Local government officials in Southwest Florida and their nearly 127,000 residents affected are breathing a sigh of relief this morning at the news that FEMA has reversed its decision to eliminate their 25% discount on federal flood insurance policies. FEMA made the original decision in March, saying five communities – Cape Coral, Fort Myers Beach, Bonita Springs, Estero and unincorporated Lee County – failed to follow federal rules on permissible rebuilding after September 2022’s Hurricane Ian. The discount loss was about $300 extra per policy or $38 million collectively.
The discounts are awarded under the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS), which rewards local communities that mitigate flood risk. That includes enforcement of the so-called “50% Rule” which requires homes in flood zones that suffer damage of at least 50% of their market value (not including the land) be brought up to current building codes – often involving more costly rebuild and elevation, rather than simple repair. It was there that FEMA found fault, with lack of documentation and in some cases, work performed without permits.
FEMA Region 4 Administrator Robert Samaan
In the past 60-days since, those five communities have been busy reinspecting and collecting paperwork from homeowners to try to correct deficiencies and violations noted by FEMA. This past Friday, FEMA notified all five that it was satisfied at the effort and would keep the discounts in place at NFIP policy renewal on October 1. However, in the case of Cape Coral, FEMA Regional Administrator Robert Samaan wrote to City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn “We acknowledge the work invested by you and your team has resulted in some improvements to meet minimum floodplain management standards, and I appreciate your leadership in this area. However…FEMA finds that outstanding compliance issues remain…(and) if the violations are not corrected or remedied by Nov. 18, FEMA’s regulations require us to place the city on probation” with the CRS program resulting in a loss of all residents’ policy discounts. The letter summarized the remaining deficiencies, including 60% of the permit packages still incomplete, and requires the city “put a process in place to ensure substantial damage compliance for future events.”
Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter
Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter, who in April said “FEMA is the villain here,” told Fox 4 last Friday “I think we both have learned through this process and it’s a team effort. I think some of the things they may have identified wasn’t totally accurate, but I’m sure there were some instances on our side as well.” There is more work to be done by unincorporated Lee County, too. “Essentially the notification today provides the county an extension to further clarify our processes and preserve the CRS rating in the future,” said Lee County Manager Dave Harner in a Friday statement.
As I wrote in our April Lisa’s Blog, I understand the goal of local officials is to get residents back in their homes. I think FEMA’s action serves as a wake-up call for our communities that the 50% rule is not intended to be punitive. It is intended to save people’s lives.
