Board clarifies who can apply and when emergency housing timeframes begin

Board members debated whether owners, tenants or applicants should be eligible to pull temporary-permit applications for emergency housing. Staff clarified permitting mechanics and suggested language that would allow either an owner or an occupant to apply, provided proof the structure was used as a primary residence prior to storm damage.

"Applicant or owner must provide proof that a structure occupied as a primary residence [was] damaged or made inaccessible by the declared disaster," staff read when summarizing the revised eligibility language. Staff also confirmed the duration: emergency housing is permitted for up to two years from the date of the declared disaster and the zoning administrator may extend that period for up to one additional year; the two-year clock begins on the declared-disaster date, not the permit-issuance date.