Va. Beach needs action, not words, on flooding

For years the leadership of Virginia Beach has failed to implement common sense measures to protect us from recurrent flooding and sea level rise, and we face a 300% increase in yearly flood-related losses over the next two decades.

Homeowners in flood-prone areas should not have to watch their biggest asset deteriorate while flood premiums and flood waters rise. We sustain flood losses of $26 million each year, and that number is expected to triple in approximately 20 years.

This affects all residents whether flooding is a risk to your home, access to your job or your ability to evacuate when we are threatened by large storm events.

A quarter of a century ago, Congress enacted a Community Rating System (CRS) that provides participating communities up to a 45% savings on flood insurance premiums when they exceed minimum floodplanning requirements. The approved activities include improved building regulations, better mapping and flood preparedness to name a few.

In 2012, Congress phased out subsidized properties with artificially low premiums and increased the annual premium cap to 20% just before Hurricane Sandy hit that October. The devastation from Sandy woke up those living in coastal communities as well as lawmakers to the reality that more frequent and intense storms are a fact of life.

In response, Congress passed the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act which slowed the elimination of flood insurance subsidies for structures in highrisk zones by adding surcharges to all policies.

Everyone was aware of rising premiums and the degradation of our infrastructure, in fact in 2015, during a discussion on Sea Level Rise, one Virginia Beach council member called the problem a “time bomb.” Then following Hurricane Matthew in October 2016, increasing numbers of citizens demanded better storm water maintenance and better building standards. Yet, the city didn’t qualify for the CRS program until 2019. As a result of the delay, residents are just now receiving a15% reduction in premiums. Imagine the money for floodprotection we could have amassed if our leaders had shown the proper urgency?

The poor leadership persists to this day. In 2019, after Virginians demanded action through a constitutional amendment, the Virginia legislature enacted a law to allow cities to partially exempt property taxes to offset costs of private flood mitigation. This law incentivizes property owners to put their own resources toward flood mitigation efforts. Even though FEMA has long-established mitigation standards and guidelines, our council still has not taken advantage of this law.

Encouraging mitigation, street by street and house by house, will lead to lower insurance premiums, create jobs and sustain real estate values. This is particularly important for homeowners in high risk zones. However, flood mitigation will keep our real estate tax base stable and reliable as a source of revenue for the entire city.

Some of our leaders still lack the urgency necessary to take important steps. For instance, even after the city paid an engineering firm $3 million over five years to study the problem, four members of council in June supported a failed attempt to delay implementation of new public works design standards. These standards are basic requirements to combat flood damage by demanding approved stormwater data engineers use for construction design plans and other changes which improve the resiliency of new construction; just the kind of information necessary to increase our CRS rating and further reduce premiums.

If we are to meet the danger of sea level rise and recurrent flooding, we must first find leaders with vision and backbone.