COUNTDOWN TO MAP ADOPTION

Below is a reminder of important dates for the Flood Insurance Rate Map adoption:

OCTOBER 19^th: Scituate Special Town Meeting, Scituate High School Gymnasium at 7:00PM.  The town meeting where citizens will be asked to adopt the Flood Insurance Rate Maps for the Town of Scituate.  In Scituate, this reuqires a majority vote to pass.

OCTOBER 24^th: Marshfield Special Town Meeting, Marshfield High School Auditorium at 7:00PM.  The town meeting where citizens will be asked to adopt the Flood Insurance Rate Maps for the Town of Marshfield.  In Marshfield, this requires a 2/3 vote to pass.

NOVEMBER 4^th : The FIRM effective date.  The date most flood insurance related decisions must be made by.

In this past weeks Marshfield Mariner, our monthly column outlined some items to keep in mind on these important dates and meetings:

1. For those newly mapped into a special flood hazard area (the V or A zone) for the first time under the new FIRMs, a Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) should be purchased before the November 4^th map effective date. Purchasing the PRP before the map effective date will give those insured’s 2 years of the low rates versus 1 year if individuals wait until after the map effective date.  If you do wait until after the map effective date, you have 11 months to purchase flood insurance or you will be asked to pay the full rate for the zone you are in.
2. Those with Letter of Map Amendments (LOMAs) will have their LOMAs  “re-validated” based on the proposed maps. The first round of re-validation has been done, and the results can be found on the Letter of Final Determination. This letter is on both the Town’s and Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalitions (MCCC) website.
3. We have spent the past several months listening to all sides of the discussion, and find it our place to inform residents on why some will be voting against the flood maps, and the repercussions of not adopting the flood maps. Discussions with individuals who will be voting against the flood maps included points such as confusion or lack of knowledge with procedures going forward for the community and the citizenry.  Also discussed was the inaccurate modeling and lack of exploration of different flood models.  Also discussed was the fact that the maps are inaccurate by admission of consultants, FEMA, and others.  Our mission was also to make the community aware of the implications if flood maps are not adopted.

If we vote NO on October 24^th, then Marshfield will be suspended from the NFIP. This means, amongst other things:

• Property owners will not be able to purchase NFIP flood insurance policies and existing flood policies will be non-renewed.
• Federal disaster assistance will not be provided to repair buildings in flood hazard areas for damage caused by a flood.
• Federally insured or regulated lending institutions, such as banks and credit unions, will still be able to make loans for buildings in flood hazard areas in town. However, some lenders may voluntarily choose not to make loans.

As always, we have map adoption documents on our website, or reach out to us with any questions.