Apartment Trends Magazine November / December 2015 | Page 73

LONG-AWAITED DETAILS ARRIVE ON FLOOD RISK
EXECUTIVE ORDER
FEMA issued long-awaited guidance to federal agencies on Oct. 8 on how
to implement President Obama’s executive order establishing a Federal Flood
Risk Management Standard. The order will update existing building standards
for federally funded projects, helping ensure that those projects are more resilient to potential flooding caused by climate change and rising sea levels. The
parameters greatly expand the scope of the original order from 1977. Many
argue that they have the potential to significantly increase the cost of construction and impact more areas and projects.

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The implementation parameters leave many questions unanswered for the
apartment housing industry. But we have received key pieces of information
that are helpful:
»»

The order will have no impact on the National Flood Insurance
Program nor will it impact the cost or availability of federal flood
insurance for policyholders;

»»

Projects financed through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not need
to comply with the new standard; and

»»

Permitting through the Army Corps of Engineers will not be impacted as it relates to Clean Water Act Section 404 wetland permits.

The executive order requires agencies like HUD to ensure projects they
fund using federal dollars, such as Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
multifamily properties, be built to meet one of three standards: the best available climate-informed science; the free board approach (that is, adding two
or three feet of clearance above the base flood elevation of the 100-year
floodplain); or the 500-year floodplain defined as areas that have a 0.2% annual chance of flooding. All the standards would provide for much higher
requirements than currently exist.
NAA/NMHC and our industry partners are monitoring this situation
very closely because the prospective standards leave room for significant
uncertainty and inconsistency. But we will have an opportunity to provide
comments since HUD and other key federal agencies will now move forward
with issuing their own standards.
Ultimately, the goal of our comments will be to help prevent disruption
when it comes to FHA multifamily construction and rehabilitation, and
programs like HOME and CDBG.

PRESIDENT VETOES DEFENSE SPENDING BILL
On October 22, President Obama vetoed the nearly $612 billion fiscal
year 2016 annual defense spending bill as anticipated. The Senate and House
had finally reached consensus weeks ago on a handful of holdout issues in the
legislation before sending it to the President for his signature.
That included funding for the Basic Allowance for Housing – a core
military benefit that compensates service members for their housing costs.
Any changes would increase out-of-pocket housing expenses for one million
troops and impact apartment communities that serve the military. The final
compromise between the Senate and House had provided for a moderate
change that would have reduced housing benefits by one percent.
The veto was a lingering threat due to larger budget concerns that the bill
would use emergency war funding to bypass sequestration caps on defense
spending. But the ongoing budget and appropriations considerations could
impact the BAH funding levels moving forward.
NAA/NMHC continue to educate lawmakers about the importance of
fully funding housing benefits to ensure quality housing for the military and
support the privatized housing program.
Importantly, before consensus was reached on the bill, the Senate package
had backed a five percent reduction and other changes to the administration
of housing benefits. The House had made no changes to the BAH.
For more Apartment Advocate articles, please visit www.naahq.org
www.aamdhq.org

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NOV/DEC 2015 • TRENDS | 71