The Third River Runs Through It

I'm sorry. I believe I posted incorrect info re the Planning Board meeting. The meeting is Wednesday night, April 18. Everyone who lives in the Brookside Park/Liongate areas should attend. This about more than just quality of life. A decision to build on that property will have very serious consequences and cause the current residents additional damage and financial hardship.

Similar flood concerns affect the town of Little Falls.

FEMA's new maps broaden floodplain
Friday, July 27, 2007

By JENNIFER H. CUNNINGHAM
HERALD NEWS

Some residents will face higher insurance premiums and lower property values if two neighboring Passaic County municipalities adopt new floodplain maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The maps, issued to Little Falls and West Paterson earlier this month, now show streets near the Peckman River to be in the flood zone even though originally they were not.

What it means to you
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What's new: FEMA has issued new floodplain maps for West Paterson and Little Falls.

What's next: Little Falls will host a public hearing on the new maps in the coming weeks. FEMA wants the municipalities to adopt the maps by Oct. 1.

What they're saying: "We're very upset about it," said Kathy McCabe of Little Falls.

Newly affected streets in Little Falls include: East Main Street, Cedar Grove Road, Francisco Avenue, Long Hill Road, Harrison Street, Madison Avenue, Marietta Street, Jackson Street, Peckman Road, Hopson Avenue.

Newly affected street in West Paterson include: Whippany Avenue.

However, since the maps are unclear and don't label certain streets, Little Falls will host a public hearing on the maps in the next few weeks, Councilman Paul Hugginssaid Thursday. A FEMA official is expected to attend, Huggins said.

It was not clear Thursday if West Paterson would also host a public hearing on the maps. The new maps have a larger impact on Little Falls than on West Paterson, the FEMA documents show.

Little Falls and West Paterson now have three months to request changes before FEMA's Oct. 1 adoption deadline. Barbara Lynch, a FEMA spokeswoman, did not return calls Thursday for comment on the new maps.

If the municipality adopts the maps, it will stay eligible for coverage under the National Flood Insurance Program, which FEMA administers. If it doesn't, the municipality may lose its flood insurance coverage. Owners of homes located in a floodplain must purchase flood insurance through the NFIP if they want to get or keep a mortgage, according to the NFIP Web site.

"It would be a very drastic move not to adopt these maps," Huggins said.

However, residents can challenge being included in the floodplain by having their property surveyed, Huggins added.

The current maps that the municipalities use were issued in 1981.

Now those newly affected residents in Little Falls say they are not happy with the proposed FEMA reclassification.

"We're very upset about it," said Kathy McCabe of Reiners Road, who purchased a $500,000 home a year ago. "My property value is going to decrease. People feel that we don't have a choice."

Another resident, Rose Calello, said she was shocked to hear the street where she bought a house last month may become part of the floodplain.

"We just closed on this house on June 29," said Calello, of Hopson Avenue. "If I would have known that they were considering to put this house in a flood zone, I wouldn't have even looked at it."

Nick Agnoli, a flood engineer and Little Falls flood board member, questioned whether the FEMA maps would help residents, since the area surrounding the Peckman hasn't flooded in nearly eight years.

"I don't see a benefit in moving all those people into the flood zone," he said.

Agnoli said he may consider moving now that his house on Cedar Grove Road is in a floodplain.

"You have a lot of people that bought on that road specifically so they wouldn't be in a flood zone," Agnoli said. "To be honest, my intention now is that we are probably going to sell the property. My property value is going to take a hit."

In a letter accompanying the new floodplain maps, Mary Jo Mullen, project engineer for FEMA's mitigation division, asked local officials to restrict development in floodplains.

"Future development of projects upstream could cause increased discharges, which could cause increased flood hazards," Mullen said. "Your community must regulate all proposed floodplain development and ensure that permits required ... have been obtained."

Reach Jennifer H. Cunningham at 973-569-7162 or Cunningham@northjersey.com.

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

"Nick Agnoli, a flood engineer and Little Falls flood board member, questioned whether the FEMA maps would help residents, since the area surrounding the Peckman hasn't flooded in nearly eight years."
How often does an area have to flood to be included in a flood plain? I would think if an area flooded in the last eight years, I would be concerned about it happening again. Are there any guidelines?