Lynn City Council approves flood maps

LYNN – Federal flood plain maps approved Tuesday by city councilors potentially subject hundreds of local residents to increased insurance costs, but councilors said rejecting the maps meant risking the loss of insurance coverage for homeowners and businesses.”We have a gun to our head. We are being told if we don’t pass this, Lynn won’t be eligible for flood relief,” said Ward 1 Councilor Wayne Lozzi.The Federal Emergency Management Agency did not send a representative to Tuesday’s council meeting, but the five FEMA maps on display before councilors detailed “base flood elevations” spanning the city’s coastline and bordering neighborhoods.”These base flood elevations are intended for flood insurance rating purposes only,” stated a note on each map.The close connection between the maps and insurance rates angered five residents who spoke against council adoption of the maps, including Harold Agin, who said the prospect of increased insurance costs could force him to sell his Oneida Street home.”Don’t force something on me. Help me out,” he asked councilors.Menlo Avenue resident Tony Nowakowski sat in the council hearing confused over what the maps may mean to his insurance bills. The lifelong West Lynn resident lives near Breeds Pond and said he has never purchased flood insurance.”Why am I all of a sudden in a flood zone?” he asked.Prior to the meeting, city Inspectional Services Director Michael Donovan said the number of structures located in local floodplains jumped from 346 to 1,211 with the newly drawn maps. Donovan and Ward 6 Councilor Peter Capano echoed comments earlier this year by U.S. Rep. John Tierney in noting the FEMA maps are, in Donovan’s words, “not that accurate.” Former Councilor Charlie O’Brien told councilors his bank classified him in a flood plain, and he hired a surveyor to successfully dispute the classification.City attorney James Lamanna told councilors a citywide challenge to FEMA’s maps would cost $1.6 million to mount. Den Quarry Road resident Mary Dolan told councilors she purchased flood insurance following 2004 flooding that damaged her property. She said the insurer cancelled her policy two years ago “because the city was not in compliance.”Council President Daniel Cahill said the councilors rejected the FEMA maps after initially reviewing them but noted the communities face a mid-July deadline to approve the maps or jeopardize coverage.”This is the only way to ensure people have insurance to protect their most valuable asset – their home,” Cahill said.