My lot is partially in an A zone and partially in a V zone. I was barely affected by the storm but I wanted to raise my house anyway because of the flood insurance estimates. I was told I would have to put my house up on pilings which is physically impossible logistically. I can raise it if I just put on block foundation. Is there someone out there who can tell me who I can speak to specifically about my situation? My house is actually in the A zone but part of my lot is in a V zone but I was still told I need pilings. Has anyone seen update flood insurance estimates?

Your best bet is to speak with a local engineer click on my company name and find me on Facebook and I can help you with any issues you have.

With all due respect Mayor, you state that our community is in a different situation from our northern neighbors, however, if the eye of the storm landed where it was predicted, we too would be in those northern communities' shoes. With that said, you as our community leader need to not only help those who are in a position to "wait and see" but also those of us who are in need of rebuilding our homes now. But with the city's ordinances contradicting one another it is virtually impossible to do so with out a variance, which will not only cost thousands, but take months in the process.

As a local business owner and resident I've heard it all from both sides. Nothing is set in stone and won't be for months to come. Problem is we might never get the option of what we want and our neighbors might have to leave its painful. The mayor in my opinion so far is saying the right things. Its a slippery road.

Thanks Mayor Gillian. Your leadership and concern for the best interests of our town is noted and appreciated. Be strong.

Thank you OTI. It’s nice to know someone else was paying attention.

There are two hurdles to overcome and the City is responsible for one of them. If you don’t conform to FEMA’s elevation requirements you either won’t be able to get flood insurance or will pay a premium for it. But the other hurdle is, if you need to rebuild and the cost of remediation exceeds 50%, you will need to bring your home into compliance with the current building code, which as mentioned is changing all the time. It is the City’s requirements, and not FEMA’s, that you need to meet in order to get a building permit.

You are absolutely correct that the recent BF + 2 ordinance will make it more difficult for many property owners to rebuild. There are a number of reasons for that. An attempt was made in between first and second readings (I still haven’t seen any evidence to the contrary) to redefine what is and what is not habitable space.

Habitable space applies to floor area ratio, which is the ratio of allowable floor space to lot size. The intent was to exclude and limit habitable space in the sub floor so it can be applied to the living area, thus increasing the size of the living area. Unfortunately, the way that was done will make a large number of existing structures nonconforming. Unless you’re going to tear down and rebuild from scratch, you will need to apply for variances. And I most certainly feel for anyone whose home was built at BF + 1 (the standard adopted by the state) since they’re no longer in compliance either.

Christie and FEMA are now taking the heat. We should challenge the new elevations. But in terms of what you need to do to obtain a building permit, that's on the City. A lot of people were thrown to the wolves so that developers will have a bigger "building envelope" to work in.

Another to keep in mind, Sandy was NOT a 100 year event for Ocean City - it was about a 1.5' short of that. To use anecdotal evidence from an 'almost' event to determine a 100 year flood mapping is probably short sighted. Not saying the FEMA maps are 100% correct, but they have built a protocol for determining v-zones. Casual observation is not a sound method and probably won't back up in court.

Additionally, the new FEMA maps are there to save the government money. How often do you see people on this site complain of 'high taxes' and 'big government'. Well, here you go - they don't want to pay out in the future.

As for this town becoming a town of only wealthy people - that ship has already sailed. It happen ten-fifteen years ago and the mortgage lenders and realtors are to blame. There was a time when people could only buy their second home in cash, this kept real estate prices low and properties modest. The people who lived here full time knew the consequences of living at the shore and lived accordingly. Now, people are taking mortgages out against their primary residence to 'invest' and have since driven the prices up BIG time. Consequently, your property values go up and so does your insurance. You have to laugh at the 'Haven Avenue coalition' in the South End. There is a reason your property was a lot cheaper than other parts of town. Many of the same people who complain the town is losing its charm are partly the reason why (indirectly).

My opinion.

Hiring coastal engineers is a step in the right direction however, and does give the city grounds to back up changes.

Regarding the 50% damage rule: The Mayor's letter states that the formula is based on the "market value". But other articles/information have stated that it is based on the "assessed value". Assessed value is a concrete number found on our tax statement. Market Value is determined how? Which value is correct? Big question for those of us trying to determine if we qualify for the ICC grant. Can anyone shed light on this? Thank you.

I am grateful to the Mayor for his work fighting the FEMA flood maps. Our home is in the dreaded V-zone, and we are on pilings, totally unaffected by the flood, however, we LOVE Ocean City, and cannot stand the thought of our neighbors and friends and businesses having to endure the possible mandates. How would a church be lifted? What about apartment complexes? Aside from the task of completing such a massive job, how would this affect our city? Many things must be considered. When we live in Ocean City, full time, I think we assume there is always a potential for storm and flood issues. Let's not ruin Ocean City, and I hope the entire Jersey coastline is not adversely affected either.

Thank you, Mayor Gillian. Please also make sure that permits are issued IMMEDIATELY for south end beach replenishment. The south end has been neglected by your administration and all preceeding administrations. Applications for permits to replenish the beaches sould have been made years ago along with the north end. It is way past time to take care of this urgent matter.

Many homeowners have already been mislead due to this tragedy. The number of unlicensed contractors and so called handymen that have scammed people is a shame. Beware my fellow neighbors if you do decide for a quick fix please do your homework first the best deal isn't always the right deal. I encourage all of us to go to meetings or events regarding FEMA TOPICS the more we know the better.

Thanks to the Mayor for realizing what everyone else is thinking. We bought our home 2 months before Sandy and at the time, it was in an A zone. Now we find ourselves in the V zone, and have been under renovations since before the storm. There is no possible way we can elevate our house after our contractor has done so much to level out rooms in an 80 year old house. How can they just put you into a different zone because of a storm! So wrong! I can understand making new ordinances for new construction. But there are a lot of us who can't afford to elevate. The whole bay area would be affected and those homes have been there for years without any flood damage until this one storm. I hope the Mayor can help do the right thing for the people of OC!

Yes, Sir, Mayor Gillian. You have your work cut out for you and high, high on that list should be the south end beaches that have been ignored for the north end forever. Since the south end has many 2nd homeowners and no "influential" owners, we are neglected and sometimes abused (like when a few guys wanted to take our wetlands for a bike ride.) Thanik goodness our protective wetlands were not destroyed but that was a battle that never should have had to take place. The north enders seem to think the south end exists for their use only - use the taxes and ignore the people, the beaches, the roads, the drainage problems. No one's good buddies apparently live in the south end so it is ignored. Time for south end beaches to be replenished. Time for the drainage problems to be addressed and time that a permanent resolution be made that there be no wetland destruction in the south end or anywhere on the island unless it is a matter of life and death! Time to look at the big picture in Ocean City and stop the petty concerns of this good old boy and that good old boy. This town could die - and then it won't matter if there are people spending money in town or on the boardwalk, cause they won't be spending money anywhere at all! That petty argument should not be a priority - we have big problems here!

Mr. Mayor, With all due respect, I must ask this question: Did you know that the Biggert-Waters act was passed in 2012? If not,WHY not? If you did, when did you plan on telling the homeowners of Ocean City?

Mayor - Thanks for the thougtful and helpful letter. Keep them coming. And please continue to rely on experts. There may be too much lay-opinion circulating, particularly on The Patch comments strings and in some of the local papers. Readers should be cautious about the information and advice given in these forums. Many people are in a vulnerable state of mind and may too easily latch onto information that is more comforting to them regardless of where it comes from or how accurate it is. For what it is worth, it may be helpful for people to be conscious of that bias in their reading and also to assess the credentials of people making assertions about important relevant information. Last comment - please pay attention, in mitigation planning, to wetlands protection. The wetlands play a critical role in flood prevention on the bayside and at the inlets. We should not construct in the wetlands unless there is a critical (and essential) public need that cannot otherwise be accomplished. The state and feds are reminding municipalities about this in the wake of Sandy.

The new maps move me from A zone to V zone. This means 3-foot waves are possible. Given the location of my home in the heart of town between Bay and West Ave I can assure you that if 3-foot waves ever reach my home every single structure east of West Avenue will be destroyed. That's how goofed up these maps are. If the V-zone storm every happens based on my location Ocean City ceases to exist.

At the current moment nothing is written in stone our Mayor is approaching this the correct way lets back him.

We are lucky. Our property is in zone A, on the beach, but had not a drop of water in it. In fact, even our outside AC system which is up on just a single row of concrete blocks was fine and turned on and runs perfectly. We are loaning our place to a resident to live in until his is rebuilt. Do we need to do anything?

Good Morning neighbors from G. Sieri Builders we are going to spend time at the FEMA center today at the public library and catch up on recent activity. We encourage homeowners to petition for Grants on raising there homes and for demolition to rebuild. The more people that petition better the chances for Grant money to be spread around to those of us that needed. Stay strong lets get our community back up and running on all cylinders.

I was not aware that there is grant money available to homeowners for elevating or demolishing. How do we petition for grants?

While the FEMA maps could probably use some tweaking, their purpose is to save you, the government, and the insurance companies in the LONG TERM. Where is 'Fairness in Taxes' and the usual 'lower taxes - cut programs' crowd at? How many people screaming for money from the government voted for Romney? (Remember his stance on FEMA funding?).

How about a little history. The National Flood Insurance Program was established in 1968 with the idea of reducing federal disaster relief - in return for communities adopting more stringent building codes. The program worked until the mid 1990s when it started putting out more money than it was taking in - running at huge deficits. Until the NFIP, no flood insurance meant no bank would give anyone a loan to live in flood prone areas - 2nd vacation homes were paid for out of pocket, cash or check. This kept property values low and houses very modest as no one (except for the really rich) would build an expensive dwelling that could get washed away at a complete loss. With the NFIP and insurance being available, banks started issuing loans and properties became larger and more expensive. Additionally, people saw they could 'cash in' on properties by flipping them. They took mortgages out against their primary residence to buy an investment property. This 'investing' caused property values to sky rocket. This means yours and everyone else's insurance premiums go up as its based on the assessed value.

Beware of local contractors who are advising their "neighbors" and won't give out their proposals in writing. I met with the "local" neighborly contractor who showed so much concern on the patch...he won't give out his proposal in writing because he feels you will show it to other contractors. He also said he has his own lift equipment but when pressed could not tell us where it was on a job at this time. Anyone entering an agreement for this scope of work should have their attorney review all contracts and proposals, but you can't do it with this "neighborly concerned contractor".