Buda City Council officially adopted on Jan. 19 a 2012 floodplain study, which will help guide development in the city. The council voted 7-0 to approve revising its unified development code, which dictates how and where development should occur. According to an agenda item report city staff has been using data from the study to review development, but it was never formally adopted by City Council. Mayor Todd Ruge said although the data is the “best option we have available,” he is hopeful for an update. “It’s data that was acquired before the last two big events that have happened,” Ruge said referring to floods in October 2013 and October 2015. “I’m not expecting an update every year or every two years. But I don’t think having one every four or five years is much to ask for, especially with our growth.” Halff Associates began in 2010 a county-wide floodplain study. The portion of the study that affects Buda watersheds, such as Onion Creek, was published in 2012. The data will be used to supplement the official FEMA floodplain maps, the last revision for which came in 2005. An update of those maps has been in the works for several years and is expected to be published in November. The new FEMA maps could then be adopted by Hays County municipalities in 2017. The Halff Associates study data used LIDAR, a laser-based radar system, to compile data, which provides a more accurate picture than the FEMA floodplain maps, the city said. Buda is in the midst of a comprehensive revision of its unified development code, expected to be up for adoption by City Council in the coming months. It is unclear if additional flood-control measures will be part of the code update. Ruge said the Halff Associates study should be a “placeholder” until more recent data can be compiled. “I think we owe it not only to our citizens but to potential developers to have the most accurate data,” he said.