The debate about floodplain regulations is heating up again, this time about a flier sent out by a group against the proposed rules.

The Lawrence Builder-Realtor Coalition sent a letter to 1,800 Lawrence property owners, urging them to attend Wednesday’s special Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission meeting on the topic  and warning them about potential negative effects of the regulations.

“Front and center, this is to get the public to participate in this meeting,” said Bill Yanek, a representative of the coalition. “We want people to be very aware of the negative impacts of these rules.”

The flier has drawn the ire of City Commissioner David Dunfield, a proponent of strict floodplain development standards.

“It’s a very one-sided and alarmist view of the impact of floodplain regulation,” he said. “I’d like to find some way to counter it.”

Dunfield has created his own flier in response to the coalition’s. He plans to distribute them to the city and planning commissions, as well as to other people who attend Wednesday’s meeting. He won’t do a mass mailing, however.

“I can’t afford to print 1,800 copies,” he said.

The new rules

The new rules originally would have banned all new construction in areas likely to flood. The current version of the rules would allow building if a property owner could produce a hydrological study showing the new structure wouldn’t change the floodplain’s elevation or contours. Such studies, developers say, typically cost between $3,000 and $5,000, depending on the size and location of the lot under development.

The proposed regulations also expand the floodplain to include areas that would be affected if the elevation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency-designated, 100-year floodplain was raised 2 feet. The expanded floodplain would include 1,200 new properties not designated by FEMA, officials have said.

Both fliers touched on four main issues regarding the regulations:

 How will the change affect property values?

The coalition said a number of factors determine a property’s value, and no study has determined the effect of the rules.

“However,” the group’s flier said, “our coalition has consulted local property appraisers, and we adamantly believe that the impact will be a significant decrease in property value.”

Dunfield said in his flier that appraisers should already be considering a property’s potential to flood.

“Most significantly,” he wrote,” the regulations will limit development of flood-prone areas adjacent to your property, thereby reducing the chances of future flooding of your property and the chances that you will suffer real and potentially devastating losses as a result.”

 Will a property owner be required to purchase floodplain insurance for property that isn’t in the FEMA floodplain, but inside the city’s?

The coalition flier suggested the new properties would be required to obtain insurance.

“Ninety-nine percent of home loans have federal backing; thus the Feds require the lender to have the property insured for flood,” the coalition said.

Dunfield said owners of the newly designated properties probably would want to buy the insurance. But they wouldn’t be required to, he added.

“A private lender who chooses to require flood insurance beyond the FEMA boundaries would be putting itself at a competitive disadvantage and would lose customers,” Dunfield said.

Need for regulations questioned

 Why is the city proposing to regulate an area beyond the FEMA floodplain?

The coalition said the city had a choice between doing its own extensive engineering study or choosing an “arbitrary” number. The city chose the latter.

The 2 feet above FEMA’s floodplain, the coalition said, “adds approximately 1,200 properties to the floodplain … without benefit of any engineering evidence that they should be included.”

Dunfield said an engineering study would take hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of time, during which more properties could be built in flood-prone areas.

“The 2 foot (elevation) is a rational yardstick to ensure that future changes do not bring unexpected catastrophe to your property,” he said.

 What if I want to sell or lease property located in the proposed floodplain district?

Both sides agreed potential buyers and tenants would have to be informed. The coalition offered no opinion on the requirement; Dunfield said the information would be a matter of “simple fairness.”

The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission will take public comment on the proposed regulations at 6 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.