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Dunedin planning agency approves ordinance to remove five‑year cumulative flood‑damage rule
Summary
The Local Planning Agency recommended approval of Ordinance 25‑07 to align the city code with a new state law that ends cumulative five‑year substantial‑improvement accounting and removes a local 1‑foot freeboard technical amendment now required by the Florida Building Code.
The Local Planning Agency (LPA) of the City of Dunedin voted by voice to approve Ordinance 25‑07, a set of amendments to the city's floodplain management regulations intended to conform local code with a state law that took effect July 1.
The ordinance removes a local five‑year cumulative substantial‑damage/improvement rule and deletes a local technical freeboard requirement that is now part of the Florida Building Code, City of Dunedin Community Development representative Joseph DePasqua told the agency. DePasqua said the city has already been applying the new standard in practice since July 1 and the ordinance “is cleaning up our code, essentially.”
The change ends the practice of adding multiple permitted improvements or repairs over a specified look‑back period and instead requires each permit or repair to be evaluated on its own. Under the longstanding local practice, the city aggregated improvements over five years; if the total equaled or exceeded 50% of a building’s market value, the structure had to be brought into full compliance with current floodplain standards. Under the revised approach described by DePasqua, “each permit…will stand on its own merits.”
DePasqua and LPA members discussed how the 50% threshold functions: if a single repair or improvement equals or exceeds 50% of the building’s market value, the structure must be elevated or otherwise brought into compliance. DePasqua clarified that the calculation uses the value of the structure only, excluding land, pools, landscaping and other non‑primary structural features.
Staff also said they would remove local references that conflict with the new state law and update cross‑references to current Florida Building Code sections. DePasqua identified the changes as primarily housekeeping to align the city code with state requirements, including removal of a local freeboard technical amendment now required by the statewide code.
No members of the public addressed the LPA on this item. A member moved to approve Ordinance 25‑07 as written; the motion passed on a voice vote. The LPA’s action is a recommendation to the City Commission.
