HomeMy WebLinkAboutOwning Property in SFHA_032321Owning property in a Special Flood Hazard Area
If you own a building with a federally backed loan in the Special Flood
Hazard Area, contact your lender as early as possible to start the
discussion about ϐlood insurance.
For federally backed loans a lender must require ϐlood insurance as a matter of
law when a building is in a Special Flood Hazard Area. A FEMA Letter of Map
Amendment may remove a building from the Special Flood Hazard Area if technically information proves that the
land surrounding a building is actually above the ϐlood elevation or outside of the ϐloodplain. New Flood Insurance
Rate Maps trigger lenders to review their federally backed loans to determine if a building they’ve ϐinanced is in the
Special Flood Hazard Area and thus requires ϐlood insurance under federal law.
Property owners that were already located in the Special Flood Hazard Area on the previous version of the Flood
Insurance Rate Maps will see no change. Buildings that are newly mapped into the Special Flood Hazard Area for
the ϐirst time are eligible for discounted insurance premiums so long as ϐlood insurance is purchased within 11
months of the April 21, 2021 effective date of the new Flood Insurance Rate Maps.
INSURANCE REQUIREMENT
City of Bozeman Floodplain Regulations apply to Special Flood Hazard
Areas.
City Floodplain Regulations must satisfy minimum federal and state ϐloodplain
regulations. These regulations require any new construction, work activity, or
improvement proposed in the Special Flood Hazard Area to obtain a City ϐloodplain permit prior to construction.
Construction of new buildings is prohibited within the Regulatory Floodway of the Special Flood Hazard Area.
Improvements and reconstruction of existing buildings in the Regulatory Floodway may occur. Subject to City
zoning regulations, new building construction may be approved within the Special Flood Hazard Area outside of the
Regulatory Floodway if the building is elevated 2 feet above the Base Flood Elevation. This elevating standard also
applies to existing buildings in the Special Flood Hazard Area undergoing substantial improvement or footprint
expansion.
Please contact to the City Floodplain Administrator prior to undertaking any project in the Special Flood Hazard
Area.
Buildings in the Special Flood
Hazard Area with federally
backed loans are required by
law to carry flood insurance
for the life of the loan.
A City floodplain permit
must be obtained prior to
beginning any construction
within the Special Flood
Hazard Area.
NEW FEMA FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAPS
Promoting flood risk awareness
City Floodplain Administrator
bheaston@bozeman.net
406.582.2280
New Flood Insurance Rate Maps for Bozeman Creek and its tributary streams have been recently
completed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The new maps, dated April 21, 2021,
show ϐlood hazard areas. The Special Flood Hazard Area represents the 1% annual chance ϐlood (aka 100‐
year ϐloodplain), denoted as ‘Zone AE’ on a Flood Insurance Rate Map.
DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS
Owning property in a Special Flood Hazard Area ‐ Zone AE
City Floodplain Administrator
bheaston@bozeman.net
406.582.2280