Appeal process opens in Gulf County for preliminary flood maps

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HAVANA – The 90-day appeal and comment period concludes May 12, 2020 for Gulf County property owners and business owners wishing to challenge the preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map and Flood Insurance Study reports issued last fall by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Preliminary copies of the revised Florida Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) were provided to Gulf County on May 2, 2016. The FIRM and FIS were revised August 9, 2019.

Digital copies of the revised FIRM and FIS report materials are available at http://portal.nwfwmdfloodmaps.com.

These reports include proposed flood hazard information for certain locations in the unincorporated areas of Gulf County as well as the addition or modification of Special Flood Hazard Areas, the areas that would be inundated by the base (1-percent-annual-chance) flood; base flood elevations or depths; zone designations; or regulatory floodways.

Appeals are formal objections to proposed base flood elevations or flood depths. They can also be made to Special Flood Hazard Areas boundaries and zones or floodways. Appeals must be based on technical data showing proposed maps to be scientifically incorrect. Anyone making an appeal must include the method, data, and analysis used to support the claim.

Comments are objections to a base map feature change such as labels, incorrect roads, or jurisdictional boundaries.

The public can send comments and appeals to Lee Collinsworth, Gulf County Planner/Floodplain Manager, at  lcollinsworth@gulfcounty-fl.gov, or contact via phone at 850- 227-9562.  All information received will then be forwarded to FEMA for final resolution.