North Port residents say flood zone rules took them by surprise

NORTH PORT — Local residents are expressing frustration with North Port's outreach efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

Several homeowners attended the City Commission's meeting Tuesday to discuss the impacts of FEMA's "50 percent" rule and how the city is able to implement that rule.

The rule concerns homes located in flood zones. If such a home is damaged to the point where repairs would exceed 50% of its market value, then the structure must be brought up to current building codes and flood regulations.

The monetary threshold in making that determination is based on a five-year assessment, according to city officials.

Assistant City Manager Jason Yarborough said at the Tuesday meeting that if city authorities did not enforce that rule, it would jeopardize their standing in FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program. This would lead to higher insurance rates for just under 600 homes within North Port's flood zones and make long-term living in those areas untenable.

Yarborough also said that the Building Division — whose personnel provide permits required for restoration work to begin — aim to be flexible within what FEMA allows and avoid a situation where someone has to abandon a home they've lived in for years.

"That's not the goal," Yarboroguh said.

Some city residents, however, say that they have only recently heard from city personnel about required renovations. In addition, they said that rules seemed to have changed without their knowing ahead of time.

Tricia Murray, who lives in Country Club Ridge, said that her home was not in a FEMA flood zone six years ago when her family bought it.

One year after that, it was zoned for Flood Zone AE.

Murray said that several of her neighbors are already performing work to restore their homes and feel that they may be penalized for trying to get things back to normal.

"This is a big concern," Murray said. "I'm kind of frustrated about that."

Part of the confusion, she added, comes from seemingly contradictory requests from city personnel.

Murrary said she was asked to provide three estimates for damage to her home — not including the land around the structure).

However, she said North Port Building Official Derek Applegate said earlier in the meeting he could not order a monetary estimate due to Florida law — as his office is not classified to make monetary judgements.

"I can't tell you that this carpet is more valuable than that carpet," Applegate said.

City officials said the Building Division is meant to make its FEMA determination based on information such as estimates from licensed contractors and contract bids.

Yarborough and Applegate told residents and city commissioners they have been reaching out to local homeowners and residents, mailing out packets with information on the permit process and making that same information available online.

Andrew Murray — Tricia's son — said they only heard about the FEMA situation recently, roughly seven weeks after Hurricane Ian.

"I think there needs to be more urgency from the city," Andrew Murray said.

City Commissioner Debbie McDowell asked pointed questions at city staff.

In one case, she asked city staff if the "damages" included in FEMA's calculation included non-flood sources like fires or trees falling over.

"So you would have to rebuild the entire home?" McDowell asked.

Yarborough emphasized the Building Division tried to remain flexible about the program and work with homeowners.

After the public comment period, city commissioners asked visiting residents to visit the Building Division office at City Hall to confirm their Flood Zone location and what options they might have going forward.

Despite the tense tone of the meeting, McDowell said that she believed it represented a step in the right direction.

"This was a very long conversation, but it was absolutely imperative to have," McDowell said.