Commissioners revise county flood ordinance
By Andrew Bell
Published in News on November 2, 2005 1:49 PM
The Wayne County Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance Tuesday protecting the interests and property of residents in the future and passed a proclamation recognizing heroes of the past at its Tuesday morning meeting.
Commissioners approved a revised Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance. It is the first revision to the ordinance since 1991. The photographs the ordinance is based on are 25 years old. But with improvements in digital imagery, the county Planning Board is able to use more recent photographs that can be accessed by the public through the county Web site.
Also, over the past 25 years there have been developments that have affected the flood plain. Planning Director Connie Price said, in some areas, that the flood elevation has changed. The new maps will show those changes, he said.
The revised ordinance also sets the minimum elevation for buildings at two feet above the flood level. Previously, the minimum was one foot.
Price noted that the city of Goldsboro already requires building floors to be two feet above flood level. Surrounding counties also have a two-foot requirement.
"Wayne County is just moving to the current standard in the flood plain," said Price.
For example, if a new home is built in the flood plain, the floor of the home would have to be two feet above the plain, Price said. That way, if a flood does affect Wayne County, any structures under the new ordinance should be protected from the effects of that flood.
To ensure these precautions are taken, a permit will be necessary for companies who want to build in the flood plain. Also, according to the ordinance, engineers will ensure measurements are followed during the construction process.
Following committee reports and special recognition of staff and county officials, the commissioners passed three proclamations that will be celebrated throughout the county.
First, with more than 13,000 veterans living in the county, the commissioners proclaimed Nov. 11 as Veterans Day in Wayne County. In conjunction with this proclamation, Military Family Appreciation Day will also be observed on Nov. 11.
The last proclamation approved November as Adoption Awareness Month in the county. During the past year, according to the Department of Social Services, the adoption staff has facilitated the adoptions of 60 children in Wayne County. In the previous year, the staff had facilitated 40 adoptions.
The final issue to be considered by the commission was a late addition to the agenda. To provide a sewage line for further sewage treatment to the Georgia Pacific Sanitary Sewer Project, the commission approved the project for the Cox-Edwards Co. and T.A. Loving Co. for $350,300.
The Georgia-Pacific project would use a sewer line from the Genoa sewer system, which is owned by the county, to assist the on-site treatment operation at the site. County Manager Lee Smith said all of the parties involved were able to work together to apply for a grant. The grant from the North Carolina Rural Center will pay for more than $200,000 of the project. The remaining costs will be split by Georgia Pacific and Wayne County, said Smith.
"This is about retaining jobs," he said. "It is a good investment for their expansion in the future and any future industry in the area."
Cox-Edwards Co. will be hired as the project engineer, while T.A. Loving Co. will handle the construction, Smith said.
In other business, the commissioners scheduled a public hearing for Nov. 15 on a request from Two-Ten Investors to rezone property on Powell Road from light industry to heavy industry. The meeting will be held at 9:15 a.m. in the County Commissioners Meeting Room on the fourth floor of the County Courthouse. The next commissioners meeting will begin shortly before the public hearing at 9 a.m. in the same location.