On Monday FEMA notified the Town of Fort Myers Beach that it had met the requirements to be removed from probation under the National Flood Insurance Program, effective November 18, 2025.
FEMA says the Town accomplished the five action items they needed to in order to come off probation.
On his Facebook page Mayor Dan Allers thanked “Town staff, community members, Congressman Byron Donalds, Senator Rick Scott, Senator Ashley Moody, and our partners at FEMA for working tirelessly to make this possible. Together, we are building a stronger, safer, and more resilient Fort Myers Beach.”
Here’s the full letter which was sent to Town Manager Andy Hyatt:
Dear Mr. Hyatt:
I am very pleased to inform you that the Town of Fort Myers Beach has met the requirements to be removed from probation under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), effective November 18, 2025. This will end the $50 surcharge that was added to all NFIP policies within the Town limits as part of the probation action on November 18, 2024. This decision is the result of the long hours and hard work that you and your staff has dedicated to addressing the five action actions identified by letter on July 19, 2024.
These action items were:
1. Develop and submit a plan that includes actions and timelines to address all identified program deficiencies and violations to the maximum extent possible.
2. Assess all floodplain development from Hurricane Ian in the Special Flood Hazard Area,
ensuring that permits for all repairs, construction and development were obtained consistent with local floodplain management regulations.
3. Provide documentation that demonstrates your community is leveraging its code enforcement process to address new and existing code cases for all structures not confirmed as compliant.
4. Put a process in place to ensure substantial damage compliance for future events.
5. Remove noncompliant structures that were incorrectly permitted and should not have been placed in the Special Flood Hazard Area.
The Town accomplished the first and the fourth action items by submitting a plan to address deficiencies and establishing a process to ensure substantial damage compliance for future events by the deadline of November 18, 2024.
For action items two and three, a review of the updated information shows that the Town has completed the required reassessment of their Special Flood Hazard Area as required by action item two and is continuing to leverage their Code Enforcement process to remedy non-compliant structures. Regarding action item five, the Town is taking steps through court proceedings to address previously identified noncompliant structures.
The next step is to schedule a Community Assistance Visit (CAV) no later than August 31, 2025. The CAV ensures the Town is enforcing its floodplain management regulations and meeting the minimum standards of the NFIP. A key component of the CAV is an assessment of noncompliant structures in the Special Flood
Hazard Area. The Town must demonstrate that all noncompliant structures are brought into compliance to avoid additional NFIP sanctions and to be reconsidered for the Community Rating System (CRS). The earliest date for reinstatement to CRS is April 1, 2026.
I don’t understand what y’all are not reading correctly because it wasn’t famous as fault. It was the city’s fault for not complying with what they were supposed to do in reference to any flood plans.
Well if we were targeted by FEMA then our mayor and manager should have immediately contacted Bondi to investigate why we were targeted and Kristi Noem (who is in charge of FEMA) should have been called in to make correct the damage they did. I know my family never received one cent from FEMA for anything. We didn’t even get the $700 that everyone got. Recently, out of the clear blue, they contacted me again and I was told I needed an inspection and to prove my power was out during that time. AND Yes, this happened since Noem and her inflated lips slitered into office. So not sure which party was the one targeting this island but if it is true then we need Bondi and “Lips” to stop doing interviews and get out here and fix this island. All I have heard was that it was FEMA’s fault and we were the only area targeted so Bondi and Lips should absolutely be brought in to expose who did this. If it is true, then the Mayor and the Manager should have been knocking on DeSantis’s door daily until they got answers.
Sorry you feel that way Debbie but we were ground zero for Ian and we were 100% targeted by FEMA. You only have to look at the connex boxes and the boat just off island to see that FEMA was not consistent in applying their policies.
This should have never happened in the first place had our “leaders” been on top of this. We were the ONLY town that lost our rating and yet certain people kept pointing their finger at others and then would say “that’s OK I’ll take the blame for it” acting like they were the hero. They were NOT the hero. They are the cause of this happening. The home owners have gone through enough and we are NOT getting the support expected. I don’t want to hear any of them get on Ed’s show and act like they were the hero and get this reversed.