Locals consider premiums unfair

About 2,400 Costa Mesa residents, some living a long distance from the Santa Ana River, might have to buy flood insurance that the city says shouldn’t be mandatory if a bill Congress is debating becomes law.

Many homeowners who have not had to buy the insurance in years think it is unfair that they might again be forced to pay premiums to protect them from an overflow of the Santa Ana river. Millions of dollars have been spent to improve the river walls and dams, and the river has not caused significant flooding for 40 years.

Flood insurance premiums generally range from about $400 to $2,000 annually, according to the federally established National Flood Insurance Program.

“I would not be happy to pay for insurance that I don’t need,” said Bruce McManigal, who lives on Sandpiper Drive in the neighborhood immediately East of the river.

McManigal remembers moving into his house in 1968 and immediately being told to evacuate because the river was about to flood. After the improvements to the river infrastructure, however, he no longer thought it necessary to carry flood insurance, and is not covered.

“I don’t think we need flood insurance here,” said Linda Macken, who lives on Mandarin Drive. “We have the option, and we haven’t bought it in the last few years when it hasn’t been required.”

It’s not just homeowners next to the river who would have to pay. A large swath of Costa Mesa including the area around South Coast Plaza, portions of Mesa Verde and the State Streets would all have to buy the insurance because they would be designated as flood risk areas.

The bill’s supporters say the funding is necessary to revitalize FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program, both of which have been hit hard by recent natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina. Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles sponsored the legislation.

Efforts to reach her or her representatives for comment were unsuccessful.

A unanimous City Council vote, supporting the recommendations of the staff, authorized the city to formally oppose the bill.

City officials say the bill is unfair because it forces Costa Mesans to pay to bail out other areas of the country that have not invested as heavily in flood safety, just because Costa Mesa is near a river.

“The bill looks at all the properties in the United States with the same broad brush and that’s not fair to those areas that have made improvements to be able to withstand floods,” said Carol Proctor, who wrote the city staff report on the flood insurance legislation.

Tell us your thoughts on buying flood insurance, whether you think it should be mandatory. Send us an e-mail at [email protected] or leave a comment on our website.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].