This is flooding after a moderately heavy rain storm.
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STORY UPDATED WITH NEW QUESTIONS AT 10:53 ON 4/30/24
On Tuesday April 23, my town of Oxford, Maryland announced a $2.6 million dollar grant from FEMA to raise homes in the town. This is due to increased flooding in our area from rain and tides. Fourteen homes in the town have signed on for the project. FEMA pays 90% and the homeowner pays 10%. There was great celebration among some of the townspeople and our Town Office and Commissioners. The local print newspaper had a huge article about the grant.
I'm not excited or impressed.
You may think that is ungrateful or rude, but my husband and I have lived in this home for 50 years. In those fifty years, we have weathered hurricanes, excessive rain, and high tides. Our home has come close to having water inside, but we have never had it breach our foundation. Our foundation is approximately 5 feet above ground.
When Hurricane Isabel hit our area, we had water that came 1 inch from coming in our home. We lost two cars and were stranded in our home for a week. It was a disaster. Our neighbors across the street DID have water in their home and two out of the three had their homes raised. I watched the process which took over a year in one case and saw one set of neighbors live out of a FEMA trailer while their home was lifted and renovated.
You see, when your home is being lifted you can't live in it. You have to have most of your possessions moved out and if you have pets they have to move out too. So, while this is going on, you need a place to live with your pets. That will be on your dime. You need a storage space. On your dime. You may not even be able to find a place to live, especially if, like me, you have a disabled spouse.
Can't imagine having children and having to do this.
This is a house being lifted in our neighborhood before the grant was announced.
For younger people, it might be fine. But, my husband and I are retirees living on a fixed income. We cannot afford to live in a different place for almost a year, still pay OUR mortgage, taxes and homeowner's insurance and storage for our stuff during that time.
And, in case you haven't thought about it, if your house is lifted but your yard is flooded, you can't get out of your home. More important, first responders can't get to your house if you need them.
Did I say that lifting your home may require you to build up the ground it sits on? Loads of dirt are not cheap.
There are even more problems than that.
Most of us know that when the Federal Government does ANYTHING, there are strings attached. They give with one hand and take with another. Since anyone who gets their home raised will be receiving a federal subsidy for the cost, what prevents the feds/state from requiring the homeowner to meet certain federal/state guidelines. Have oil or gas heat? The feds may want that changed to electric or, better yet, solar, at your expense. Home not insulated to current requirements? Get that fixed. Got asbestos in your floors? Removal required. No sprinkler system? Have to get that installed. All at YOUR expense.
Think I'm kidding? The government has instituted a rule that in order for your community to get a better CRS rating they have to institute new building codes. So, in order to do that, our town passed a new ordinance that anyone doing any improvements to their home that are valued at more than half the value of their home MUST follow this:
2403-Ord-Amending-Floodplain-Management-Ordinance.pdf (oxfordmd.net)
In other words, your foundation and all duct and electrical structures must be lifted above the official flood levels. For many homeowners, this means lift your home or no renovation even when your home is damaged by storms, fire, or flooding.
Let's talk taxes. Since this is a government subsidy, you may have to claim it on your income taxes. Don't think so? Ask business owners who took subsidies to keep employees working during Covid. They paid taxes on that money.
The main reason why I refuse to have my home lifted is because of principle. Raising my home relieves the town of accountability for their lack of action on flooding. It excuses them from focusing on doing the most they can to mitigate flooding. In our town, we had a plan created in 2016 that would have addressed flooding in the areas of town most prone to it like my area. Here's that plan:
Feasibility Study Outline (oxfordmd.net)
It was ignored. It was not only ignored, but it was also hidden from the town website. Citizens had to demand a copy of it from the Commissioners. It took a while.
2016 Oxford Stormwater Master Plan Made Public On Town Website - Easton Gazette
Once it was released and the recommendations became public, people demanded action. Maybe that was why it was hidden when it was written. In and shortly after 2016, the town was preoccupied with other projects such as the MEWS acquisition for $300,000, MEWS renovations, and other facade improvement projects. (The MEWS is a commercial building in town that used to house shops.)
And then there was the Strand Beach Restoration which was low on the totem pole for flood mitigation and is really a test case for the "living shoreline method" of erosion prevention. Over two million grant dollars spent on the destruction of a beautiful shoreline all to advance the agenda of the National Wildlife Federation and Maryland DNR so they can sell this approach to other towns.
In other words, they could have done something about flooding so people didn't have to lift their homes, but they didn't. And now they want me to turn my life upside down to implement an action that will do nothing to keep my property from flooding? They want me to celebrate people getting a federal subsidy for elevating their house while their neighbors wallow in flood waters? No thanks.
No, we won't be raising our home. I don't begrudge those who do, that is a choice they have the right to make. I just hope that while the town administration is celebrating a grant that will help 14 families, they don't forget the rest of us who need a more comprehensive solution.
I'm not holding my breath for that one.
FOLLOW UP: Readers suggested some additional excellent questions regarding this program:
