City to have no-wake zones and flood insurance discount

PANAMA CITY − Local flooding was a hot topic in Tuesday's Panama City Commission meeting.

Officials approved the final reading of an ordinance to create no-wake zones in flooded city streets. They also discussed an upcoming 25% discount to residents' flood insurance rates.

The no-wake zone ruling was designed to prevent water damage to surrounding properties caused by wakes from fast-moving vehicles. It passed with a 5-0 vote.

"This gives a mechanism and a tool to slow people down when the streets are flooded, which would create wakes and potentially cause damage to neighboring buildings," City Attorney Nevin Zimmerman said.

The ruling immediately went into effect following the meeting. Violators will pay a $250 fine, and vehicles with three fines will be charged $500 for additional violations.

With flooding a common issue in Panama City following heavy rainfall, officials also announced residents with National Flood Insurance policies soon will pay about 25% less. This is happening because the city has improved its community rating for the NFI Program.

"We really are trying to throw everything we've got at solving flooding issues across the city, and we just made it cheaper today for private owners to get flood insurance themselves," Commissioner Josh Street said.

Panama City has been a part of the NFI's community rating system since 1999, and it has continued to gradually improve its rating since then. It was rated a class 8 in 1999, a class 7 in 2002 and a class 6 in 2013.

Beginning Oct. 1, the city will become a class 5, and that is when residents will see the approximately 25% drop.

"We're experiencing flooding in places that we've never experienced it in the 114-year history of the city, and part of that is because we lost (a lot) of our trees in (Hurricane Michael)," City Manager Mark McQueen said. "Now spaces are more prone to flooding because there's less absorption capacity, particularly when there's a heavy rain.

"You don't have to be in a flood zone to go and get (flood insurance). Homes are typically one of the most valuable assets somebody has, and this would be an incredible asset to help insure your home at a relatively inexpensive rate."