Peggy Feldman proudly thinks of herself as a Sandy Springs pioneer. When she moved to the area from Atlanta’s Morningside area in 1972, several friends followed.

It was such a different time. Feldman recalls how she and the banker at Georgia Savings Bank and Trust sealed the deal on her Wright Circle home with a handshake.

Ten years ago, Feldman, a real estate broker, purchased the house next door.

Knowing her properties and real estate well, she was not willing to accept news that her homes are in the “high risk” flood zone designated by new Federal Emergency Management Agency maps, and hired engineers to prove it.

“I knew it was incorrect because during the worst rains we never got water. It always ran off into some back area,” she said.

Feldman speaks out for other homeowners

On Tuesday, Feldman urged City Council members to allow structures in the maps’ flood hazard areas to be designated as “moderate risk” or Zone X, and save homeowners a lot of financial heartache.

“...Everybody deserves to be notified [that they are or are not in the flood zone according to the maps], but not be placed in something where there could be a mistake made," said Feldman to Council members. "And if a mistake is made they have to spend as much as I’ve spent or maybe more. It's going to injure so many people."

Feldman said she spent about $1,500 to have engineers study her properties. "If If I had not done my study, I would have been financially devastated," she said. She will now appeal the FEMA engineer’s analysis. 

Thinking of residents with homes that now appear in the “high risk” or Zone A flood hazard areas, and have upside down mortgages, Feldman told Patch, “Add that and they are going into foreclosure.”

A real estate seller's disclosure letter would address flood hazard issues, according to Feldman.

City Council still weighing decision

Of the 173 structures on the FEMA flood maps for Sandy Springs, at least 100 of those structures are in a 10-year flood zone and will likely experience flooding, according to Kevin Walter, Public Works director. Many are residences.

FEMA will consider changing the 173 structures to ‘moderate flood risk’ if Sandy Springs City Council votes to do so. In addition to 100 structures in the 10-year flood zone, 53 structures are in the 50-year flood zone; and 20 structures are in the 100-year flood zone, on the new flood maps.

At a January City Council meeting, Walter told Council members there is potential for error. However, using 100 properties in the 10-year area as an example, he said, “[Whether] there are 90 structures or 104 structures...many of them are going to flood.”

During that meeting, Council member Chip Collins said residents are worried about lower home values. “I’ve had lots of folks say, ‘Please don’t put [up] one more road block that is going to prevent me from selling my house,’ ” he said.

In that same sentiment, Feldman told Patch,"When you have a house for 40 years and it's never been flooded, and you are going to put it in a floodplain; that's like taking someon's bank account and using all their money."