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Board delays decision on flood plain management ordinance

Faced with a December deadline to adopt a flood plain management ordinance, the Mathews County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday chose to put off a public hearing on the matter for at least another month.

Mathews County Building Official Jamie Wilks had recommended that the board advertise for a public hearing on an ordinance that would include a “freeboard” provision to add one foot to the required height of foundations in certain flood-prone zones. He said the extra height increases safety and leads to savings in insurance costs for waterfront property owners.

But supervisor Jack White objected to the extra cost the measure would mean for contractors, while supervisor Janine Burns pointed out that the board has a responsibility for “governing in an at- or near-sea-level county.”

“To require a best practice of one extra foot is not, I think, burdensome,” she said.

Burns moved to go to public hearing with the freeboard measure included, but her mot...

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