St. Pete works to minimize storm-rebuilding confusion

Hurricane Milton damaged nearly 16,000 homes in St. Petersburg, and most affected residents now face a convoluted rebuilding process and potentially exorbitant costs.

City officials are working to help storm victims navigate the nightmare. The overarching goal is to prevent people from being forced to choose between moving, elevating their homes or ripping out completed work.

Floodplain manager Hannah Rebholz provided some much-needed clarity for city council members at a committee meeting Thursday morning. She said the planning and development administration has “never really been permit police, and we are now” due to strict federal regulations.

“We can help people through the whole process,” Rebholz pledged. “We can work with people. We want to work with people.”

Thousands of residents will need the assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mandates that property owners in a Special Flood Hazard area (SFH) with damage exceeding 50% of a structure’s pre-storm market value must rebuild according to current regulations.

Rebholz noted that St. Petersburg’s SFH encompasses roughly 75% of the city. Most residents with substantial damage must elevate or sell what two major storms left of their homes.

A graphic explaining compliancy. Property owners must elevate nearly every mobile home (bottom left) in St. Petersburg. Screengrab.

The city’s threshold is slightly lower than FEMA requirements, at 49% of a structure’s pre-storm market value. The 1% reduction allows property owners to save between 25% and 30% on flood insurance.

Rebholz said the regulations help mitigate current and future flood risks. The requirements and consequences also apply to typical building improvements.

“We are doing this because we are held to this standard,” stressed Councilmember Brandi Gabbard. “FEMA passes these rules, and we are left to enforce them.”

She urged storm victims who have lived in the same home for decades to receive an updated appraisal. That could keep them under the 49% threshold.

Residents in SFH areas must also submit prior pictures to support the appraisal. The city’s building department and FEMA will accept family photos showing a remodeled kitchen in the background.

“If you take your house and turn it upside down, and it shakes out, that’s not included,” Rebholz said of the 49% threshold. “Everything else that’s attached is included. Your cabinets, your countertops, all your fixtures, your hard-wired appliances … your flooring, trim and finishes.”

Permits are mandatory. While officials designed the city’s system to serve licensed contractors, homeowners can also complete the process.

However, self-repairs can cause additional issues. Angela Phillips, deputy building official, said residents must claim standard labor and material costs.

She explained that recycled or donated materials and self-performed labor increase a home’s value like it would if a contractor completed the work. Rebholz said the building department created a new application solely for prioritized storm permits to ensure everyone is following the mandated procedure.

“It can go ahead of all the regular permits,” she added. “It’s hard to make 20,000 permits a priority, but at least they’re in the front of the line.”

Residents must also submit a basic floor plan. Rebholz said officials would print a building’s outline from the property appraiser’s website and help applicants draw rooms and interior walls.

Permit requests that meet or exceed 25% of a home’s value will trigger a substantial improvement requirement. Rebholz said that was essentially an itemized contractor’s estimate that helps staff ensure costs stay below the 49% threshold.

A graphic highlighting repairs that count toward the city’s 49% home value threshold. Screengrab.

FEMA will conduct initial inspections from the curb. Rebholz said city staff then input that information into a substantial damage estimator.

They will notify residents if the platform determines losses exceed 49% of the home’s value. That will trigger another inspection.

Homeowners have until March 27 to bring their house into compliance or appeal the determination. Rebholz said FEMA expects “three sets of eyes on every house, and that will get us through our audit.”

She said the building department planned extensively for this unprecedented occasion. Rebholz also noted that most Pinellas County municipalities shuttered their permitting offices after the storms.

“We give people the chance and opportunity to come and talk with us … and we can work them,” Rebholz reiterated. “We’re a little bit more humanized that way, and we’re the only place in the county that still does that.”

Noncompliance can have dire consequences for residents reeling from back-to-back hurricanes. Rebholz said those who have completed repairs and exceed the 49% threshold must either “rip it out” or hire someone to elevate their home. “You have to follow the rules.”

Gabbard said confusion surrounding the process is so prevalent that she and her colleagues could discuss nuances “for days.” They will revisit the topic Friday afternoon at a public workshop.

To register for the “49% Rule Virtual Info Session,” visit the website here.