Local flood plain managers hope to learn from Harvey storm response

Flood plain professionals are watching how their counterparts in Houston, Texas are dealing with more than four feet of rainfall from the tropical depression forecasters call Harvey.

Andrew Stuffler is the city of Santa Barbara’s Flood Plain Manager and Chief Building Official.

He said it is nice to watch people working together.

“There’s always lessons learned from other tragedies, tragedies that happen elsewhere.We are looking at that. How do they respond to the tragedy for rescue? We look at what do they do for mitigation measures. Did they elevate structures? Did they provide flood proofing? How did that work? Was it effective? How did they recover after the flooding,” said Stuffler.

Before the storm, Stuffler’s office was preparing for a Sept. 12, Flood Plain Management Ordinance update.

He has a feeling people in the city council chamber that day will be paying close attention, now.

“Here, we have a history of flooding, but we are in a drought. They think of water as an asset, but they don’t realize we are also prone to flooding,” said Stuffler.

The City of Santa Barbara Planning Division has been working on a new zoning ordinance (NZO) for several years.

The NZO goes into effect October 1, but won’t include the coastal zone until it gets Coastal Commission approval.

Senior Planner Danny Kato said, “The whole thing is online, we have diagrams, tables, it is easy to read. If you are planning to do any development on your property, new remodel, an addition, you’ll find it a lot easier.”

There are several hundred parcels in flood zones that have been determined by FEMA.

People can learn more about flood plains and flood zones and the new zoning ordinance at www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov.