Updated Flood Maps Spur Additional Buyouts

In a whirlwind of rejections, re-considerations and approvals, two dozen homeowners of the oft-flooded Woodwinds complex could be looking for a new home within the next year.

And, officials say that's a good thing.

After some back-and-forth with the community, local legislators and a fresh look at updated flood maps for the condominium complex which abuts Pennypack Creek in the north end of Hatboro, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has agreed to cover the bulk of costs associated with buyouts for 24 homes.

"It changed in our favor," Borough Manager Fred Zollers said of the updated flood maps, which will be adopted in the coming year. "Those buildings were actually further into the 100-year flood."

The recent approval doesn't mean that the residents affected can pack their things and find a new home - at least not yet. Zollers said it could take "a year or more" to finish all necessary steps.

"There’s just a lot of stuff that still needs to be done," Zollers said of the voluntary participation forms needed from residents, as well as land surveying, specifications for demolition, land conveyance to Hatboro and funding. "There’s a whole process with FEMA and getting the money released."

FEMA and PEMA–the federal and state agencies–are expected to cover 97 percent of the roughly $5 million project. Residents would be paid their home's appraised value of between $160,000 to $180,000 less 3 percent, according to Zollers. 

The borough has been working with Woodwinds residents for more than two years in trying to find a solution for ongoing property damage stemming from flooding. Since Hurricane Irene in 2011, the borough has led efforts to have the homes hit hardest by that storm and Tropical Storm Lee considered for buyouts. 

Zollers told Patch last month that all 24 units–or six flood-prone Woodwinds buildings in all–had been approved for buyouts and eventual demolition. But, a few weeks following that announcement, the borough received notice that because of an error with the agencies listing the properties as one-story as opposed to two-story units, all but one of the six buildings was approved.

An impromptu meeting with borough officials last week and a second look at flood maps appears to have reversed that decision, meaning all six buildings are once again eyed for demolition, according to Zollers.

Woodwinds resident Tracy Thatford, who endured devastating floods in 2009 and 2011, said she's glad to see light at the end of the tunnel. Still, Thatford said she's keeping her fingers crossed that her home can make it through hurricane season without more flooding.

"We generally will do ok if the rain starts and stops," she said. "There is some anxiety. It’s a possibility that we can get hit again."

Zollers said the most recent approvals do not necessarily mean that the next year is going to be free of obstacles.

"Other things are going to come up that we have to work through," he said. "If we get costs that are way higher than what we projected that could throw a wrench in it."

Describing the ordeal as a "roller coaster ride," Thatford said she's feeling better since finding out that her building is once again included in the buyout.

"I feel pretty good," Thatford said. "I won’t be 100 percent confident until I have the check in my hand."