To:  Swannanoa Residents, Property Owners, and Business Owners

From:  The Swannanoa Pride Community Coalition

There will be a very important meeting on Tuesday, December 11 about the newly-released flood maps for Buncombe County.  Residents, property owners and business owners are encouraged to attend to learn more about the flood maps and how they affect individual properties and the Swannanoa Valley as a whole.  A 90-day public comment period on the maps is expected to begin very soon.  Please see the below press release for further information on the December 11 meeting.  (Note:  If you’re unable to attend the meeting in Black Mountain on the 11th, there are additional public meetings in Enka on the 12th and in Asheville on the 14th – see bottom of article.)

RALEIGH – On Tuesday, December 11^th, the residents and business community of the Swannanoa Valley will have the opportunity to review and ask questions about preliminary copies of newly updated Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) developed for the French Broad River Basin.  The maps will be on display beginning at 6:00 p.m.; a presentation on the material will begin at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be at the Black Mountain Public Safety Building, 106 Montreat Road, in Black Mountain.

Digital versions of the Buncombe County preliminary maps are currently available for public review by contacting your local planning department or searching the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping website at www.ncfloodmaps.com.  Residents who visit the site will find an ‘address locator tool’ to help them locate individual properties and see their relationship to mapped flood prone areas.  Other tools are available to assist them with viewing and downloading digital data from the website.

The December 11^th public meeting provides an opportunity for residents to see the results of the advanced digital technology used to create the new flood maps.  County and municipal officials will be on hand to help residents locate particular properties on the maps and determine their level of flood risk.  Representatives from the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program and North Carolina Floodplain Management will make short presentations on the map production process, features of the new maps, how they can be used to reduce future losses due to flooding, and their connection with flood insurance and floodplain management.  Attendees may also see a demonstration of the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Information System.  Following the presentation, state and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) representatives will be available to answer questions about the mapping process, flood insurance coverage, and floodplain management topics. 

Buncombe County’s new Flood Insurance Rate Maps were produced by the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety under a unique partnership with FEMA.  The partnership agreement, signed in September 2000, assigns to the department the primary responsibility for creating and maintaining all Flood Insurance Rate Maps for North Carolina.  The effort to remap the state’s floodplains was spurred by the devastation caused by Hurricane Floyd, which flooded large areas of eastern North Carolina and left thousands of people homeless.  This disaster highlighted North Carolina’s vulnerability to natural disasters and the need for accurate, up-to-date floodplain maps. 

Public Meetings

Tuesday, December 11th

Black Mountain Public Safety Building
106 Montreat Road, Black Mountain

6:00 PM Map Viewing, 6:30 PM, Presentation

Wednesday, December 12th

AB Tech Enka Campus
1459 Sand Hill Road, Enka

12:30 PM Map Viewing, 1:00 PM Presentation

December 13

Asheville Public Works Building
161S. Charlotte Street
Conference Room (A109)

6:00 PM Map Viewing, 6:30 PM