Comments sought on proposed updates to floodplain development requirements
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Source: Comments sought on proposed updates to floodplain development requirements ↗ Last modified: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 20:07:32 GMT
The City of Portland seeks your feedback on important changes to the City’s building codes that guide development activities in floodplains. These changes will help the City meet federal requirements to protect threatened and endangered species.
What led us here
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administers the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP establishes allowances and minimum standards for development in the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), also known as the 100-year floodplain.
All federal agencies are required to ensure their programs do not harm federally protected species. To comply with that requirement, FEMA consulted with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the federal agency responsible for preserving many of the protected species in Oregon. In April 2016, NMFS issued a Biological Opinion ↗ that determined the development allowed by the NFIP in the SFHA jeopardizes the continued existence of 16 threatened or endangered species.
In response, FEMA is developing long-term compliance measures and is preparing to submit an Environmental Impact Statement for review ↗ under the National Environmental Policy Act. Last July, FEMA notified the City of Portland and other local governments of a new requirement to implement interim changes to the minimum NFIP requirements called the Pre-Implementation Compliance Measures (PICMs) ↗. The PICMs prohibit a net loss in three proxies for natural floodplain function—flood storage, stormwater management, and tree replacement—in order to make the NFIP compliant with the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The PICM requirements are expected to be in effect until communities adopt long-term ESA compliance measures approved by FEMA once the Environmental Impact Statement is finalized.
What Portland has done so far
The City has been implementing a phased long-term implementation approach to ESA compliance in its floodplains, per guidance in the Biological Opinion. In October 2023, the Portland City Council adopted changes to the City’s building and zoning ↗ codes that apply to floodplain development. The changes modified flood storage and vegetation management requirements. These changes ensure the City remains in compliance with the NFIP development requirements and maintains existing discounts on flood insurance rates for residents and property owners in the City.
The amendments to the City’s building code approved in 2023 were implemented in two phases. The first phase started in March 2024 ↗ and helped maintain the City’s standing in the NFIP by better aligning the City’s floodplain development code ↗ with the State of Oregon’s Model Flood Hazard Ordinance ↗. The second phase began last October ↗ and increased flood storage compensation requirements for certain flood hazard areas.