Katy residents who carry flood insurance could see lower premiums after the City Council approved stricter floodplain construction standards on Monday, Sept. 14.

The council voted to amend Article 3.04 of the city's building code, tightening rules for structures in flood-prone areas. The changes are part of Katy's application to join FEMA's Community Rating System (CRS), a voluntary program that rewards communities with flood insurance discounts of 5% to 45% for adopting standards above the federal minimum.

City Planner Rachel Lazo told the council that Katy already participates in FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The CRS would go a step further. Lazo said communities that adopt higher standards can potentially earn reduced flood insurance rates for their residents, according to Community Impact.

The ordinance, which the Building and Standards Commission recommended on Aug. 12, makes three changes. Under the amended ordinance, mechanical equipment on residential and commercial properties must sit at least one foot above the base flood elevation or at the 500-year flood level, whichever is higher. Manufactured homes and structures in shallow-flooding areas face the same one-foot buffer. Non-residential buildings have the option of floodproofing instead of elevation, as long as the work meets city standards.

Katy adopted a major floodplain overhaul in 2022 to match Harris County Flood Control District standards. Lazo said the Sept. 14 changes largely reinforce those existing rules across more sections of the code. She said the practical impact on current development would be "minimal to none" and that the floodproofing option offers relief to commercial and industrial projects.

The city has already submitted its CRS application. Kerstin Cortez, the city's floodplain administrator according to city records, was to review the application materials before they are formally processed, according to the city's meeting agenda. Officials expect to learn whether Katy is accepted by spring 2027. If the application is denied, the city would have to wait another year to reapply.

More than 1,500 communities participate in the CRS nationwide, according to FEMA. Discounts apply to all NFIP policies in a participating community, including properties outside the Special Flood Hazard Area.

Flood costs remain personal for Katy-area residents who lived through past storms. Mayor Dusty Thiele, speaking Tuesday, Sept. 1 at the launch of a regional flood coalition, said his former neighborhood "flooded both at the Tax Day Flood and Harvey." He said his old neighbors get anxious whenever it starts raining an inch or two, adding that "as an old insurance agent, the hardest claim to have is a water claim."

If the CRS application is approved, the discount would apply to every NFIP policyholder in the city.