The setup
On July 24, City Council voted 7-0 to adopt recommendations made by an analysis of repetitive loss areas conducted by the city in 2022.
The analysis is designed to increase mitigation opportunities for relatively flooded areas and provide credit to the city’s Community Rating System.
The details
The CRS is a voluntary federal program that rewards communities for adopting and enforcing higher standards than are required by the National Flood Insurance Program, according to agenda documents.
Pearland has a CRS rating of 6, which translates to a 20% discount for eligible policyholders. By conducting the analysis and adopting its recommendations, the city seeks to improve its CRS rating to 5, which would make Pearland residents eligible for a 25% discount on their flood insurance, according to agenda documents.
Quotes of note
“The purpose for doing that is if we can improve our CRS rating, that will result in deeper discounts for flood insurance for Pearland residents that qualify,” City Manager Trent Epperson said.
Some on the council wanted to clarify which properties would be eligible for the program.
“I just wanted to make a point here that for a property to be in the Repetitive Loss Program, they have to have had two losses, two flood claims within the last 10 years,” Council Member Jeffrey Barry said. “So those of you in Pearland that have had or gotten a letter that says your property is in the Repetitive Loss Program, with the passage of the last bond, we’ve affected every single one of these areas with the bond drainage program we just passed.”
Other staff added while the resolution wouldn’t address every situation, it would mitigate some of the cost.
“I want to be careful with the bond program to state that it’s not going to do away with every situation,” Mayor Kevin Cole said. “But it’s going to take a big dent into it.”
The bottom line
According to agenda documents, the city will continue its drainage improvement program to reduce flooding hazards through:
- Drainage maintenance
- The use of higher design standards in ordinances and criteria manuals
- Comprehensive outreach campaigns
- Programs that focus on protecting the city’s waterways
