In Dewey, height restrictions to go to referendum

Dewey Beach property owners will be voting for more than town commissioners come municipal election time in September.

During a May 9 town council meeting, commissioners voted unanimously to put to referendum a new method for measuring the height of buildings in the areas of town located within flood zones.

Mayor Diane Hanson, who has been a strong proponent of the 35-foot height limit in the past, said that in rebuilding a home severely damaged or destroyed, a homeowner could lose a level of living space trying to meet new Federal Emergency Management Agency standards during reconstruction.

Hanson used the buildings in Cajun Cove, a bayside development off Bayard Avenue, as an example. She said these buildings have three levels of units, all of which are owned by different people.

“If a storm came and ruined that building, and they wanted to rebuild, either the upstairs people lose their place completely or the people downstairs lose half their house,” said the mayor.

In those cases, she said, the town would allow them to extend the building height limit.

The new building height measuring method was created by the town’s planning commission after months of discussion and in response to new flood insurance maps issued in March.

As a result of the new maps, towns across the country were required to pass flood damage reduction ordinances, with language approved by FEMA, in order for property owners to have continued access to flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program. Dewey Beach Town Council approved its ordinance Dec. 13.

Among the measures taken in the damage reduction ordinance is a FEMA requirement saying a building that is substantially damaged or undergoes a significant renovation has to be built at the base elevation found on the new flood maps.

This wording presents a problem to some properties in flood zones because they are already built close to the town's 35-foot building height limit, which is based on the grade of the street abutting a property. In those properties, rebuilding to the FEMA requirement could mean the loss of living space.

The town adopted the 35-foot height restriction in July 2010 when it passed Ordinance 682 of Dewey code.

The proposed ordinance changes how building height is measured in two ways.

First, a building’s height would be limited to 32 feet. Mike Paraskevich, planning commission chair, said following typical construction methods, this would still allow for a 3-story house.

Second, the building reference point moves from grade to the base flood elevation plus the town's 1-foot mandatory freeboard. Paraskevich said this would cause the actual height of the structure to broach the 35-foot height limit.

In areas of town not in flood zones, height requirements will continue to be based on measurements from grade off the street.

The flood ordinance also reduces the percentage of an existing structure that must be damaged to trigger FEMA compliance.

Old code set the threshold at 30 percent cumulative damage over 10 years. The ordinance approved by council in December set damage at 50 percent, one time.

Paraskevich said the new ordinance does not allow property owners to preemptively raise a structure to meet FEMA standards.

As part of the approved motion, and if approved by a simple majority of property owners, the new measuring method would be instituted immediately.