City Council Approves Up to $42,000 in Additonal Flood Zone Studies

The Moorpark City Council learned at its meeting Wednesday night that the FEMA flood maps could be redrawn once more in a way that might put a few houses that had been removed from the flood zone back in.

It is not clear yet how many, if any, homes will be added; that is yet to be determined after further analysis of areas of the lower Walnut Canyon Drain that were overlooked previously.

In fact, the possibility came up in the questioning period before a vote to amend the budget to allow for up to $42,000 in additional payment for surveying and mapping analysis of the area, which the council approved unanimously.

When FEMA updated its flood maps in 2005, it increased by 20 percent the area it identified as Moorpark’s 100-year flood zone. The city hired consulting firms to study and analyze the area to see if it could convince FEMA to revise the flood map boundaries, which it did in January.

The newest revision of the maps aren’t official yet (that takes place in June) but the City is already working on more revisions—and had been before it was discovered that the maps that will become official in June don’t take into account possible flooding in the lower region of the Walnut Canyon Drain.

The Drain originates at the Meridian Hills basin, comes down behind the homes on Walnut Canyon Road, behind City Hall and heads west behind the post office, eventually paralleling the train tracks and then heading under the tracks west of Gabbert Road and eventually meeting up with the Gabbert Drain. The area of specific concern is west of Buttercreek Road.

The City Council also approved a revision to a second Metrolink access design. The original design called for the purchase of land for which the city has been unable to negotiate what it feels is an agreeable price.

To watch a video of the meeting online, visit the City of Moorpark’s website (click on "video" to the left of the meeting date).