New Afton flood plain residents could face huge insurance hikes

Talk about it

Check the map or you may be thousands of dollars worse off.

That’s the blunt message to residents from the Afton city engineer, who was speaking after discussion at the council’s June 17 meeting about the revised flood plain maps which have been drawn up by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

About 300 properties in Afton sit in the new flood plain maps as drawn by FEMA, but only about 30 residents showed up to an open house held earlier in the spring.

And the consequences for those who haven’t taken the time to find out if they’re affected could be dire, explained engineer John Parotti and his colleague Jeremy Walgrave.

According to the pair, from SEH engineering company, even the smallest seasonal home could see its flood insurance rise by $200-$300 a year by its inclusion in the flood plain.

For a larger property, that figure could run into multiple thousands.

“Also, if they want to put certain additions on their homes, there are restrictions there, and in some cases, you just literally can’t do it,” explained Walgrave.

He added that people in the newly redrawn flood plain who owned their home outright and so were not required to purchase flood insurance could see the consequences begin to bite when they came to sell their property, as prospective purchasers might be deterred by the additional cost on top of a mortgage.

Citizens can check the new flood plain maps at Afton City Hall to see if their property is impacted.

If anyone wishes to dispute their inclusion in the flood plain, they must register an objection with the city, which will pass the objection on to FEMA.

FEMA’s deadline for all objections is July 22, and Afton City Council resolved at its June 17 meeting to make every effort to pass on objections until that time, even though its own deadline of June 5 had already passed.

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