St. Pete Beach95At the Oct. 2 meeting the Historic Preservation Board received an educational workshop on elevating residences in flood-prone areas and on preservation considerations when buildings must be raised.

"The risk of flooding has long been a major challenge for many historic properties and communities," Lynn Rosetti, the city's consulting contract planner, told the board in a presentation that reviewed NOAA flood-risk concepts, local storm-surge and king-tide exposure, and recent work to survey historic resources across St. Pete Beach.

Why it matters: board members said the topic is directly relevant to many island neighborhoods where midcentury ranch and slab-on-grade houses suffered flood damage during recent named storms. Rosetti reviewed the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation guidance for historic properties in flood-prone areas and described technical limits to raising slab-on-grade and ranch-style houses while retaining historic character.

Key points from the workshop

- Types of water threats: Rosetti summarized local vulnerabilities including flash flooding, king tides and accelerating sea-level rise documented at the regional tide station.

- Technical constraints: some buildings (for example slab-on-grade houses where the structural slab doubles as the floor) lack platform framing that would support lifting; constrained sites can limit how high a house is elevated because stairs and access must be added.

- Retaining historic character: examples showed that modest lifts (around 395 feet, sometimes up to 49595 feet) can keep character for many house types, while larger elevations may change the building99s appearance and risk rendering it noncontributing in a historic district.

- Regulatory interplay: Rosetti noted that the Secretary of the Interior's guidance can allow flexibility compared with strict FEMA elevation requirements, and that local decisions will require balancing preservation goals with safety and code compliance.

Board members asked how much elevation a typical Pass-a-Grille ranch could sustain without losing character; Rosetti and other members gave examples from other Florida communities and said staff will continue researching case studies and possible local guidance.

Next steps: staff said it will return with additional materials and examples, and suggested future workshops to explore technical, regulatory and financing options for protecting historically significant, flood-prone houses.