Article 44 Benson Amendment

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Arlington Town Meeting

Motion to Amend Article 44: Floodplain District

ARTICLE NO. 44 Dated: April 29, 2026

I, Eugene B. Benson, do hereby submit the following Motion to Amend Article 44:

To amend the main motion by adding a definition of Base Flood to the Definitions Associated

with Floodplain: The predicted water surface elevation that has a one percent chance of

occurring in any given year, commonly known as the 100-year flood, as established by the

Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Comment:

The effect of this amendment is that the Definitions Associated with Floodplain, found in

Section 2 of the Zoning Bylaw, as set forth in the main motion, would have this definition added

after the definition of Agricultural Facilities and before the definition of Development (the

addition proposed by this amendment is underlined):

Base Flood: The predicted water surface elevation that has a one percent chance of occurring in

any given year, commonly known as the 100-year flood, as established by the Federal

Emergency Management Agency.

The main motion uses the term, base flood, thirteen times, but it is undefined. In addition, the

main motion of Article 47 uses the term, base flood, again undefined. One could dive into the

FEMA website to find the definition, maybe find slightly different definitions elsewhere, or

perhaps ascertain its meaning through the context in which it is used in the Zoning Bylaw. For

ease and consistency of interpretation, it makes more sense to include the definition in the

Zoning Bylaw considering how often it will appear there. This definition is derived from the

FEMA Glossary.

Respectfully submitted,

Eugene B. Benson

________________________

Eugene B. Benson

Precinct 10

Date Voted: _____________

Action Taken: ___________