Depends on how frequently they work with FIRMS in a specific region. ?ÿI knew a few years ahead of time on the planned change for one. ?ÿIt is a terribly prolonged process.
I had a call yesterday from a disheartened property owner who asked when did I become aware of the local FIRM change in 2014.?ÿ I looked through my server and found where I had downloaded the Preliminary Study and Preliminary Shape file about 13 months before the effective date which was about 3 months after the release of the preliminary data.?ÿ The property owner's permitting team was apparently unaware of the map change until after the Effective Date and her previously buildable property became unbuildable as a result.
It made me wonder where we all fall in such matters.
I don't believe that it's our job to know everything about everything that might possibly impact someone's development plans. You can provide a higher level of service if you do, but do you get paid for all that extra effort?
Flood plain maps are political.They need to be approved by the communities affected before becoming official documents. I don't think you can use them officially before that happens.?ÿ
It may be different in other parts of the country but county and city managers and elected officials need to approve them here.?ÿ
That being said, if you have a set of maps pre-approval I don't see how advising a client about what may be coming up in the future could be unethical, you would need to explain the process to them.?ÿ
I had two family members working in politics back when the last batch of flood maps came out. The two big issues they were swamped with: a cable provider not renewing the network that broadcast the Denver Broncos and the impact of the flood maps.?ÿ
Tell me about it.....
I was invited to a meeting where a Planner had returned from a meeting at which discussion were being had on how to require the home owners to be certified using the 500 yr flood plain.
I mentioned they might consult a few Surveyors and not just presume a FEMA provided flood map as their sole source of reckoning when presenting ideas for community development and codification of the local economy.
I was invited to a meeting where a Planner had returned from a meeting at which discussion were being had on how to require the home owners to be certified using the 500 yr flood plain.
I mentioned they might consult a few Surveyors and not just presume a FEMA provided flood map as their sole source of reckoning when presenting ideas for community development and codification of the local economy.
my $0.02
If a new set of FEMA maps comes out and I'm still around working, I will be joined by a number of professionals, homeowners, and community regulators protesting them if they end up being like the product turned out in 2010. It's been quite the mess, although, it has brought lots of business to me.?ÿ
We were all caught off-guard not understand what we were getting back then, I know I didn't look at them closely enough, that won't happen again.?ÿ
So you are telling me that you completed Elevation Certificates or Topographical Surveys just before the Effective Date of the New Maps without telling your clients that the Maps were about to change??ÿ I completed dozens of dual ECs: one stamped with the effective map and one unstamped with the soon to be effective map.
In the subject case, the caller stated that they were continuous clients of the firm in question since 2010 as their dream home was being planned.?ÿ It seemed a bit long term for the planning of a home but I was not about to dig into the story.?ÿ I let her know when I learned about the maps and what I did about it to help folks through the change.
They aren't flood maps, they don't show what's going to flood. I've seen them show the high ground in the flood zone and the low ground out. The edge of the flood zone is some guy's magic marker art. They are only for figuring out flood insurance rates.
Some clients are so insistent upon "today" that "tomorrow" will be better for you as the new form will be ready and is what you need does not matter.
Fools and their money...................
It always brings a smile to my face when they call back and tell me that they should have taken my advice and are always happy to pay whatever for the update.
Some fun local areas, this is a small sample, every drainage seems to have multiple examples and it's when a residence happens to be involved that it gets interesting:
Some fun local areas, this is a small sample, every drainage seems to have multiple examples and it's when a residence happens to be involved that it gets interesting:
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That's what I'm sayin'. You can build your house in the middle of the river and get cheaper flood insurance than in the middle of the high ground next to it LOL
