City details permitting progress, volunteer intake and state grants as recovery work continues

City staff told the commission Tuesday that permitting and long-term recovery work from Hurricanes Helene and Milton are progressing but remain a large operational task.

“Right now we have currently issued 1,636 permits out of 2,544 received,” said Denise Sanderson, interim director of community development. “We’re averaging about 42 permits a day,” she added, describing a rising daily throughput as plan-review work continues.

Sanderson told the commission the city has issued nearly 2,000 substantial-damage/substantial-improvement (SISD) determinations and is still awaiting portions of Title Basin data. She said the city is now encouraging applicants to close out permits before pulling new work to avoid cumulative substantial-improvement calculations tied to FEMA rules.

Staff described steps to speed owner-builder submittals: a volunteer program has registered 36 volunteers to help people assemble SISD packages and permit materials; 19 volunteers have completed initial training and are working in four-hour shifts to assist intake and document submission. Sanderson said mission-request personnel and state-contracted technicians are expected to augment local staff in February.

Sanderson also reported that the Florida Division of Emergency Management indicated there may be a pre-award on two state-managed programs: roughly $300 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds and about $100 million for a Flood Mitigation Swift Current program. She said the HMGP model will resemble prior state efforts where contractors perform inspections and construction under state supervision; there will be caps for demo/rebuild projects and potential no cap for some elevation work. “I anticipate that this model will be quite similar” to past state-managed programs, Sanderson said.

Commissioners pressed staff about timing and the risk of open permits leading into next hurricane season. Commissioner Robinson warned that residents with open permits could have those permit values counted against a later storm’s 50% substantial-improvement threshold if work is not closed out. Sanderson said staff will document and is prepared to extend deadlines where warranted and to offer in-home visits for elderly and vulnerable residents, using mission personnel and volunteers.

Other operational notes from the report: - Title Basin data: the city has received about two-thirds of required damage assessments; 917 SISD determinations remain pending from Title Basin downloads. - Staffing: the city has added building inspectors and expects another inspector soon; the plan-exam backlog and mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP) inspector shortages were highlighted as continuing constraints. - Volunteer program scope: volunteers assist primarily with SISD forms, document scanning and helping owner-builders assemble sufficient submittal packages to speed reviews. - Beach debris: public services identified three locations where sand with debris was moved onto the beach; staff said DEP has been notified and Camden (public services) is coordinating.

Ending Commissioners asked staff to return with more detail on phasing options for permits and the programmatic approach to extensions and documentation for residents who cannot complete permit close-out due to supply or contractor delays. Staff said it will provide those follow-ups at the next meeting.