FEMA briefs Citrus County on direct temporary housing options, timeline and local coordination needs

FEMA officials on Tuesday gave Citrus County commissioners an overview of the agency’s Direct Temporary Housing (DTH) program, the options available to survivors after a disaster and what the county can do now to smooth placement and move survivors from hotel stays to longer-term temporary housing.

James Murphy, a FEMA representative, and Gentry Salter, FEMA’s individual assistance branch director for direct housing, told the board that DTH includes multifamily lease-and-repair, direct leases of existing residential units, transportable temporary housing units (MHUs and travel trailers) and multifamily lease-and-repair programs. Murphy said FEMA is already embedded in the region and working out of the Tallahassee Joint Field Office.

The presentation laid out how applicants register (by phone, online at disasterassistance.gov, at disaster recovery centers or via FEMA field teams), how FEMA inspects and verifies damage and the criteria used to determine an applicant’s eligibility for temporary housing. Salter summarized the range of assistance under FEMA’s Individual and Households Program (IHP), noting that household-level assistance and DTH are distinct parts of IHP.

FEMA staff stressed the constraints that most concern local officials: permitting, flood-plain restrictions and local utility and permitting approvals. Murphy and his team described the Site Inspection Review (SIR) process; a private-site placement is preferred because a survivor’s household routines (schools, jobs, services) are least disrupted. If private sites are unavailable, FEMA looks for commercial parks, direct leases or multifamily properties that can be repaired and used. Group sites — what FEMA called purpose‑built parcels of vacant land turned into pads for MHUs — are possible but require longer lead time and infrastructure work.

The agency said it conducts environmental and historic‑preservation reviews, checks flood‑plain and NFIP restrictions and works with local utilities to make units “ready for occupancy” (connections to electric, water and sewer or septic). Murphy reiterated FEMA policy that units generally cannot be placed in certain flood‑risk zones (V‑zones/velocity zones) and that sale or donation of a transportable unit after the period of performance requires local permitting compliance.

Commissioners asked about timelines; FEMA staff said arrival and setup timelines vary with permitting and site work but have ranged from about four to eight weeks after an applicant is approved. The presenters repeatedly urged residents to register, and asked the county to provide lists of available property-management firms, commercial parks and potential direct‑lease properties. FEMA also advised local permitting offices to pre‑identify approaches and reviewed the requirement that commercial partners register in SAM.gov so FEMA can contract with them.

The presentation closed with FEMA offering outreach materials, fact sheets and a survivor checklist the county can link from its website. County staff said they would circulate FEMA materials to municipal and emergency‑management partners and explore whether local permitting processes could provide emergency short‑term pathways for unit placement while protecting NFIP compliance.

FEMA presenters: James Murphy (FEMA), Gentry Salter (Individual Assistance Branch Director, FEMA) and Pablo Suarez (Operations Division Supervisor, FEMA). County participants included County Administrator Steve Howard and County staff from emergency management.

FEMA emphasized repeatedly that DTH is a temporary solution (typical FEMA period of performance is 18 months from the declaration date) and that FEMA expects recipients to develop a permanent housing plan during occupancy. Commissioners and staff accepted FEMA’s offer to provide written toolkits and to continue coordination.