learn more regarding potential flood map zone changes from FEMA. The meeting, which was scheduled to last for three hours, included a video presentation. Then residents who had concerns, complaints or disputes with the proposal could talk to representatives from the Suwannee River Water Management District, FEMA or representatives from the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
The latest in technology and engineering studies was used to create the potential maps. Thursday’s meeting was the third meeting held in the region. The previous two meetings took place in Bradford County on Tuesday and in Alachua County on Wednesday.
Mark and Patti Goodson were interested in looking at the proposed changes in flood zones and how it could impact their property near Westside Elementary School. Their property is already developed and they were just addressing issues with their properties that they thought would flood and the permits they have. “We have property and businesses and we needed to make sure that we under[1]stand,” Patti Goodson said..
Some of the information they had on the new flood map, we thought was incorrect so we came here to address,” Mark Goodson added. “A lot of our properties are permitted by Water Management to contain the water anyway — even if it does flood. We wanted to address those issues to make sure that it (map) is done proper.”
Gwendolyn Hawkins, of Fort White, attended the meeting with her 84-year[1]old brother as property owners who were concerned about being impacted by the proposed new flood map. “We would be if there are no changes made from what was proposed, which would then impact the people that would inherit our land,” she said. “It’s not just us — it’s our children and grandchildren.” Hawkins said she and her brother let the officials know they did not agree with the information on the pro[1]posed maps, noting her brother was able to provide some history on the areas that have not flooded….
The maps were last revised in 2009. Roberts said the new flood maps will go into effect in 2025. “Columbia County is one of the counties that’s probably going to be impacted the most by these changes,” he said, noting a crowd of 40-50 people attended Thursday evening’s meeting and voiced questions about flood risks and potential impacts to their homes and properties. “We’re more than happy to take that feedback into consideration, take a look at those particular areas again and if we deem they’re necessary, make changes to it (map).”
Roberts said anyone who was unable to attend either of the three meetings, the website with the proposed changes — www.SRWMDFloodReporter. com — will remain live and people can provide feedback for the next 30 days. “After that, we’ll go back look at the feedback, look at the comments and incorporate a lot of that into the maps and then begin making preparations for that later this year and next year.”
