The Mathews County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the revised floodplain management ordinance at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the historic courthouse on Court Street.

Revisions to the ordinance are required because of new Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations and new federal insurance rate maps.

The purpose of the ordinance, as stated in the proposed document, is to prevent the loss of life and property, the disruption of commerce and government services, and the expenditure of public funds for flood protection and relief.

It would accomplish this purpose by regulating development and uses that would cause increased flood heights, keeping development out of flood-prone areas, requiring flood-proofing of any new development that does occur in flood-prone areas, and protecting people from buying land in areas that aren’t suitable because of flooding.

The ordinance establishes flood zones and the requirements for building structures within those zones. Three o...