OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.NET
NOVEMBER 18, 2016
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
BUSINESS
MASON’S CLOSING Ocean City book store open for business 30 years will shut its doors in late November – Page 31
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STEWART DOBSON/OCEAN CITY TODAY
SEMI-SUPER MOON Technically, it wasn’t a super moon Tuesday night, that having taken place Monday night, when an overcast sky prevented anyone on the coast from seeing the closest full moon to the Earth in 68 years. But those who ventured out the night before or the night after were still treated to a spectacular moonrise.
FEMA shift a super saver Flood map correction will reduce insurance premiums by hundreds of thousands
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (Nov. 18, 2016) The seven months it took the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to revise Ocean City’s flood maps and put several buildings on condominium row back into low-risk flood zones was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to resort property owners, maybe much more. The flood map mistake resulted in exorbitant flood insurance premiums for a number of properties and the correction that has just been accepted should send them tumbling down. The Rainbow on 112nd Street, as
an example, had been quoted an annual flood insurance premium of $464,000 after it was included in the VE (storm velocity) zone. Now, with the flood line moved, that cost will drop 95 percent, down to somewhere in the $22,000 range. That change will be mirrored for several buildings from 93rd Street to the Delaware line. “It’s very good news,” said City Engineer Terry McGean. “We’re glad FEMA agreed to work with us on this, and we got a lot of help from our congressional delegations.” Months earlier, several residents appealed to the mayor and City Council to intervene when their premiums reflected what turned out to be erroneous changes made to the flood map in 2015. The issue was two dunes built be-
tween the buildings and the ocean. When the Rainbow was built in 1993, the city required a dune to be built for storm protection. In the last two decades, the Army Corps of Engineers added a second dune as part of the beach replenishment program. Last January, however, the city was notified that FEMA saw two the dunes as one for mapping purposes and then went on to conclude that one dune did not provide adequate protection. Several property owners and Joe Groves of the Delmarva Condominium Managers Association urged the council to act, fearing that sixdigit premiums would cause the ocean front real estate market to collapse. In April, the council agreed to pay See LINE Page 4
Expansion of center to proceed Resort council agrees to add major exhibit space
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (Nov. 18, 2016) The Ocean City Council has agreed to pursue a $34 million expansion of the Roland Powell Convention Center on 4oth Street that will include a new exhibit space to attract larger events. The vote taken during the council’s Tuesday work session followed a presentation of the exSee CITY Page 3