When the sand settled from the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ian, and the rebuilding began, the talk of the town was about permits. Homeowners learned many lessons about permitting they never dreamed they’d have to learn, especially when a contractor dropped the ball or they didn’t know how to use the town’s permit portal.
There’s no doubt many homeowners on Fort Myers Beach now could teach a master-class in permitting as a result of Hurricane Ian. There’s also no denying that when the new administration finally wrapped their arms around every Hurricane Ian related issue that needed to be dealt with, Town Manager Andy Hyatt, Operations Manager Frankie Kropacek and the current Town Council put a system in place to make the permitting process more user friendly, and whenever possible, faster for homeowners.
Changes to the process included hiring a new, friendlier, and less-rigid building inspector, and moving the entire process in-house and out of the hands of contract workers who had no idea what Fort Myers Beach residents were going through. When things were way more hectic than they are today, council members were also helping by looking up permit numbers for residents to see what they could do to help them get back into their homes.
Today, getting a permit is a much smoother process. Complaints are few and far between and you no longer hear; ‘Lee County has a much more friendly process for getting permits.’Â What we are hearing more about is the work that was and is being done without a permit, but that’s a story for another day.
With nearly every structure damaged or destroyed by Ian, the need for permits quickly exploded. To put things into perspective, here are a few stats to chew on. The total number of permits issued by Fort Myers Beach in 2022 was 901. In 2023 the total number of permits issued was 3,960. And so far in 2024, 1,561 permits have been permits issued.
When you break the numbers down to single-family homes, here are those specific stats: Before the storm, in 2022, 8 single-family home permits were issued. Between January 2023 and June 2023, 30 single-family home permits were issued. So far, from January 2024 to June 2024, 57 single-family permits have been issued. Drive up and down any street on Fort Myers Beach and you’ll see the activity. Getting people back in their homes as quickly as possible has always been the top priority of the current Town Council
The town expects the 2024 number of permits issued to surpass 2023, and they tell us they are ready to make that happen. “Our Community Development Department is working diligently to ensure our residents and business owners are able to move forward with their build back process in a safe and resilient manner.”
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I was very proactive immediately after the Hurricane … went on the town site and figured out to navigate the then, very complicated process of getting permits and inspections… long story short was able to work with my insurance company and hired wonderful local people, dealt with helpful people in the town of FMB and moved back into my home ( by the way I lost everything and when I say everything many of you know what I mean)…all that was left after the storm was my roof and the structure. I moved off island for 8 months and moved back into my remolded home in June of 2023. Now we move forward to deal with challenges like FEMA and crazy high property values. God help us all!!
When the next hurricane hits, the permit office can help to guide us on what to do in the first 3 months after a storm. We all learned where to find the value of our homes on the assessor site. We know what the 50% rule means. We know where online to look for permits. We know which type of permits we need. We know how to fill out the forms. I hope they create a protocol of where they will be stationed if their building no longer exists or unable to get on the island.
People are resilient. Our memory does fade and learning from our past is so important.
I was one of the first people to get a permit after the storm. The storm hit the end of September and I received mine approved permit Resident Remodel permit on December 28th. It took 3 months. I do this for a living in Iowa and I understand permitting. We can learn from our past and be more prepared.
Thank you all for your hard work.
Just wondering do you need a permit to change your kitchen cabinets..???
Money Grab by the town. It’s ridiculous.
It was a master class in permitting.. And the more we learned , we shared that with them as they began work on our property, many reputable businesses down simply did not have people in place on their side that could figure it out . That was a more of a holdup than with the town.. so to the town , it was a long & overwhelming process. Fingers crossed moving into this season .
How much Revenue is this producing? Way more than the property tax… i would assume… e.g. $400 for replacing a fence.. $800 for a remodel. $600 for dock work, $600 for pavers….
What a great success story for the town staff! Congrats!
It’s still a cluster. Most of the employees give you the run around on simple permits like a grilling hut, landscaping, curbing, lighting etc. this article is a joke.
My wife and I were definitely at a novice level when it came to permitting. Several anomalies unfolded with our rebuild that required assistance from the permitting staff. There were (5) permits in total for our rebuild including the initial one that covered the required structural and electrical inspections.
The entire staff was helpful when questions came up however we’d like to call out Ashley, Andrew as well as Joe who helped us tremendously when it came down to the final inspections for all the work. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
We received two permits in August 2022: one from a contractor to remodel our second floor and another for a pool. Both took about three months to issue. In December 2022, we submitted an owner-built permit to redo the damaged first floor, which was issued about a month later. Finally, in September 2023, we obtained a couple of permits for driveway and patio repairs, which also took about a month to issue.
Despite the influx of requests and a few variances along the way, all permits were successfully closed out by March 2024. The town was helpful with the permitting and variance process, and the turnaround time was impressively quick. I have always been very happy with how the town handled the permitting process.
CUDOS to the Progress made so far.
FMB building department is doing a great job. And they have all along.
Most of the problems weren’t in the system but out of town contractors who had no idea how to build on the island.
Kudos to all those good folks. They’re doing a great job.