Redington Beach resident sits down with officials as storm-damaged homes still left without permits
REDINGTON BEACH, Fla. - It's been nearly five months since Hurricane Helene made landfall, flooding hundreds of homes along the Tampa Bay area's beach towns.
One resident, Jeff Fuller, has struggled to rebuild his house since five feet of water flooded it, and his attempts to make progress have been halted, because he is still waiting for necessary permits.
Jeff Fuller inside his gutted house as he waits for Pinellas County to approve his reconstruction permit.
Fuller, who lives in Redington Beach, a small town of only 1,400 people, is stuck in limbo.
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Dig deeper:
He cannot begin any reconstruction without a permit and is living in a home without walls, a kitchen, bathrooms or floors.
Inside Fuller's Reddington Beach home as he waits for Pinellas County to approve a reconstruction permit.
"I'm stuck waiting on a permit because I can't get a contractor to do this for me," Fuller said.
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He reaches out to local officials every few weeks but continues to hear that his request is "under review."
"I can’t do anything without a permit because they’ll make me rip out my drywall. So I’m at a standstill for months waiting," Fuller said. "All of this should have been figured out. This shouldn’t be a huge surprise to anybody. You file these things; you get your permit. It’s the simplest thing ever."
The backstory:
In addition to the permitting issues, Fuller is also dealing with property appraisal problems.
He met with Pinellas County Property Appraiser Mike Twitty to discuss inaccurate home value estimates affecting FEMA reimbursements.
Jeff Fuller inside his gutted house as he waits for Pinellas County to approve his reconstruction permit.
Fuller says his home was undervalued by a few hundred thousand dollars.
"They took our value from 146,000 to 220,000, roughly," Fuller said. "Mike Twitty is trying to make sure our community heals, but I asked him for his outreach to be better."
Twitty, who previously spoke with FOX 13 about appraisal issues, explained that mass appraisals aren’t as accurate as hiring a private appraiser who examines old pictures, visits the home, and conducts extensive interviews to arrive at a home valuation.
READ: Private vs. county appraisals: Why there’s a drastic difference in storm damage property valuations
"We’re doing mass appraisal, which means we’re valuing 40 or 50 thousand parcels every year, and we have to run through statistical models to arrive at those results," Twitty said.
What's next:
While Fuller understands the challenges in the appraisal process, he is more concerned with the permitting issues.
Inside Fuller's Reddington Beach home as he waits for Pinellas County to approve a reconstruction permit.
"I’m very disheartened by the local politicians that say we are all in the same boat. Then do something!" Fuller said.
When asked about his number one goal now, he laughed and replied, "A permit. Easiest answer ever."
The Source: FOX 13's Evyn Moon collected the information in this story.
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