Holmes Beach eliminates ‘lookback’ for substantial improvements

HOLMES BEACH – Property own­ers in the city are no longer subject to a one-year lookback requirement regarding the total cumulative cost of repairs, renovations or recon­struction made to their structures.

The lookback period pertains to compliance with FEMA’s 50% substantial improvement/substan­tial damage rule.

According to the Manatee County website, “The 50% Rule is a regula­tion of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that prohibits improvements or repairs to a struc­ture exceeding 50% of its market value unless the entire structure is brought into full compliance with current flood regulations. This may include elevating the structure, using flood-resistant materials and proper flood venting.”

In a December 2024 memo to city commissioners, Director of Development Services Chad Minor and Building Official Neal Schwartz stated, “This reason for this change is to allow existing structures that need repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, alteration, addition or other improvements not to have to wait one year from the final inspec­tion date. Due to the hurricanes, several property owners that had made improvements would have to wait to pull a permit due to this one-year lookback.”

The proposed changes to the city’s one-year cumulative calculation requirements were presented to the Holmes Beach City Commission on Dec. 17, reviewed by the planning commission on Jan. 15 and adopted in the form of Ordinance 25-01 by the city commission on second and final reading on Feb. 11.

One of the clauses contained in the new ordinance says, “The city commission, at the recommendation of staff, has determined that rescind­ing the one-year lookback period relative to the accumulation of costs regarding substantial improvements is in the best interest of the health, safety and welfare of the public and is imperative to support the city’s recovery and continued participation in the NFIP.”

The previous city ordinance contained language that referenced repairs, renovations and reconstruc­tion “taking place during a one-year period.” That language does not appear in adopted Ordinance 25-01.

The previous ordinance also contained language that said, “For each building or structure, the one-year period begins on the date of the certificate of completion or the certificate of occupancy of the first improvement or repair of that building or structure subsequent to June 27, 2019.” That language does not appear in Ordinance 25-01.

Ordinance 25-01 now defines substantial improvement as, “Any combination of repair, reconstruc­tion, rehabilitation, alteration, addition or other improvement of a building or structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the building or structure before the improvement or repair is started. If the structure has incurred ‘substantial damage’ any repairs are considered substantial improvement regardless of the actual repair work performed.”

Staff insights

During the Dec. 17 meeting, Com­missioner Carol Soustek asked staff if the city is allowed to remove the one-year lookback requirement. She was told the city could remove the requirement.

“If we pass this on the second reading (on Feb. 11) it will be effective immediately,” Schwartz said. “In the year period, over the lookback period, we’ve had several homes that have been remodeled up to 49% or under the 50% rule. Based on the damage they have received, they would have to wait one complete year from the completion (of previous repairs and renovations). Some of these weren’t even completed yet, so they’re caught between a rock and hard place so they just have to sit there for a year to start over. I didn’t think that was fair.”

Schwartz said he contacted state floodplain management coordinator Rebecca Quinn about eliminating the one-year lookback and he was told approximately 30 other municipali­ties were in the process of doing the same thing.

Schwartz said removing the one-year lookback requirement would not affect the city’s Community Rating System rating that currently provides Holmes Beach property owners with a 20% discount on flood insurance policies issued through or in conjunc­tion with FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program; and the CRS discount currently experienced in Holmes Beach is expected to increase to 25% on Oct. 1.

“Neal, you’re a genius. You have really altered some lives with this,” Commissioner Carol Soustek said on Dec. 17.

“Everybody knows my house was affected too. I feel for everybody,” Schwartz responded, noting that Soustek, Mayor Judy Titsworth and Commissioner Carol Whitmore were also among those displaced by the hurricanes.

When presenting the ordinance for final adoption on Feb. 11, Minor said, “Due to the hurricanes, sev­eral property owners that had made improvements would have to wait to pull a permit to address this one-year lookback. This is striking that one-year lookback period.”

Schwartz said one of the goals is to prevent “phasing.”

“At the end of a permit, a permit has to be completed. You can’t go into phasing. Once you get that final (inspection), you get to start over. That is called phasing. FEMA looks very bad upon phasing. We could lose our CRS rating for that,” he said.