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Families in limbo because of permitting issues
Genevieve Curtis reports
TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. - Treasure Island residents working to rebuild said to return home their contractors need permits from the city, but a backlog of permits means many can't get started. Some neighbors said red tape and confusion at City Hall is contributing to the slow process.
Frustrated residents aired complaints at a meeting Thursday evening, and now the city commission said it wants to get the backlog of permits addressed.
Hours before Hurricane Helene hit, Ari Irvings, like many of his neighbors, was ordered to evacuate. He grabbed what he could and returned to a house that had been under 4.5 feet of water.
READ: Hurricane Milton recovery far from over in the Tampa Bay area one month later
"The front door had burst open and all of my possessions were destroyed," he said.
Irvings has been living with family in Boston for 40 days now. His house is gutted, but his contractor has not been able to get a permit from the City of Treasure Island to start work on the home – even though he's had his FEMA assessment and a private one.
"I think that the city has been nothing short of inhumane," said Irvings. "I think that the city has been completely discombobulated, has not prioritized the needs of human beings. They have been exceptionally unclear, both amongst themselves, at a leadership level, but also just in terms of how they're communicating with the citizens."
FEMA allows cities to take two approaches when it comes to permitting:
- Option one: Owners wait for the city to perform substantial damage inspections before getting a permit
- Option two: The city can wait to complete the assessments based on the permits being submitted by homeowners.
The city chose to go with the first option for weeks, while homeowners pushed for the second. The commission had already approved option two, but at the commission meeting, it admitted there is a backlog on approving permits.
"We do have issues with permitting, and we do need to get working on it," said Commissioner Deb Toth.
City staff said 772 permits have been submitted and only 85 have been approved. They said they simply do not have enough staff to process all the permits coming in.
Homeowners begged the commission for help at Thursday's meeting, and commissioners said they were listening. The city said it would meet with an engineering firm on Friday as it considers hiring help to process the permits.
Irving’s contractor said it could be two to four months before his home is livable again, but that clock doesn’t start though until he has a permit in hand. Right now, contractors can apply for permits on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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