Flood plain map leaves resident high and dry

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Hurley — While they may have been sympathetic to his plight, there was little the members of the Iron County Comprehensive Planning/Land and Zoning Committee could do Monday for Jim Youngs other than agree to fund a study to determine whether a permit could be issued allowing Youngs to build a house on his property in Kimball, Wis.

The issue preventing Youngs from constructing a house on the property he purchased from the county in 2012 is it falls in a flood plain on county maps, even though the elevation of the property makes it unlikely it would actually flood.

“There used to be a house on this lot and now that house has been torn down, and the property owner — the Youngs — they wish to build a new house there,” said Zoning Administrator Thomas Bergman. “The issue they ran into is that it’s currently all Zone A flood plain, so that makes it difficult for me to issue a permit.

“It’s pretty obvious it’s well above the river and a flood would be unlikely. The issue ... is our flood plain maps are old, but unfortunately they are the maps (the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Natural Resources) and our ordinances require us to follow.”

Bergman explained there are two parts to a flood plain a flood fringe and floodway and if a flood study showed the house was located in the fringe, he could issue a permit.

There is a compliant building location on the property, according to Bergman, meaning a house could be built elsewhere on the property — but it would require additional expenses, such as relocating the septic system.

Bergman said part of the difficulty with the situation is the maps don’t recognize elevations and technology has evolved since they were created to allow for more precision.

Regardless of whether Bergman wants to issue a permit, he said his hands were tied by the county’s ordinances.

“I sympathize with the property owner, absolutely, this is a bad situation,” he said. “My responsibility to the county is to protect the county.”

County Board Chair Joe Pinardi said he consulted with the county’s attorney regarding the possibility of a waiver for the property, but this didn’t appear possible.

In addition to violating the county’s ordinance, Bergman said issuing a permit without new information could result in the entire county being removed from the federal flood insurance program.

Youngs told the committee that he had a builder ready to go to work, had already invested a considerably amount into the property and was unaware of the restriction when he bought the property from the county.

He also told the committee that his 87-year old neighbor doesn’t remember the property ever flooding.

The study is expected to cost around $10,000, according to information at the meeting, and Bergman will attempt to get a contractor to complete it as soon as possible.

The committee also agreed the issue needed to be examined to ensure the county didn’t sell properties with similar restrictions in the future.