MONUMENT TABLE
Flood Monument Table
See Luray Flood Monument table.
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In 2017, the Town of Luray began a project with Racey Engineering & Surveying to expand the available network of fixed-point monuments with elevations along the Hawksbill Creek and Dry Run waterways.
FEMA has mapped floodway and flood plain areas that impact development due to FEMA regulations and the Town’s Flood Plain Ordinance (Town of Luray Flood Plain Ordinance). Due to these regulations, property owners are limited by the Flood Elevations adjacent to their real property.
Obtaining a Flood Elevation Certificate (FEC) or a Lowest Adjacent Grade Building Elevation Determination (LAG) via a Virginia Licensed Surveyor would allow a property owner to determine what portion of their property is above the determined flood elevation, and therefore available for use via Finished Floor Construction. In some instances, the FEC indicates that all a property is below the 100-year Flood Elevation or none of it is. This information is critical to property owners for two reasons - whether and where they can build on their property, and once built, what amount of Flood Insurance Coverage they need to meet federal requirements under the FIRM (Flood Insurance Rate Map) program.
In the past, obtaining such survey certifications or determinations was time consuming and expensive since the nearest relevant monument was often far away from their property. Owners were then forced to pay the surveyor to transfer the needed elevation data long distances to be able to issue them an accurate FEC or LAG.
The installation of the Elevation Monuments by the Town, in conjunction with a Licensed Surveyor, now places fixed-point monuments within reasonable distances for nearly every flood-zone mapped parcel in the Town Corporate Limits. This provision allows for faster and more economical survey work. (Flood Mapping & Monument layer)
Many property owners who pay significant flood insurance rates due to their location in, or adjacent to, a flood zone, can now obtain an FEC or Determination to reduce, or in some cases, eliminate their Flood Insurance Risk Policy riders. Since the overall survey costs are now greatly reduced, many property owners can more easily afford to verify their status in relation to a flood zone. The Town has partnered with the Page County GIS Department to offer this resource for owners and surveyors to utilize to simplify the process.
The Town of Luray asks that any owner who has an FEC or Determination completed to please provide a copy of the survey report to the Town. The Town can accumulate significant reports so that in time, the Town can request a FEMA Re-Mapping of the Flood Zones in Luray. These survey reports will allow the re-mapping project to be completed by FEMA and should result in more accurate Flood Zone mapping for FEMA, the Town, and its residents.
See Luray Flood Monument table.
