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KITTITAS COUNTY <br />DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS <br />PUBLIC WORKS — BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />STUDY SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />STUDY SESSION DATE: June 12, 2023 <br />TOPIC: FEMA Letter <br />ACTION REQUESTED: Informational <br />LEAD STAFF: <br />Arden Thomas <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />Informational <br />BRIEFING SUMMARY: <br />• The Palomino Fields sub -division contains land at risk of flooding during a 100- <br />year event. <br />• Through the floodplain development permitting process, Kittitas County staff <br />worked with the Palomino Fields developer to elevate home construction sites on <br />fill and to mitigate for this fill. <br />• After home construction, County staff provided technical assistance on an <br />application to FEMA, requesting six homes elevated on fill be removed from the <br />100-year floodplain. <br />• The May 16"', 2023, letter from FEMA removed the six homes from the <br />regulatory 100-year floodplain. As a result, these homes will not be subject to <br />mandatory Federal flood insurance requirements. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />The Palomino sub -division, located north of Ellensburg, contains land at risk of being <br />flooded by Currier Creek during a I00-year flood event. Kittitas County code requires <br />that homes with this type of flood risk be elevated above the predicted flood elevation. <br />One option for elevation is to construct homes on fill. When fill is imported in the <br />floodplain, mitigation is required. Homes elevated on fill may be officially removed from <br />the 100-year floodplain if the lowest adjacent grade next to the home is high enough. <br />FEMA determines whether homes can officially be removed. There will be subsequent <br />applications to request homes constructed as part of other Palomino divisions be <br />removed. <br />DISCUSSION: <br />Resources available through the Flood Control Zone District enables us to work pro- <br />actively with interested developers to better address flood risk at the time of <br />development. In doing so, we will help prevent future flood issues that the District could <br />Page 1 of 3 <br />PUBLIC WORKS BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />