The Sunday afternoon meeting of concerned citizens was introduced by Kathleen Frase, President of the Hernando Beach Property Owners’ Association and presented by fellow resident Steven Barton in order to make residents aware of a 2014 ordinance, and how it affects property owners in the county.
The ordinance states that any damage and/or substantial improvements to a home that does not conform to base flood elevation requirements will be cumulative over a five year period, beginning with the first damage event or single improvement. If the total during the five year time period exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure, it may not be repaired and must be brought up to all new codes, including elevating it to the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) requirement. Currently the requirement is to be one foot above the BFE. Substantial improvements are described as anything that improves the market value of the house, but there are several exclusions.
To illustrate, Barton said, “If you fixed your kitchen four years ago, (and that) brought you up to 45%, and we have a hurricane, you just lost your house,” explaining that bringing the existing structure up to current code could result in deep debt.
Though homes were discussed at length during the meeting, a question was posed with regard to commercial structures, confirming that they are affected by the ordinance also. Substantial improvements to home or businesses include repair or reconstruction of plumbing and electrical services, light fixtures and ceiling fans, security systems, built-in kitchen appliances or water filtration or conditioning systems.
According to the presentation, the goal of the local ordinance promotes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) objective of eliminating non-conforming structures, and that FEMA is using local counties to accelerate this process. Barton said, “They actually think they’re doing you a favor when they take your house.” FEMA wishes to reduce their risk, by reducing risk to flood insurance companies, however by doing so, the property owner’s risk in increased. The property owner may be required to bring the house up to existing standards and the cost of that can be quite prohibitive. The house may need to raised to a new height.
Barton pointed out a Catch-22 created by the ordinance; where a property owner can lose their home because improvements were made to mitigate hurricane losses, but if a property owner does nothing to protect their home, they reduce their risk of being affected by the ordinance. This discourages homeowners from maintaining and improving their homes, and also comes with a side-effect of decreasing marketability of the home, as the “damage/improvement account” approaches 50% above the market value of the home.
In a call to action to the packed US Coast Guard (USCG) Flotilla Meeting Hall, Barton told the crowd, “This is an assault on your property rights.” According to the estimates presented, more than 1600 non-conforming homes worth $400-million in the coastal areas alone would be affected. Though the primary focus was on homes in coastal and inland floodplain areas, flooding is not the only danger to structures affected by the ordinance. Fire, and other events that can lead to repairs will also add to a home’s repair “balance,” potentially affecting home and business owners throughout Hernando County.
Attendees were encouraged to write letters or email the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to let them know in advance that the community wants the “five year cumulative” language removed, and the ordinance returned to an event-basis. They were also encouraged to attend the BOCC meeting, anticipated on Feb. 13, 2018.
Chuck Morton, Vice President of the Hernando County Port Authority was also in attendance, and said of the ordinance, which was modified in 2014, “They denied you your rights,” he said, then referenced the FEMA ordinance that states “communities should carefully consider the period of time they specify, whether they use the life of the structure or a specific period of time.” Morton, who is also a Realtor, said “I got blindsided,” as he described suddenly learning about the 50% rule during a routine real estate operation. “You were denied your rights to have any input … (the FEMA Substantial Improvement/Substantial Damage Desk Reference, section 5.7.3) says that the community has the right to input to make a decision, not one or two people in Brooksville.”
Barton added that the current ordinance was voted in, and simply not contested, by no fault of the current board. He said, “We’re going to present that to the county commissioners, and say, ‘we’re not blaming you.’ They didn’t even know what they enacted … We can only change the future.”
To determine if your home or business location is conforming to Base Flood Elevation, you can check the property appraiser’s website at: https://www.hernandocountygis-fl.us/PropertySearch/
Or contact Rebecca Garrett in the Zoning Department at (352) 754-4050, rgarrett@hernandocounty.us
If you go:
Two additional information meetings are planned:
2:00 PM on January 28th at the Weeki Wachee Christian Camp, 7360 Erin Rd, Weeki Wachee, FL 34607
2:00 PM on February 5th at The Ridge Manor Community Center, 34240 Cortez Blvd, Ridge Manor, FL 33523
The proposed Board of County Commissioners meeting will be on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018 at 20 North Main Street, Room 263 (The John Law Ayers Room), Brooksville, FL 34601
Board of County Commissioners Email Addresses:
District 1 Vice-Chairman Nick Nicholson: NNicholson@hernandocounty.us
District 2 Commissioner Wayne Dukes: wdukes@hernandocounty.us
District 3 2nd Vice Chairman John Allocco: JAllocco@hernandocounty.us
District 4 Commissioner Jeff Holcomb: jholcomb@hernandocounty.us
District 5 Chairman Steve Champion: SChampion@hernandocounty.us