Massachusetts Residents Reject Federal Flood Insurance Program

ROCKLAND — Rockland residents resoundingly rejected new federal flood maps and a proposed mixed-use zoning overlay district during town meeting amid a lack of trust in town officials and false claims about development.

The few people with flood insurance in town will lose their policies in July, and the town will become ineligible for some federal disaster grants now that voters have rejected the new flood maps.

Monday's town meeting flew through the four articles on the special town meeting including a $68.7 million operating budget, a special fund to hold fees collected from marijuana dispensaries, a policy to use the money and authorization to spend $96,000 in marijuana revenues on two new police cruisers.

Residents also approved $380,000 in general funds for road upgrades and $120,000 in general funds for a new police department roof.

More: Rockland proposes policy for using proceeds from marijuana dispensaries

When town meeting reached new flood maps and zoning bylaws, the town meeting ground to a halt. Passing the articles is required by the federal government for the town and town residents to continue to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Town Administrator Doug Lapp said the town was on a deadline to approve the new maps and zoning bylaws for the flood zones.

More: FEMA cancels flood map deadlines

More: Flood insurance changes could hurt low-income, middle-class New Englanders

Selectman Larry Ryan said only a small percentage of residents are eligible for federal flood insurance, but those who are in the flood zones really do need it and voting against the maps would be a disservice to the people in town who live in flood zones.

"We're not trying to outfox you," he said. "We're here to help you, to help the town progress."

Jacqueline Tieso said the maps the town posted to its website were useless, totally unreadable and lambasted Ryan.

"I hate the phrase 'you people' and I don't appreciate being told, 'There's a deadline and you have to do it now,'" she said.

Robert Baker, a member of the Rockland Zoning Board of Appeals, said the town should have been better prepared to explain the maps and have them ready to be displayed at the meeting.

Lapp said during the meeting he was surprised by the questions and expected the decision to pass the new maps to be unanimous.

Resident Mary Parsons said that the flood maps and zoning bylaws for the maps should be rejected because they will restrict what residents who live in the flood plains can build.

After rejecting the flood maps and flooding bylaws, residents also rejected a series of five warrant articles that would have created a zoning overlay district to allow for dense, mixed-use developments in a 140-acre area from Route 3 to the Hingham-Rockland town line, encompassing Commerce Road and bordering Hingham Street, Reservoir Park Drive and Weymouth Street.

More: Mixed-using zoning district headed to town meeting for vote

Resident Jessica Laverty said no one should be shocked that the people who attended the meeting rejected the flooding or zoning changes.

"I think you don't understand the lack of trust we have for you," she said. "We're saying fix our water, fix our sewer. I don't doubt this is a lovely project but we have brown water, we can't use water in our own yards, so you need to fix what's broken, then you can open the gates."

Selectmen Chairman Mike O'Loughlin said in a Wednesday interview that it seems residents are upset about Chapter 40B projects proposed in town.

In an interview, Lapp said the town will assess the impacts of not being in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Leaving the flood insurance program

Massachusetts Coastal Coalition Chairman Joe Rossi said there are about 55 federal flood insurance policies in Rockland. Those residents who had federal flood insurance will be kicked out of the program in July and will likely not be able to get private insurance.

The private flood insurance market usually only offers plans to areas that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. If they can get plans, the policies will likely be far more expensive than they were before.

Flood insurance is important in case of a flood, but it also determines mortgage eligibility for homeowners with a Federal Housing Administration, or FHA loan, as well as federally-backed mortgage and even private ones.

"The tentacles stretch well beyond the maps," Rossi said.

Rockland will also lose out on some federal mitigation grants and pre- and post-disaster assistance grants.

"This is a pretty serious issue for the town of Rockland," Rossi said.

While the town still has until July 6 to approve the new maps and bylaws, if it misses that deadline it will have to apply to the federal government to reenter the program after it approves them.

Rossi said he has seen resistance to the adoption of new flood maps before, specifically in Marshfield.

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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Rockland residents reject federal flood insurance program

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