The Seattle City Council’s Land Use and Sustainability Committee will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, March 4, at 9:30 AM, about Council Bill (CB) 121152. The meeting will be held at:
Seattle City Hall
City Council Chambers, 2nd floor
600 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
The CB would:
- Adopt maps identifying properties that are at risk of flooding
- Approve regulations and procedures for development and redevelopment in areas at risk of flooding
In February of 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) required Seattle to update our floodplain regulations to include FEMA’s new Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) and the Flood Insurance Study (FIS). FEMA’s adoption of the new map and study also included an audit of Seattle’s floodplain regulations. Through the audit, FEMA identified several places in Seattle’s code that needed to be amended to comply with the minimum standards in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). FEMA included the following required amendments in their audit:
- New definitions and updates to existing definitions to meet minimum standards
- Updates to the regulatory floodway development standards
- The inclusion of a newly mapped coastal high hazard flood zone (VE zone) and required regulations for this zone
In order to meet FEMA’s requirements, City Council adopted interim Floodplain Development Regulations on July 20, 2020, as Ordinance 126113 and extended interim regulations 10 times through subsequent ordinances with the latest interim regulations adopted in January 2026.
The interim regulations and extensions were to provide additional time for our department to develop permanent regulations and to work with the Port of Seattle on the appeal of our July 2021 SEPA Threshold Determination. These extensions allowed the City to remain in compliance with FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program, which allows property owners in floodplains to purchase new flood insurance, renew existing policies or obtain federally backed loans.
We updated the proposed permanent Floodplain Development Regulations based on input from the Port of Seattle and published the Threshold Determination for the updated proposed permanent Floodplain Development Regulations on August 1, 2024. On August 21, 2025, we issued an Addendum to the August 2024 Threshold Determination. The intent of these declarations is to satisfy the requirement of the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA; RCW 43.21C), including the requirement to inform the public of agency decisions pursuant to SEPA.
People who wish to participate in or attend the hearing may be offered the opportunity to do so remotely. If this is the case, the City Council will provide instructions on the meeting agenda on how to participate remotely. Please check the City Council agenda a few days prior to the meeting.
Print and communications access is provided if you request it ahead of time. Seattle City Council Chambers is accessible. Here are directions to the City Council Chambers, and information about transit access and parking.
WRITTEN COMMENTS
For those unable to attend the public hearing, written comments may be sent to:
Councilmember Eddie Lin
600 4th Avenue, Floor 2
PO Box 34025
Seattle, WA 98124-4025
or by email to council@seattle.gov
Written comments should be received by Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 5:00 PM.
INFORMATION AVAILABLE
Copies of the proposal may be obtained from the City Clerk website. Please reference Council Bill No. 121152 in the “Search” field.
Questions regarding the ordinance or requests for electronic copies may be directed to Maggie Glowacki of the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections at (206) 386-4036, or Ketil Freeman of the Seattle City Council Central Staff at (206) 295-3827.