Dewey Beach Town Council passed an ordinance April 17 that ensures the town remains eligible to improve its Community Rating System score, which, if achieved, would qualify residents for better flood insurance discount rates.

The ordinance removes a provision of code that previously offered an exception to the requirement that all service equipment – electrical systems, HVAC appliances, plumbing fixtures, duct systems and so forth – must be located at or above the elevation of the lowest floor of a building or structure located within a special flood hazard area; electrical wiring systems are permitted to be located below the elevation of the lowest floor only if they conform to the provisions of the electrical part of the code for wet locations. 

The deleted provision permitted service equipment to be located below the elevation of the lowest floor of a flood area structure, provided the equipment was designed and installed to be flood-resistant.

Council unanimously supported removing this provision upon discovering the town’s strict adherence to the at-or-above requirement is a prerequisite to improving its CRS score.

CRS is a Federal Emergency Management Agency-managed rating system that rewards local communities for floodplain management activities that exceed minimum National Flood Insurance Program standards. 

Dewey’s CRS score has been a point of contention since it was retrograded from an 8 to a 9 in 2022. A score of 8 gets residents a 10% flood insurance discount, while a 9 gets them a 5% discount.

Over the past several years, the town has taken many actions to get its rating back down to an 8.

Council members said they may discuss potential complications or unintended consequences of the ordinance in the future.

Defining substantial improvement

Council also approved an ordinance amending the town’s definition of substantial improvement.

The town’s previous definition applied a single-project threshold: Improvements made to a house or other structure were classified as a substantial improvement only when the cost of an individual project equaled or exceeded 50% of the market value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement.

The new ordinance revises this to adopt a cumulative approach, in which the total cost of improvements made to a structure over a five-year period is considered when determining whether the 50% market value threshold has been met.

An improvement will now be considered a substantial improvement if its individual cost, plus the cumulative cost of all improvements in the five-year period preceding the date of the building permit application for the new improvement, exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the start of construction of the new improvement.

The change reflects council’s understanding that multiple small improvements made over time may collectively result in significant structural investment and increased flood risk, which in the past would not have triggered regulation under the single-project standard.

Threshold of demolition

Council also discussed the threshold at which reconstruction, renovation or structural alteration of a building constitutes a demolition.

The discussion follows a recent situation in which a contractor who was doing renovations to a house accidentally hit the structure’s roof with his excavator and knocked the structure down.

The code states that if, within any 12-month period, alterations or repairs in excess of 50% of the square footage, as calculated by the building perimeter, are made to an existing building, such building shall be made to conform to the requirements of the code for new buildings and also, for any building located in an established fire district, the applicable provisions of the International Building Code.

However, Commissioner David Jasinski said this language seems counterproductive and prohibits things the town regularly approves.

“You want people to preserve these older houses – and that’s kind of even in the comprehensive plan, character of the neighborhood – and yet we’re telling them that if you renovate over 50% of that house, this 1960s beach house, then you’ve got to meet the new requirements, which would kick you out of your side-yard setbacks and cause you a big problem,” Jasinski said.

Council referred the topic, along with this existing ordinance, to the planning & zoning commission for further review.

To watch a recording of the meeting or to view any of the materials that were discussed, go to townofdeweybeach.gov/events/43388/.