East Peoria leaders are moving ahead begrudgingly toward accepting new floodplain maps presented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
During its Tuesday meeting, the East Peoria City Council voted 4-1 to approve the first reading of an updated floor plan ordinance that adds about 430 properties to the risk area, specifically portions of the Richland neighborhood and an area near Central Junior High School.
“The practical application here is, what happens is that those properties that have a federally backed mortgage, something from a traditional bank, would have to get flood insurance,” said Ty Livingston, the city’s director of planning and community development.
The members who voted in favor expressed reluctance, but did so believing the city currently doesn’t have a better option. The maps must be adopted by Sept. 7 for properties to be eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program.
But commissioner Mike Sutherland remained adamant in his opposition, feeling FEMA is exceeding its authority.
“FEMA are non-elected people changing our lives without anybody’s blessing,” said Sutherland.
“They’re not as smart as what they think they are, and as you can well bet, I’m not going to support this one iota, not once scintilla tonight. It makes no common sense for us at all. I don’t trust the government, and this is a big reason why.”
The change could see property owners facing higher insurance costs, estimated between $2,000-$5,000 annually. Mayor John Kahl said the city has reached out to elected representatives in Washington, D.C. in an attempt to roll back FEMA’s action — to no avail.
“We got nowhere, and the response was simple: It’s FEMA, we can’t help you,” said Kahl. “We tried, and we’ve tried, and we’ve tried, and you might as well talk to that wall because it’s FEMA, and FEMA does what FEMA wants to do.”
The city council still has two regular meetings before the Sept. 7 deadline. The members potentially could defer approval of the second reading on Aug. 18 in hopes of seeking some form or recourse, before taking a final vote on Sept. 1.
“If a congressman and a United States senator can’t help us, I don’t know where we turn,” said Kahl. “But I think it’s worth continuing the fight to see if we can get these maps changed. I think it’s unfair.”
Sutherland suggested he’d be willing to take the matter as high as possible before he’d accept the new maps.
“I think that if we get a court involved, a judge involved, that to put a stay on this … I would much rather knock on President Trump’s door, begging for him to get involved with this before we approve this,” he said.
