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County approves flood maps
By
Greg Kane
Record Staff Writer
January 31, 2007 6:00 AM
STOCKTON -
Flood-protection maps that will help
developers build nearly 10,000 homes on
flood plains outside Stockton were
narrowly approved by San Joaquin County
supervisors on Tuesday - on the
condition that the county not be held
responsible for flood damage.
The county
Board of Supervisors also scheduled a
hearing in mid-February to discuss
whether it should continue to review
such documents for developments that
will be swallowed by Stockton and other
cities. Some officials fear the county
opens itself to financial liability in
the event of a devastating flood by
reviewing the plans and submitting them
to the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, known as FEMA, on behalf of
cities that will annex the property.
The board
voted 3-2 to approve flood-protection
maps for a 7,000-home Grupe Co.
development on Shima Tract west of
Stockton and a 3,000-home project on the
east Stockton site of the
Stockton 99
Speedway
and Oakmoore Golf Course. Officials
included disclaimers they hope will
minimize the county's liability in a
flood, but Supervisor Larry Ruhstaller
questioned whether FEMA would allow such
fence-sitting.
"It seems
like we're trying to waffle here and
hope they won't catch us," said
Ruhstaller, who voted against the
proposal with fellow newcomer Ken Vogel.
Representatives from Grupe and the group
of developers involved with the Oakmoore
project lobbied the board to approve the
maps on Tuesday, saying waiting for
Stockton to annex the properties would
delay construction for a year or longer.
The city already tried to submit
flood-protection plans for the Oakmoore
project last year and was denied by FEMA
because it is county property.
The county
has approved such documents on the
city's behalf for decades, said Steven
Winkler, the county deputy public works
director. The projects reviewed Tuesday
are the first since widely publicized
flood disasters such as the Jones Tract
levee breaks and Hurricane Katrina,
however.
They are also
the first since state lawmakers
sponsored legislation to place the
financial burden of flood cleanup and
damages on counties and other local
governments. That bill died last year,
but some fear it will be revived during
the current session, said Public Works
Director Tom Flinn.
It's not
clear whether the county's disclaimer
request will hold water with FEMA.
Contact
reporter Greg Kane at (209) 546-8276 or
gkane@recordnet.com.
Flood map liability worries
S.J. County fears
approvals could leave it vulnerable
By
Greg Kane
Record Staff Writer
January 30, 2007 6:00 AM
STOCKTON -
San Joaquin County officials fear their
role in approving flood-protection maps
for housing developments destined to be
swallowed by Stockton and other cities
will leave the county liable for damages
in the event of a catastrophic flood.
Local
governments and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency are required to sign
off on drainage and flood-protection
plans before developers can build on
properties considered flood plains.
These requirements, known as
"remapping," are meant to ensure an area
is safe from a levee break or other
flood disaster before homes and
businesses can be built, officials said.
Usually, the
local government involved in remapping
is the same that will have jurisdiction
in the planned community. But the county
sometimes is asked to act as a
go-between when unincorporated areas
scheduled for annexation have their
flood reviews.
The county
Board of Supervisors today will consider
submitting remapping documents for two
such projects: a proposed 7,000-home
subdivision by The Grupe Co. on Shima
Tract, west of Stockton; and a
development along the Stockton Diverting
Canal near Highway 99.
The board
also is scheduled to discuss whether to
continue signing off on remapping
documents for projects that eventually
will be annexed by cities. Officials
fear the county's signature on those
documents could leave it on the hook
financially if the properties flood,
County Administrator Manuel Lopez said.
"Something
like Katrina or Jones Tract does make
this more of a concern to the county,"
Lopez said, referring to the hurricane
that destroyed levees in New Orleans in
2005 and to the Delta island that
flooded after a levee broke in 2004.
Stockton
can't conduct the local portion of the
remapping process because it hasn't yet
annexed the properties. City officials
tried to do so last year with the
smaller of the two projects going before
the board today but were rejected by
FEMA, county officials said.
That project,
backed by such developers as Meritage
Homes, Kimball Hill Homes and Legacy
Development, unofficially proposes as
many as 3,000 homes on the site of the
Stockton 99 Speedway
and the nine-hole Oakmoore Golf Course,
east of Stockton, said David Stagnaro, a
senior planner with the city. Developers
have proposed improving flood protection
on the site, which sits at the
confluence of the canal and the
Calaveras River, through a series of
basins and drainage measures, he said.
The other
project, on Shima Tract, is Grupe's
proposed Sanctuary project. The
developer has proposed building up
levees around the development to the
level of 300-year protection, county
officials said.
When levees
broke in the past, the state and federal
governments typically paid for most of
the cleanup and other repair costs, said
Board of Supervisors Chairman Victor
Mow, whose district includes much of the
Delta.
In the past
few years, however, state lawmakers have
tried passing legislation that would
shift financial responsibility for such
disasters to local governments. If that
happens, local governments will have to
be more vigilant about which areas they
are responsible for maintaining, Lopez
said.
Contact
reporter Greg Kane at (209) 546-8276 or
gkane@recordnet.com.
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