Upper Makefield Township

Residents are invited to review new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplain maps at a community meeting, hosted by the Upper Makefield Township Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors next Wednesday, April 27 at 7:00 pm. Residents who live in or near a floodplain are encouraged to attend, as residents may find their home's floodplain status change in the new maps. Download an agenda.

FEMA is in the process of remapping the flood zones in Bucks County. At this meeting information will be presented on the revised Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report and Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). These two reports are used to determine floodplain development regulations and who must buy flood insurance.

Meeting presenters include: Lynn Bush, Executive Director of the Bucks County Planning Commission, Dave Bollinger, Region III Mitigation Outreach Coordinator for FEMA, as well as township officials. They will be addressing questions of the new maps, availability, appeals process, and impact on township ordinances.

Reasons for the Update

The redrawn maps use a new base map to improve accuracy as well as new data and studies. Also part of the redraw, a Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map compatible with GIS is being produced. Bucks County plans to make the maps available to the public electronically for the first time.

More accurate, digitally available maps will make it easier for local officials to plan for and protect people and property from flooding.

To find out what else has changed, as well as appeal and protest processes, download FEMA's Flood Hazard Mapping Fact Sheet and attend the public meeting. If you cannot attend the meeting, you may view it on Channel 22, or view it online.