HOLMES BEACH – The Manatee County Development Services department has received more than 11,000 building permit applications in recent months, many of them hurricane-related.
The ongoing delays in obtaining county-issued building permits were discussed during District 3 Manatee County Commissioner Tal Siddique’s town hall meeting held on Feb. 13 at the Island Branch Library in Holmes Beach. During his opening remarks, Siddique briefly addressed the county’s struggle to keep up with the current permitting demands.
“We are very behind. Permits have been a big topic for me,” he said. “We can’t hire enough people. I keep telling the board (of county commissioners) to find some solutions. We need to get people back in their homes, get their roofs fixed, get their houses fixed and get back on track.”
According to the FEMA website, “Every part of a building – from roofs, walls and siding to plumbing, septic systems and heating/air conditioning systems – may require a permit before you start to rebuild. A permit may also be needed for demolition.”
After Siddique’s opening remarks, Flamingo Cay resident Darren Horesh initiated a longer discussion about the county’s permitting challenges.
“Those of us who had our homes affected are being tortured by the insurance companies, by the mortgage companies and then by the county who won’t give us permits. They won’t let us fix our homes,” Horesh said.
The Flamingo Cay community is located along Manatee Avenue in unincorporated Manatee County, near Anna Maria Island. Unincorporated areas are those located outside the city limits of one of the six Manatee County municipalities. Hurricane repairs made to properties located in unincorporated areas are permitted and inspected by county staff. The properties in Cortez, Sunny Shores and along Cortez Road west of 75th Street West are all in unincorporated Manatee County.
“We’re all sitting pretending like we’re all fine and we’re building back and we’re not,” Horesh said.
He said the county only has two employees working on permit applications. He later clarified that he was referring specifically to permits needed for hurricane-related repairs, including flood damage – a claim the county later addressed.
“It just goes on day after day. Nothing’s happening. No permits are being issued, so what are we going to do?” Horesh said.
“It’s getting hot out. All these homes you’re not letting us fix are going to fill with mold in the next few months. Is the county go to pay to remediate that? The citizens of the county are suffering and nothing’s happened,” he said.
Siddique said he doesn’t get involved in the day-to-day operations of the building department but he has been contacted by a dozen county residents regarding their permitting delays. He said he asked the department directors to submit proposed budget amendments seeking funds for additional staffing. He noted Manatee County is currently competing with several other counties, from Sarasota to Naples, in its efforts to hire more staff. Siddique, who was elected in November, said the county lost 1,100 employees during the past four years.
Horesh asked why Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state aren’t providing more assistance.
“This is a national disaster. This is an emergency. We’re not some third-world country. We deserve to get back in our homes. We deserve to not be worried about having our homes red-tagged and us being penalized for fixing our own home. Do something and stop acting like everything’s fine. It’s not,” Horesh said.
After noting that hurricanes are not new to this area, Susanne Arbanas said, “Why weren’t we prepared for something like this? We were not ready. You don’t get ready after it happens, you get ready before it occurs. It wasn’t done appropriately beforehand and now we’re suffering. I’m a renter, but I lost everything I own. Why weren’t people in place to take care of a situation like this? Who was responsible? Who can we talk to about that?”
Siddique said the blame ultimately falls on himself and the other county commissioners.
“I’m putting real public pressure on staff to get after that problem,” Siddique said, noting he’s also reached out to State Sen. Jim Boyd and State Rep. Will Robinson Jr. for assistance.
County response
On Feb. 14, The Sun emailed Information Outreach Manager Bill Logan, County Administrator Charlie Bishop and County Commission Chair George Kruse seeking clarification on some of the statements and assertions made at the town hall meeting.
In his email response, Logan wrote, “We have approximately 11,000 properties that received substantial damage and this is directly contributing to the increased levels in permit applications we receive. In October and November, we saw a 50% increase in permit applications compared to pre-storms – approximately 6,200 compared to 4,000. In January, we saw another increase with over 6,500 applications.”
According to Logan, the county currently has approximately 12 permitting technicians, approximately four floodplain review specialists, 20 additional permitting employees contracted from the Florida Department of Emergency Management, approximately five plan review officers and the contractual services of two private companies assisting the county with plan reviews and floodplain reviews and approximately 29 building inspection officers.
According to state law, only one person per county or city can be designated as the building official. Logan said Matthew Rush is currently serving as the county’s interim building official.
When asked when and why former Manatee County Building Official Bill Palmer recently vacated that position, Logan referred The Sun to the county’s human resource department. Kruse confirmed Palmer’s recent departure, but he didn’t know Palmer’s departure date or the reason for his departure.
On Feb. 14, Bradenton Beach Commissioners approved hiring Palmer to serve as the city’s new city-employed building official and former county employee Sandy Tudor to serve as the city’s floodplain manager.
Palmer will replace former third-party-contracted building official Darin Cushing, who was suspended in late January and later terminated.
The town hall meeting video can be viewed on YouTube at “Tal Siddique Town Hall @ Island Branch Library.” The county permitting discussion began early in the meeting.
