The Fort Myers Beach Town Council has approved a resolution revoking temporary use permits issued following Hurricane Ian. It was determined that this affects 11 property owners. If you are living in a trailer on your property while you rebuild this change does not impact you.
Before Monday’s Town Council meeting it was unclear if the ordinance change meant residents living in trailers would have to remove them. Town staff clarified that it does not include those RV’s. This all goes back to the FEMA warning letters that highlighted structures such as connex boxes and shipping containers that FEMA said never should have been allowed in the flood zone. Town Manager Andy Hyatt said, “FEMA has told us that if something can be hooked up to a pickup truck and hauled away it’s not in violation.”
This is one of the many harsher steps the town is taking to try to get back in the good graces of FEMA after losing its 25% discount in the National Flood Insurance Program. If you have not received a notice of violation from the town as of today you will not be receiving one according to the Town Attorney. However if you do have a temporary use permit it will be revoked. All violations have been issued and if those that did receive violations do not come into compliance they will go before a state administrative judge starting on January 7th. As of today property owner Chris Primeau who owns the property La Ola is renting in Times Square, is the only item on the state administrator’s docket.
The state administrative judge can rule that the structures have to be removed immediately or give the violator a certain amount of days to remove them. The town attorney said Monday the town will be asking for immediate removal. The judges ruling can be appealed to the circuit court.
The original target list included 50 properties. Many of the property owners that received violations have now come into compliance. Here is the remaining 11 properties on the town’s target list:
Since losing the 25% NFIP discount, Mayor Allers has said repeatedly on his Sunday show that the town was going to crack down and get stricter. The goal is to get the discount back as soon as possible. Residents in the program will be without the discount for at least 2 years.
Local journalism is hard work. If you appreciate the most in-depth reporting on Fort Myers Beach, please support what we do HERE by Venmo, Zell or PayPal. Thank you.
Driving down Estero I see lots with 2 trailers on them. One can only assume they were permitted by the town.
Now it the town denies it, I’ll direct their attention to the locations and call out the liar.
OK, then why is the city creating NEW trailer 16 month permits? We have neighbors from out of state that bought several months ago, knowing there is no home on the lot and the city gave them a 16 month permit to live in their trailer while it they submit new home building plans, etc. They never were here during Ian, after Ian, or the like. The city did this for money and could care less about us who never received a trailer from FEMA and now have to look at the eye-sore and watch our property values drop, and FEMA go up. Crooked.
I have seen trailers that have construction workers living in them. Also, some owners (who are not under contract to build a home) have parked trailers on the lot and they do not live in them. They use them as a vacation spot if them come in town. The whole “I need to clarify FEMA” is nothing but an excuse by Allers. All the other towns managed to understand FEMA rules. The town council have done nothing to help improve the values of our homes. My home has dropped a significant amount.
Are you selling? If not you haven’t lost anything.
Does this include the permit for the temporary town hall building or they didn’t need a permit ?
It seems to me that the town council is not listening to the residents with regards to the Seagate situation; I was under the impression that the TC acted with the voters wishes and it seems that very few residents are in favor of the Seagate project. I think that money was given to council members under the table to advance this issue, hopefully I’m wrong but it has me thinking that they are more on the side of the Seagate officials rather than the voters. At this point what benefit do we the residents receive from being separated from Lee County? Are there some tax benefits we receive? Would our property taxes be less under Lee County? Maybe it’s time we start thinking of going back under the jurisdiction of Lee County, can’t be any worse.
Pretty sure we can all argue this issue until we turn blue, FEMA or the Town isn’t going to make any exceptions for businesses even if the unit can be moved at a moments notice, typical government, makes no sense.
This is only going to hurt the town by not generating any tax revenue.
As long as Fresh Catch Bistro is standing, this is all bull…..
Why is that building still standing ??
Wait 38 days and it will be taken care of. FEMA as we know it is on its way out!!
As an owner I am sorry for the hardship that folks went through during the past few Hurricane seasons as we all did. Although it’s been two plus years, many of the properties have not been cleaned, repaired, or removed while Campers replaced houses etc. I can understand the reason for the removal of these items, first a large storage container or camper will float once surrounded by water as little as a foot. One of those hit our residence and caused considerable damage. Sorry they need to be removed.
I recently went to Siesta Key/Anna Maria Island and Long Boat Key in Sarasota county. They were ground zero for Milton. You can barely tell there was a hurricane.Any destroyed homes are gone It is immaculate and repairs are completed or are in the process of being rebuilt. There is NO EXCUSE for how FMB has been managed and still looks as it does. We have someone making decisions that can’t even comprehend what FEMA wants. Why did Sieta Key, etc not have to left their destroyed buildings stand for years? It’s because the people that live there would have never tolerated the mayor/TC let the islands just sit and rot.
Hurricane Ian was a hundred times worse than Milton .. houses floated away , the dead were found in mangroves and the lot next to our home. water level hit 18ft in our home . Winds that exceeded 155 , ask Coast Guard . And i could go on & on . So step back and understand there is no comparison
dont worry yall, trump will fix all your problems come january. then you can finally rest and stop complaining-sincerely, your mom.
If the town leadership had taken the action to revoke the temporary use permits back in August 2024 when FEMA sent their notice regarding probation/discount loss/$50 surcharge, maybe we would not be on probation, would not have lost our discount, and would not be subject to the $50.00 surcharge. Not to mention the embarrassment to the town and residents, loss of property values, and the increasing interest in moving back to Lee county jurisdiction.
There has to be a legal way to get around the “non-compliant structure ” issue ? The La Ola trailers and others can be moved , and were moved prior to the last hurricane. I don’t see the issue. Was Red Coconut in violation when they existed or is this a new rule?
This should include RV and camper trailers to be removed or ordered not to be inhabited. The ones around me are not inhabited by the actual owners of the land. They are being rented to other people and they have no plans of rebuilding nor working on plans to rebuild. Other people that are staying on vacant lots are builders and contractors working on other peoples properties, not the ones they are living on. Can see it right on Estero, can’t miss it. The town just turns their heads and pretend not seeing it happen. I brought it their attention including the town manager and the council with addresses and pictures of proof and nothing was done about these free loaders, they are still there. Other owners are using campers as weekend getaways with no plans on rebuilding, this means they are second homeowners living off island. By now, over 2 years after Ian there should be at a minimum plans submitted to rebuild. This should be the criteria to allow owner occupied RVs to remain if that is the consideration of allowing them to stay. Otherwise revoke them all.
100% agreed.
100% agree as well. Actual owners with actual rebuild going on, should be allowed to stay.
Not possible for some waiting on FEMA and the HMGP grant. We are not permitted to Touch our properties. If we do we lose the grant to help rebuild.
There are I believe 68 homes on that list. We don’t have deep pockets to rebuild without help. Many can’t afford to live anywhere but the trailers.( that’s not an excuse for those that use as you stated above)
FEMA has a double standard.
I pulled out of the grant program after doing a little research and seeing that it can take many years to get approval. Sadly I’m now pulling money from my 401k to rebuild above BFE. A sad state of affairs all the way around!! Now I am worried about future taxes and insurance costs. Where does it end?!!?
I don’t understand why this is a problem. I hope FEMA is planning on paying for these people’s rents!!!! Another thing why isn’t the town focusing on the structures that don’t have any permits and their homes and properties are unsafe. In my street there are quite a few of these that nothing has been done since IAN. Since the new town hall will literally be around the corner from my house I plan on being there every day to complaining about the houses on my street as soon as soon as we are able to move back into our home!!!!
Instead of going to town.. maybe talk to those owners and you might find many are waiting on the grant or still fighting insurance.
Maybe they need help.
I would if I could but that house was rented for over 20 years and the owners live somewhere in Austria. No one has been to that house since IAN and it literally looks like a jungle so yes I will be paying town hall a visit.
A 25% discount on flood insurance for a barrier island makes no business sense. Only in an inefficient government world would that be on the table. The rates are likely inflated before the 25% is applied. That may change starting January 20th.
Dissolve FMB government and go back to Lee County control.. The Town isn’t doing anything that we created the town for anyway
I’m having the same tendency to agree.
BTR, can we get some actual ideas from a wider variety of islanders how much it really costs to lose the “25%” discounts? Is there a big difference between commercial and residential? There was a FB post the other day when many people chimed in that their “community rating discount” was around $14. My newest bill (MAY 2024) showed the discount as $19 on a $4300 premium for my single family home. I am curious if there is more to the discount structure that I am missing or is the benefit really that minimal and we are making a bigger deal out of it that it really is
My policy is $5000/yr, and my discount WAS $575. Maybe the ones that were responsible for this should be held accountable and have to pay back the residents out of their own pocket…not the taxpayers!!
I agree! It is being blown off by saying FEMA wasn’t clear but then we were told that the mayor met with FEMA for weekly updates with other mayors and somehow our mayor was the only mayor that wasn’t able to understand the rules that FEMA was demanding. Now we get the “opps, well we will get it clairified and fix it and in 2 yrs we can get our discount back” TWO YEARS!!!!! That alone is reason enough that the town should be dissolved.
You are certainly welcome to your opinion but this comment is not accurate. There have never been weekly meetings with mayors and FEMA. There has been weekly meetings with staff and FEMA. Local FEMA reps not the decision makers in Atlanta or DC. As I have stated before I was not allowed in the weekly meetings over the last 6 months. That should tell you something. Why would FEMA not want elected officials in the room when they are controlling the outcome of this decision?
Were others Mayors allowed in their FEMA meetings or was it just you? Doesn’t FEMA only meet with town staff, not elected officials. Are elected officials really controlling the outcome of this decision or is it town staff? Does staff take direction from elected officials or the town manager?
You told Ed in one of your weekly shows that you were in weekly meetings with FEMA (zoom calls, I assume) with all the other mayors. Then you said suddenly you were not allowed and after that it was just your staff. Ed would have to look back at what you said but at this point it doesn’t matter. You failed to “comprehend” FEMA’s requirements when everyone else somehow was able to figure it out. Now you want us to pay $7,500 per month for a lobbyist to help you understand what they want. This sure sounds like a money grab to me. Maybe drive to Siesta Key and take a look at what their town looks like. It is immaculate. No broken down buildings, dead trees and piles of garbage. Everything has been torn down and removed and they are already building. If it was here it would still be standing as a big eye-sore and being ignored. You can defend your lack of response all you want but the town still in a total state of disarray speaks volumes. It’s embarrassing at this point.
Ed asked something about that on Allers radio show and Allers came up with the answer that it’s not just the lost discount but if we decided to not comply then FEMA also would not give us any assistance in the event of an emergency. I didn’t look into that but I don’t think that is true.
It is true.
The most dire consequences don’t happen when a municipality is on probation like FMB now is, but when suspension occurs. Yes, suspension means that FEMA would provide zero disaster assistance including things like paying for debris cleanup. FMB saved literal millions after Ian when FEMA picked up the tab for debris cleanup.
Odd that Allers wasn’t sure why we lost our discount. Maybe he can “clairify” why we actually lost our discount and who will have to pay the money that home owners lost due to the people that cost us this loss. Maybe there needs to be a class A lawsuit for all the extra money this will cost us for TWO YEARS. We have increased fees for TWO YEARS!!! How many people didn’t know it lasts for 2 yrs.?
Kristi Noem will now be in charge of FEMA, maybe we should contact her. The trainwreck ends on Jan 20th.
I talked to my insurance agent and she confirmed that the Community rating Discount line was the one being talked about. She also said other factors also determined the amount. Mine was $14 on $4000 but my house is at grade level.
My discount was just short of $600.00. It does appear to 25% of the policy.
This makes no sense. So people that want to rebuild are suppose to move off the island and park their camper and drive back and forth and also pay rent to someone else. Is FEMA picking up the tab for these people’s rent?
All temp trailers aren’t the problem. Lee county allows RVs in front of homes. The state placed many campers, in fact, to help those while rebuilding. Right on San Carlos Island.
If it was safe at red coconut, it’s no different on a driveway. They can be moved from one moment to the next. That’s not the problem. That’s just going to make people homeless and create more problems. Don’t use a mallet when you need a scalpel. Think things through, guys.
If a home owner has an active contract and is in the process of building, and they have a truck on site to move their trailer, then they should be allowed. But what about the owners that parked a camper and they don’t even live in the area and are not under contract and when storms are approaching, they do nothing and the trailer/RV is left to float into neighbors homes, fences, trees, etc?
Agree!
We have residents from out of state who got a rv permit from FMB for 16 months to live in 2023! They are in the process if building permits and it’s an eye sore and depleting property values for someone who doesn’t deserve it or went through it. Maybe that’s why FEMA is not having it.
Temporary trailers that can be pulled be a pick up or driven off are not the problem. The town needs to enforce all the houses that didn’t get permits after Ian. There are 100s if not 1000s!! My street alone has quite a few! So the ones following the rules get punished by FEMA too?!!! Do your job.
don’t believe that is the issue – the issue is that some structures were permitted incorrectly – they are talking about the large trailers such as the town hall, and some of the food installations. I think the town only wanted to help but you know FEMA. This is not so much about someone changing a tap or fixing a fence panel:
‘Remove noncompliant structures that were incorrectly permitted and should not have been placed in the Special Flood Hazard Area.’ They went on to say ‘the town also did not remove the non-compliant structures that were incorrectly permitted and should not have been placed in the Special Flood Hazard Area.’’
I know there are construction people living in the trailers and I also know that there are owners that are NOT under contract to rebuild and just put a trailer on their lot that they use for a vacation home. We have one by us that rents it out to vacationers. They left these trailers during the hurricanes and didn’t bother moving them until Milton, some of them were moved. We have a guy living in an RV on our street that no one knows who he is and the owner claimed that he is helping them with some things. No he is not. He dresses in business casual and leaves every day and is gone all day. It’s just an empty lot with a beat up RV parked on it. No work is going on. A letter was sent to Allers and clearly he ignored it.