Venice, Sarasota County flood insurance discount rising to 25%

VENICE — The flood insurance discount Venice property owners will get rises to 25% on April 1, and that's no joke.

As of that date, the city will move into Class 5 in the Community Rating System administered by the National Flood Insurance Program, CRS Coordinator Christina Rimes told the City Council last month.

It will be the first improvement in the city's rating since 2005, when it achieved Class 6 status, with a 20% discount, she said.

Sarasota County residents also get a 25% discount.

The city entered the program in 1991, earning a 5% discount.

The pending improvement in the city's rating will save property owners more than $240,000, Rimes said.

Participation in NFIP is mandatory for property owners to be able to buy flood insurance and to qualify for FEMA aid after a disaster, she said.

It's possible for the city to advance to even higher classifications, she said, but a number of additional criteria would need to be met that would involve additional staff and expense.

Among other things, the city would need to impose additional restrictions on existing and new construction; craft a watershed master plan, a substantial damage management plan and a repetitive loss area analysis; and adopt strict flood mitigation policies.

It already meets one standard, however. Class 1 requires that a minimum of 45% of buildings in special flood hazard areas participate in NFIP and Venice is at 85%, Rimes said.

Few communities in the state or nationally have gone to the trouble and expense of achieving a higher rank than Class 4. Of 244 communities in Florida, only six rank higher than Venice, and there is none in Class 1.

Nationwide, there are only 27 communities in the top four classes, and just two in Class 1, Rimes' presentation shows.

The state average is a Class 6, she said, and the national one is a Class 7.

Just to move into Class 5 the city had to show that it has a flood insurance promotion plan; has preserved about 45% of the special flood hazard areas as open space; and implemented a flood warning system, among other actions, she said.

That's in addition to general CRS requirements including mapping flood-related hazards and sharing the data with the public; maintain a floodplain management plan; and improving emergency preparedness and response.

City staff and the Citizen Advisory Board are working on after-action reports that will be used in the latter regard.