St. Pete Beach reports progress on permits, inspections and appeals; volunteer desk aiding residents

St. Pete Beach — City officials reported ongoing storm-recovery work Tuesday, saying inspections average about 75 per day and that residents have filed thousands of damage determinations and hundreds of appeals.

"We are averaging about 75 inspections a day," Community Development Director Laura Canary told the City Commission, while urging residents to call before 2:30 p.m. the day before for next-day inspections. City staff also described two permit-submission routes: a single expedited packet for all storm repairs or multiple individual permits submitted together or in phases.

Why it matters: Permit processing, damage determinations and appeals determine whether homeowners can rebuild and whether properties will be treated as substantially damaged for floodplain rules. Those determinations affect insurance and potential eligibility for state or federal programs.

City data presented at the meeting showed the city had completed 22,277 damage determinations, with about 1,500 labeled "non-substantially damaged" and 812 still listed as "substantially damaged." Staff reported 515 appeals had been filed; 423 appeals were approved, 92 were in progress and none had been denied so far. Staff cautioned those figures would continue to change as appeals are processed.

Officials also described permit-processing challenges, including a large share of owner-builder applications and dependency on county-contracted damage data. City staff said some outstanding data issues stem from the county contractor (Tidal Basin) and that the city is pursuing its own substantial-damage plan and separate contracting options to avoid a repeat of processing delays in a future storm.

Residents and contractors described bottlenecks at the permit counter and inconsistent guidance; the city said it has adjusted procedures so both owner and contractor emails receive updates and asked applicants to provide complete packets to speed review.

A volunteer desk has been set up at City Hall to help residents assemble packets and drop off documents. City staff said roughly 36 people initially expressed interest in volunteering and more than a dozen volunteers have been trained to assist at the permit desk during business hours. The volunteers help residents fill out forms, collect documents and reduce counter wait times.

The commission discussed elevated costs of appraisals and limitations of federal rules, including FEMA's one-year validity for private appraisals. City staff said they are developing a formal substantial-damage assessment plan and plan to seek a request-for-proposals for additional assessment staff so the city can deploy its own assessment teams in a future storm.

Officials also mentioned several recovery programs and resources, including the state program Elevate Florida and the statewide housing-recovery website floridadesaster.org. Staff said Elevate Florida is prioritizing repeat-flood properties.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke during the Feb. 25 City Commission meeting in St. Pete Beach.