ZELIENOPLE — Borough council met Wednesday to discuss changes to its floodplain ordinance that are needed to meet new requirements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

These requirements seek to tighten rules for properties in the floodplain and further restrict what residents and owners can do in it.

“Going through this ordinance in detail, it’s going to be extremely painful in the future to build in the floodplain or floodway,” said Allen Bayer, council president.

The borough was already strict about development in the floodplain, said Tom Thompson, borough engineer. He said many of FEMA’s requirements were already included in Zelienople’s ordinances.

The new ordinance will prohibit any construction that would raise the flood level and adds restrictions on areas with regular flooding damage including placing manufactured homes or RVs on the property.

Council will have more leeway in rejecting permits if it can prove the area has a history of flood damage. It also allows Butler County officials to examine the application before the borough approves or rejects it.

Zelienople must have the ordinance approved by FEMA and adopted before Aug. 2, when new more detailed floodplain maps will go into effect.

If that deadline is not met, borough residents will be unable to get flood insurance until an ordinance is approved by FEMA and adopted by the borough.

While the old maps made it difficult for homeowners to know whether their property was included in the flood plain, the new maps will be clearer, Thompson said.

“That mapping is not much different than what’s been issued in 2010,” Thompson said. “It is much more detailed than what you currently have.”

Property owners and residents can apply for variances if they believe the ordinance causes an undue hardship.

Additionally, if they believe they ought to be excluded from the floodplain, property owners can submit a letter of map amendment, in which the owners provide detailed surveys to prove they should not be included in the floodplain.

Council discussed in detail whether RVs would be permitted to park in the floodplain, something FEMA has recommended the borough not permit.

Several members were concerned this would be a hardship on residents and that some may find it unfair that their neighbors are allowed to have RVs on their property while they are not.

If that prohibition were removed from the proposed ordinance however, Thompson said FEMA would be unlikely to pass it.

The council settled on a variance allowing residents in the floodplain to park their RV for no more than six months a year.

With the ordinance recommended, the borough will now submit its proposal to FEMA for approval. Once approval is given, the borough will advertise the ordinance, hold public hearings and vote on whether or not to adopt it.