Loss of National Flood Insurance Program discount takes effect on Fort Myers Beach
The loss of the 25% flood insurance discount that Town of Fort Myers Beach property owners enjoyed through the National Flood Insurance Program took effect April 1.
The town had been placed under probation in November by FEMA over its handling of permitting and other code compliance issues after Hurricane Ian.
The town, like several other local municipalities as well as Lee County, had been put under notice last year that they could lose their flood insurance discounts and be put on probation. While other municipalities, including Lee County and Sanibel ultimately kept their insurance discount after appeals, the Town of Fort Myers Beach was not as fortunate.
Fort Myers Beach Manager Andy Hyatt, who has announced he will be stepping down from office at the end of the month, said he will be meeting with FEMA officials Thursday in a bid to reclaim the town’s insurance discount. Hyatt said he will be discussing the town’s probation status in a bid to get FEMA to take the town off probation.
The town was told by FEMA in a letter from FEMA in November, that it would take two years for the town to be given a higher rating in order to get its discount back through the National Flood Insurance Program.
In a Sunshine Law request submitted to the town by the Fort Myers Beach Observer seeking the last correspondence from FEMA regarding the town’s probationary status and discount through the National Flood Insurance Program, the town provided a letter dated Nov. 21.
In the letter from FEMA Regional Administrator Robert Samaan, the town was told that beginning April 1 flood insurance policy premium discounts would no longer be applied. The town was retrograded to a Class 10 in the Community Ratings System.
“The Town is not eligible to reapply to the Community Ratings System for a higher-class rating until the Town’s probationary period is concluded, the Town is in full compliance with the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program, and at least two years have passed since the Town was placed in probationary status.”
The town had initially been told in July of last year by FEMA that it needed to remove noncompliant structures that were incorrectly permitted in the Special Flood Hazard Area and provide documentation that demonstrates the community is leveraging its code enforcement process to address new and existing code cases for all structure not confirmed as compliant, and to put a process in place to ensure substantial damage compliance for future events.
The FEMA letter’s objective was “helping ensure the (town) and their residents are more resilient and prepared for future storms,” Samaan said.
Since that time, the town has undertaken a number of code enforcement cases to remove temporary commercial trailers and containers from properties. Many of the containers had been on the properties of condo buildings where repairs from Hurricane Ian were still being completed. One particularly controversial case involves a case against the La Ola restaurant at Times Square, which uses a trailer.
On Monday, Hyatt told the town council that he and town staff had recently toured the community and identified 80 properties that they believed should be cited for code enforcement.
According to Hyatt and Tracy Koehler, assistant to Hyatt, approximately 20% of the properties identified are new code cases for the town while the rest already have existing code enforcement cases. Koehler said the code issues range from unsafe buildings to pool issues and other property violations.
Since the November letter, FEMA has been the subject of reports that it could be reorganized under the new administration of President Donald Trump.
In March, Hyatt and Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers traveled to Washington D.C. along with town attorney Nancy Stuparich and town employee Jason Freeman on a taxpayer-funded trip to meet with elected officials in Washington D.C. to ask for assistance including its flood insurance issue with FEMA.