Revised FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map
Letter of Map
Revision
Overview
If you received a letter about a Letter of Map Revision (“LOMR”) in the mail, below is some helpful information to help you understand why you received it. The LOMR updates will result in changes to the floodplain mapping that could potentially benefit your property:
Some context:
– The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) works to support United States’ citizens and ensure the nation’s strength against all hazards, including flooding.
– Flood maps are one of the tools used to understand an area’s risk to flooding and what actions can be taken to protect the residents.
– As part of the development process for the Suffolk Downs site, The HYM Investment Group, LLC, (“HYM”) the project’s development team, and Vanassee Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (“VHB”), the civil engineers on the project site, studied resiliency measures and discovered errors in the existing FEMA flood maps.
– HYM and VHB undertook the process of revising these errors and have submitted a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) to FEMA that will revise the currently effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps for both Boston and Revere.
What this means for you/your property:
– HYM and VHB’s map revisions will add critical existing infrastructure that was previously missing to the map and will more accurately depict the 100-year floodplain.
– The infrastructure missing from the current map includes the tide gate and pump station on Bennington Street, next to Belle Isle Marsh, that is operated by the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR).
– The revisions made to this map will reduce the extent and elevations of the FEMA floodplain near Sales Creek in Boston and Revere.
– This will benefit the residents of Revere and Boston as well as the Suffolk Downs redevelopment by reducing and possibly eliminating flood insurance premiums required by FEMA.
What’s next:
All property owners who fall within the floodplain impacted by the LOMR, have been notified with a letter from both HYM as well as VHB. VHB will be holding an Open House for Revere residents on Tuesday, March 7th from 5-7pm at Revere City Hall and for East Boston residents on Tuesday, March 14th from 4-6pm at the East Boston Branch of the Boston Public Library to answer any questions on the LOMR process and what this means for you and your home.
FEMA Effective vs.
Revised Floodplain
Source Info: ESRI World Imagery, FEMA Flood Insurance Study - Suffolk County, MA 2016 Beals & Thomas Survey - 2020 [NAVD 88] NOAA LiDAR Topobathymetric 2016
Frequently Asked Questions
LOMR is a “letter of map revision”, revising the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) map to display changes to floodplains, regulatory floodways, or flood elevations.
“The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supports citizens and emergency personnel to build, sustain, and improve the nation's capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.”
The Department of Conservation & Recreation oversees the natural culture and recreational resources for more than 450,000 acres through Massachusetts.
A floodplain is a generally flat area of land near a body of water, such as a river, lake, or ocean. FEMA defines these areas according to varying levels of flood risk and depicts them on a community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map.
As part of the development process for the Suffolk Downs site, HYM and VHB studied resiliency measures and discovered errors in the existing FEMA flood maps, which failed to include already existing infrastructure, such as the Bennington Street Pump Station.. VHB HYM undertook the process of revising these errors and has submitted a Letter of Map Revisions (LOMR) to FEMA that will revise the currently effective Flood insurance Rate Maps for both Boston and Revere.
If you received a letter, your property falls within the community Flood Insurance Rate Map that is being revised, and your property’s level of flood risk may go down as it could potentially be moved out of the flood plain. If your property is moving out of the flood plain, this may also mean a change in flood insurance premiums required by FEMA.
These map revisions will add already existing critical infrastructure to the map and will more accurately depict the 100-year floodplain. The infrastructure missing from the current map includes the tide gate and pump station on Bennington Street, next to Belle Isle Marsh, that is operated by the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR). The revisions made to this map will reduce the extent and elevations of the FEMA floodplain near Sales Creek in Boston and Revere. This will benefit the residents of Revere as well as the Suffolk Downs redevelopment by reducing and possibly eliminating flood insurance premiums required by FEMA.
VHB will be holding an Open House for Revere residents on Tuesday, March 7th from 5-7pm at Revere City Hall and for East Boston residents on Tuesday, March 14th from 4-6pm at the East Boston Branch of the Boston Public Library to answer any questions on the LOMR process and what this means for you and your home.
It can potentially help you on your insurance cost because your property is no longer in a flood plain, but you should consult with your insurance carrier for confirmation.
There is no change to your current property condition. The new flood plain map will not have any negative effect on the current condition of the property.
VHB will be holding an Open House for Revere residents on Tuesday, March 7th from 5-7pm at Revere City Hall and for East Boston residents on Tuesday, March 14th from 4-6pm at the East Boston Branch of the Boston Public Library to answer any questions on the LOMR process and what this means for you and your home. Or contact our partners at VHB using the contact box below.
Please visit atsuffolkdowns.com/beachmont-square to learn about our first Phase under construction.
Abutter Notification Letter Downloads
Please find copies, in both English and Spanish, of the two letters you received in the mail regarding the LOMR process.
Contact our civil engineering partners at VHB to learn more.