FEMA approved the entire funding application of the City of Cedar Falls for flood buyouts necessitated by the June 2008 flood. The City will present voluntary buyout offers for as many properties as possible over the next 12 months. Costs of the buyout program will be covered with a combination of federal, state and local funds.
The City is committed to making the property acquisition program work as efficiently as possible so that the affected property owners may make their property decisions. The City must execute a project agreement with FEMA prior to sending out purchase offers to affected property owners. This agreement between FEMA and the Cedar Falls City Council will be executed within the next 30-60 days.
After the agreement is finalized between FEMA and the City, purchase offers will be sent to property owners based upon a priority system adopted by City Council. It is not possible for the City to process all of the purchase offers at the same time, therefore the order in which offers will be presented is as follows: The first offers will be sent to those properties that have been condemned by the City; thereafter owner-occupied properties located within the floodway; owner-occupied properties in the “Cedar City” area (those east of Main Street/Big Woods Road); and then owners-occupied properties in the “North Cedar” area (those west of Main Street/Big Woods Road). Thereafter, rental properties in each of these categories will be processed in the same order.
Property owners will receive a letter from the City outlining this timeline and the process. Property owners should locate and organize various documents, including their abstract, as well as taking various others steps, prior to beginning the buyout process. Processing the buyouts will be as efficient as possible if affected property owners read their letter carefully and follow its instructions. The City will present offers to eligible property owners as quickly as possible and staff will be available to guide owners through the acquisition process.