St. Pete Beach reports 5,507 recovery permit applications and schedules community forum on damage procedures

Community Development Director Laura Canary and Public Services Director Camden Mills updated the commission on hurricane recovery, permitting, inspections and preparedness.

Permits and historic designations: Canary said, “Beginning with historic designations, through the September 19, we've had 62 applications submitted, 49 approved, 9 are pending, and 4 have been withdrawn.” She told the commission the city has received 5,507 permit applications since the storm and reported a daily intake that initially met a 60‑per‑day goal but has slowed as intake changed from volume to processing. Canary gave counts for specific permit types: 27 demolition certificates of appropriateness submitted and 27 approved (none pending); 34 elevating structure permit applications with 15 issued and none closed to date.

Processing times and staffing: Canary said demolition permits are now issuing at an average of about seven days and that elevation permits currently have about a seven‑day average for issuance; she noted many permits remain open and thus continue to require inspections and follow‑up. Canary announced a new deputy building official had started, marking the first time in years the department had both a building official and a deputy. She also said the county issued an RFP and selected multiple firms for post‑storm community development services; St. Pete Beach staff plan to “piggyback” on the county contract to access firms as needed.

Community forum and FEMA guidance: Canary invited the public to a Community Development staff forum, scheduled Wednesday the 24th from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Commission Chambers, where the city will present its draft substantial damage administrative procedures and receive feedback. The staff forum will precede a return to the commission to request “acceptance” of the plan, not formal adoption, to keep the plan flexible for state or federal changes. Canary and staff also discussed FEMA appraisal and valuation questions and said guidance on acceptable cost sources and appraisal parameters would be coordinated and provided to the public as staff refines the procedures.

Tampa Bay Coastal Master Plan: Canary said the Tampa Bay Coastal Master Plan team has about a four‑year timeline and that the project had received roughly $2,000,000 in funding. Staff plan to invite the planning council and partners back in early November to explain the plan and to ask the commission whether the city wants to be a partner or a collaborator.

Public Services update: Mills gave an update on utility cleaning and inspections (see separate story on the sewer contract). He said staff has completed cleaning and inspections in several neighborhoods and detailed how staff selected areas (SeeClickFix reports and staff observations). Mills also discussed stormwater RFP progress and timelines for bringing a vendor back to commission for contract approval.

Ending: Canary said staff will continue to refine reporting frequency as recovery moves out of “blue sky” emergency reporting and will circulate drafts of the substantial damage administrative procedures before the community forum and prior to returning the document to the commission for acceptance.