Flood map update adds more homes to risk area

At a glance

• A flood-risk map update in far southwestern Sioux Falls would add 280 properties to the risk area.
• The changes would limit development and require some building owners to buy flood insurance.
• Public meetings for property owners are scheduled Wednesday and Thursday in Sioux Falls and Tea.

The first flood-risk map revision in half a century in a fast-growing corner of Sioux Falls could curb development prospects for nearly 300 property owners.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is updating flood-risk maps for an area south of 41st Street and west of Interstate 29 that stretches into rural Lincoln County.

The proposed changes could affect as many as 280 properties, 15 homes and a swath of undeveloped land around Tea-Ellis Road and 57th Street.

“This was an area that was identified where there’s a lot of growth and development happening, and the maps had significantly outdated information on them,” said Sean McNabb, project manager for FEMA.

The update stems from a 2014 flood-risk study by Stockwell Engineers, a Sioux Falls engineering firm hired by the city to complete a review for FEMA submission.

Mapping technology and topography information is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was in the 1960s when the area was last surveyed for flood risk, McNabb said. The new maps reflect more accurately how water behaves there, he said.

Property owners will get a better understanding of their risk of flooding, but it also means they’ll be restricted on what they can do with their land.

The city will be prohibited from granting most buildings permits in the flood zone without making applicants jump through extra hoops. Owners of existing structures with federally backed mortgages would have to buy flood insurance.

Another 30 properties would be removed from the flood zone under the proposed maps, meaning building owners would no longer be subject to the insurance requirement.

It’s the second time this year FEMA officials have traveled to Sioux Falls to address the public on flood risk updates. In July, proposed map changes to the rest of Sioux Falls and other portions of rural Minnehaha County were published for review after the city finished its $65 million levee project.

Sioux Falls Chief Zoning Officer Jeff Schmitt said the latest changes are not related to levee upgrades. The study began before that project was completed in 2014.

"This is not a levee impacted update," he said.

FEMA, Sioux Falls, and both Lincoln and Minnehaha County officials this week are holding a series of open houses and meetings to educate the public about the pending changes and walk concerned property owners through the implementation and appeal process should they disagree with the study.

IS YOUR HOUSE ON FLOOD PLAIN?

You can check if your property is impacted by contacting the Floodplain Administrator at 605-367-8888 or emailing floodplain@siouxfalls.org or search here: