New flood zone will save residents money

Bryce Alderton

About 13,000 Huntington Beach residents will be saving big bucks in

the years to come since they are no longer required to pay flood

insurance according to the city’s planning department.

On Feb. 13 the 90-day window closed to appeal a new flood control map

drawn up by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Since no appeals were filed, fewer property owners in the southwest

portion of the city will be required to pay flood insurance.

The areas taken out of the flood zone include a section surrounding

Adams and Yorktown avenues and an area south of Adams that runs toward

the beach.

More than 75% of the residents in those areas are taken out of the

flood plain, said agency engineer Ray Lenaburg.

The public can view flood plain maps and pick up information about the

revisions at the Huntington Beach Central Library on Talbert Avenue, at

the Edison Community Center or at City Hall.But residents need to be

aware that there is paperwork involved if they do want to drop the

insurance.

“They have to request in writing to drop the policy even if they’re

not in a flood zone,” said Ricky Ramos, associate city planner. “If they

look at the map and they’re still in a flood zone, then there’s no need

to fill out the paperwork.”

Whether or not to have flood insurance is up to the property owner,

but Ramos said a majority of the property owners no longer in the flood

zone do not require flood insurance.

Business owners and residents in the flood-hazard zone are required to

have flood insurance as long as they have a mortgage or take out a loan.

The city and the agency worked on the new map for nine months to

establish base elevations for structures considered in the flood hazard

zone, an area encompassing Garfield Avenue south toward the beach, and

from the Santa Ana River west to Beach Boulevard.

A base flood elevation is the amount of flooding that would occur if a

flood control channel overflowed.

Agency authorities have cautioned against thinking a flood couldn’t

occur in an area that has been taken out of a flood zone.

The county will continue work on widening flood control channels to

handle floods to further reduce the flood plain.

Improvements made to the Santa Ana River Channel by the county in the

last two decades allowed for the reduction in the flood plain map.

* BRYCE ALDERTON is the news assistant. He can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at bryce.alderton@latimes.com