UPDATE: New flood rate maps taking effect in March

New maps related to flood insurance rates will take effect in March for Ocean City residents as a result of changes urged by town leaders.

Terry McGean, city engineer for the town of Ocean City explains the current maps have a major inaccuracy.

The maps were published by FEMA and adopted by the town in July 2015.

“Those maps determine essentially what flood zone you’re in and what flood zone you’re in, determines how much what your flood insurance premium is,” McGean explains.

Since the adoption of the maps, 26 property owners may have been charged up to ten times what they should have been.

The properties are a stretch of mainly condos between 93rd and 123rd Streets and located in areas which were considered “high hazard” for coastal flooding, according to the maps. 

The maps were supposed to be based off the Corps of Engineers’ Beach Replenishment Project, which included a protective dune. McGean says the problem was first brought to the city council’s attention this past spring.

“The way they mapped the line…it actually did not coincide with the corps of engineers’ dune,” he says, “They map the line further to the west of where it should have been mapped.”

Since then, McGean says his office and the town have been working to correct the maps. The process includes resurveying dunes with the Corps of Engineers and working with legislators.

At a city council meeting Tuesday, Mayor Rick Meehan praised McGean’s staff for their efforts and also spoke of the times the town worked with local lawmakers.

“Senator mikulski, Senator Cardin and also congressman Harris. We also met, a couple of times, out on site with their representatives from their offices,” says Mayor Meehan.

Based on that data, FEMA has issued a Letter of Map Revision, moving the line to better coincide with the existing dunes.

McGean says 17 properties have been removed from the areas considered “high hazard” as of early November, with consultants currently in the process of working on the remaining nine.

He says it will be up to individuals to negotiate possible rebates from their insurance companies if they were overcharged.