FEMA officials visit Fort Myers Beach, call for more corrective actions
As the town seeks to get back into the National Flood Insurance Program that the town was taken out of last year, FEMA officials met with Fort Myers Beach management this past week on a site visit as part of the town’s agreement with FEMA to get off probation.
Town of Fort Myers Beach officials released a statement today saying they received a letter from FEMA detailing that “further enhancements and corrections are needed by August 8, 2025, to maintain compliance and support the Town’s reinstatement” in the National Flood Insurance Program.
Enhancements and corrective actions needed include:
Provide Standard Operating Procedure that documents the Substantial Damage/Substantial Improvement Determination Process and the permitting process
Provide revised permitting process procedures and any supporting documentation that addresses failure by the Private Providers to meet the Town’s requirement for submittal of the Under Construction Elevation Certificate.
Remove the non-compliant temporary structures
Additionally, FEMA provided a site-specific list of 252 properties requiring mitigation, further documentation, or removal of non-compliant structures. Town staff are currently reviewing these items and will be coordinating outreach and corrective actions immediately.
“We are committed to addressing FEMA’s findings and improving our floodplain management efforts,” Town Manager Will McKannay said in a statement released by the town. “Our goal is to ensure full compliance with NFIP regulations and to better protect our residents and infrastructure moving forward.”
Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt said he was waiting to learn more information about FEMA intended to enforce the new Aug. 8 deadline mentioned in the letter and what precisely it was seeking from the town in terms of 252 properties mentioned.
Atterholt had been briefed about the visit by FEMA from McKannay last week in which he was told town officials were expecting “some pretty tough news.” Atterholt said he is hopeful the town is on a path to getting back its 25% insurance discount through the National Flood Insurance Program though there is an expectation that FEMA will be “pretty stringent” in enforcing its rules. After discussions with McKannay following the visit, Atterholt said the visit “is a critical step forward on the path to regaining the discount on our island’s flood insurance.”
Atterholt said he still wants to hear more about what the process will look like based on the latest FEMA letter though he said “it we have to take some tough medicine to get us there that is OK.”
Following the FEMA letter issued to the town on Thursday, Atterholt said the town is in a “Catch 22.” If the town doesn’t comply with the FEMA regulations, it risks not only losing the flood insurance discounts but other forms of assistance from FEMA after another hurricane.
Atterholt said he was hoping the town would be granted some leeway to offer property owners who are still going through litigation with insurance companies or who have permits opened with the town to rebuild their homes, or otherwise who are in the process of rebuilding, more time to stay in trailers over those who are either absentee landlords or who aren’t active in rebuilding.
Atterholt has been told there are 145 trailers still on Fort Myers Beach properties. He said it could be a “Herculean effort” to remove the trailers by the new Aug. 8 date cited by FEMA, or even the Sept. 23 deadline the town has imposed.
“These folks have due process,” he said. “I hope we can show grace.”
The visit was the latest step in an agreement with FEMA to get off probation through the National Flood Insurance Program. The town was put on probation last year due to alleged permitless work after Hurricane Ian and an alleged lack of enforcement of floodplain management codes. The visit by FEMA was to ensure the town is enforcing its floodplain management regulations and meeting the minimum standards of the National Flood Insurance Program. The Town must demonstrate that all noncompliant structures are brought into compliance to avoid additional sanctions and to be reconsidered for the Community Rating System.
Based on an agreement announced in April, the town is scheduled to be removed from probation in November. The earliest date for the town to be reinstated to the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System to begin receiving flood insurance discounts for property owners again is April 1.
In an announcement to town residents, town management issued a statement calling the visit “a standard part of the process as we work toward full reinstatement in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Since receiving this notice, our team has been working diligently and in close coordination with FEMA and the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) to prepare for the visit. While on Fort Myers Beach, FEMA and FDEM representatives in conjunction with Town personnel, were evaluating structures and properties with the intent of correcting processes to bring us to compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
“The Town remains fully committed to transparency, compliance, and continuous improvement. This visit was a vital step in achieving our ultimate goal of being restored as an active member in the NFIP.”
The visit occurred as the town nears a Sept. 23 deadline for temporary trailers for businesses and residents to be removed.
The town previously embarked on dozens of code enforcement citations against property owners who had temporary trailers and storage containers that were in the high flood zone. Property owners largely have since moved those structures out though the town has been involved in a contested code enforcement case with the owners of La Ola Surfside Restaurant and its property at Times Square on Fort Myers Beach for months. The restaurant has been utilizing trailers since reopening after Hurricane Ian. The owner has been working on plans to rebuild the restaurant that was destroyed by Hurricane Ian.
Some town officials had hoped last year that under a new presidential administration that FEMA might have a lighter touch in regards to the enforcement of codes against properties like La Ola. So far, that does not appear to be the case.
The La Ola property has been in an administrative appeals process through the state for most of the year.
The sunsetting Sept. 23 deadline will impact all temporary trailers currently on the properties of homeowners and businesses. Those businesses include The Goodz and the Buffalo Grill.
Fort Myers Beach Communications Director Nicole Berzin said the Sept. 23 deadline complies with Senate Bill 250, a state law which allowed for the extension of temporary use permits for three years from the time a declaration of emergency was declared by a municipality. The state law extended the time frame for the temporary use permits from 24 months to 36 months, and also extended the time certain permits can be acted on to 48 months in the case of multiple disasters.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach approved temporary use permits for residents and businesses to utilize trailers after Hurricane Ian.
There has been some confusion amongst some businessowners if they will be allowed to continue doing business out of trailers that can be hauled off in the event of a hurricane on a light truck. The Goodz owner Graham Bellger said he bought new, smaller trailers that can fit on a light truck after he was told by town officials that he could continue using a trailer as long as it could fit on a light truck to conform to FEMA codes.
Berzin said the town was checking with FEMA on that. FEMA officials declined to comment on their site visit to Fort Myers Beach last week.
Lea Crager, External Affairs Director for the Office of the Regional Administrator in FEMA Region 4, referred any questions about the visit back to the town.
Bellger has been working on plans to rebuild his hardware business since Hurricane Ian destroyed his business. He has been operating out of makeshift trailers across the street on property where the Sea Gypsy Inn previously stood. In addition to the hardware store, he has an ice cream trailer with popular Love Boat Ice Cream and a gift shop.
Bellger was initially told by town officials that they were working on getting him more time for an extension but that no longer appears to be the case. In May, he was told that he could stay so long as the trailers could be removed with a light pickup truck. That led to him getting lighter trailers that could be removed with a light pickup truck.
“How does that make sense that they are going to have a food truck park here but we can’t (have trailers)?” Bellger said. Earlier this year, the town approved a food truck park just down the road from where his trailers are.
“We are a lifesaver for people on the island so you don’t have to go off island to Home Depot or Loewe’s,” Bellger said. Bellger sells ice, hardware goods, Fort Myers Beach shirts, propane tanks and even cuts keys.
Atterholt said he has yet to hear from those who still in trailers though he expects the town may hear from them soon now that the new FEMA letter has been put out by the town. “People are still getting their heads wrapped around the Sept. 23 deadline,” he said.
“My heart breaks for those people who are still in litigation with their insurance companies,” he said. “At some point they have to make some kind of decision to rebuild or sell.”
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers could not be reached Thursday following the latest FEMA letter but said this past week that the town’s Sept. 23 deadline for temporary trailers to be removed “has been publicly discussed for some time to ensure that individuals operating under a temporary use permit have the opportunity to plan accordingly.”
Allers said that depending on the location of the property and the use of the property, “there may still be a potential path forward through the special exception process” to continue using trailers. “However, each situation is unique, and outcomes will vary based on individual circumstances,” he said.
“We strongly encourage anyone impacted by the upcoming deadline to reach out to Town staff as soon as possible for guidance and assistance in exploring available options moving forward,” Allers said.
Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay issued a statement on Thursday about the pending Sept. 23 deadline for trailers and the town’s commitment to the deadline. “”As of September 23, 2025, the current provision allowing permits for trailers and RVs will expire. This is part of the Town’s effort to comply with FEMA regulations and restore its standing in the National Flood Insurance Program,” McKannay said.
“Finding a compliant path forward is deeply important to me–not just as a matter of policy, but as a personal mission to support our residents and businesses in their recovery. I am working closely with our elected leaders, my staff, and FEMA representatives to identify a solution that protects this vital resource while ensuring full alignment with floodplain management standards,” McKannay said.
“Our community has come too far, and although I cannot yet promise success in this effort, I will pursue this goal relentlessly until we have exhausted all efforts.”