‘Treasure Island’ Clarifies Home Renovation Permits and FEMA’s 50% Rule

TREASURE ISLAND, FL. Katie Miller and her partner Linda Martin are stuck in a waiting game they never thought they’d play.

“We just don’t know what we’re going to do,” Miller said. “We’re just floundering here.”

Their Treasure Island home first flooded during Hurricane Helen.

Now there are a few questions they and many others want answered: Can they renovate their home? If so, when? And if not, what will they do next?

“I don’t want to answer that question right now,” Martin said.

At a meeting Wednesday night at Treasure Island City Hall, a group made up of FEMA workers, city staff and representatives from the Florida Department of Emergency Management explained FEMA’s 50% rule.

If you are in a special flood hazard area, the rule prohibits you from repairing your home if it is substantially damaged.

It is substantially damaged if the repairs it needs are equal to or greater than 50% of the value of your home.

If your home meets this threshold, you will either have to raise or tear down and rebuild.

Contractors began assessing homes Tuesday for significant damage, according to Treasure Island city staff.

The two teams conduct an average of about 100 assessments each day, and they will also work on weekends.

It will take several weeks to complete all assessments.

If your home has not sustained significant damage, the City will review and approve your permits for repairs.

If it is significantly damaged, you can appeal.

Miller and Martin believe their home is substantially damaged, making it difficult, if at all, to repair.

“It’s very difficult to even think about leaving the country, but we have to be realistic about what happened and our ability to recover from it,” Martin said.

But for now, their painful waiting game continues.

The city said it will notify homeowners of its findings of significant damage by mail. They can also call City Hall for updates.

If the city fails to properly follow this rule, it could jeopardize its good standing with the National Flood Insurance Program.

According to Treasure Island, labor rates and other standards used to determine the cost of repairs will be set by Pinellas County.

Homeowners will not be notified before inspectors visit their homes. If they are not home at the time of the assessment, inspectors will conduct the assessment outside the home.