- December 24, 2024
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Dear Editor:
I have been following County Council meetings for years. I’ll never forget a meeting I attended in 2019 when a homeowner from DeLand stated he’d been asking the council for over a year to look at flooding in his neighborhood that keeps increasing as more homes are built. I have seen that homeowner, joined by others throughout the county, pleading with the council to do something.
Chairman Brower brought intense scrutiny to this issue by suggesting a moratorium on new construction. Not unexpectedly, the council did not want to even discuss this, but admirably Vice Chair Troy Kent proposed asking staff to provide input on improvements to the county’s obviously overwhelmed stormwater system, a solution that gives the council the opportunity to accept their responsibility.
As homes repeatedly flood, their value decreases, as will the county’s tax base. These problems will only get worse as we experience more flooding due to more frequent and intense rainfall events, stronger hurricanes, and less ability for stormwater to drain due to sea level rise (and concurrent rising rivers and groundwater table).
A moratorium is drastic but not as drastic as losing your home, and there are many solutions to the flooding issues in between a moratorium and doing nothing: revitalize older areas with existing infrastructure; buy vacant land for stormwater storage “parks”; managed retreat; and no more building in vulnerable areas, to name a few. I implore the County Council to do what is in the best interest of their constituents.
Patricia Gertenbach
Ormond by the Sea
