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Mobile homes likely fall within repair guidelines

Mobile homes likely within repair guidelines

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News, Featured.

BRADENTON BEACH – Preliminary data from hurricane damage assessments may offer some hope to mobile homeowners at the Pines Trailer Park and Sandpiper Resort Co-op.

At a Dec. 4 emergency city commission meeting, Commissioner Deborah Scaccianoce asked Building Official Darin Cushing if inspectors had completed damage assessments at the mobile home parks.

“The trailer parks I can tell you are probably much better off than a lot of people were worried about,” Cushing said. “There are, I would say, only maybe three or four at the Pines that are above and beyond the 50%, the rest are below. The Sandpiper, same deal, maybe three or four there and one of them is already in the process of permitting a new elevated trailer there.”

Preliminary data: Mobile homes likely fall within repair guidelines
One Pines Trailer Park mobile home was severely damaged in hurricane – Leslie Lake | Sun

The 86 mobile homes at the waterfront Pines Trailer Park had varying levels of water intrusion during the storm surge from Hurricane Helene in September.

At an Oct. 17 city commission meeting, mobile homeowners were told that FEMA guidelines related to hurricane flooding triggered a city floodplain ordinance requiring elevation of the mobile homes if the cost to repair those structures to their pre-storm state exceeded 50% of their market value.

Cushing, former Building Official Steve Gilbert and a team of 20 damage inspectors provided by the state assessed hurricane-damaged properties city-wide.

“People have to understand we’re following the process,” Cushing said. “We have to follow federal guidelines and stay in compliance with our Community Rating System and NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) guidelines.”

Following the Dec. 4 meeting, Cushing told The Sun, “Preliminary data coming back from the inspectors looks like most of the Pines and most of Sandpiper parks are going to be in OK shape. They’re going to be able to keep them as they are.”

Cushing said some homeowners will need permits to do some of the repair work.

“That will chip away at some of their 50% looking forward, but it’s a year period, they could do work on it and keep it under 50% for the next year and then after that year’s over they can do more,” Cushing said.

Pines homeowner Ryan Pfahler owns three units at the mobile home park. He resides in one and rents the others.

“I’m not surprised at all,” he said on Dec. 5. “The appraisals have come in fairly high, and we expected most of the trailers would come in under the 50% rule.”

Pfahler said he is reluctant to spend money on appraisals or repairs without a commitment from the ownership that the park will remain in place for at least several years.

“I’m still waiting for answers from the LLC,” Pfahler said. “I don’t want to spend any money on them unless I can live in it and rent them immediately.”

Pfaher said others in the park have told him they are also hesitant to spend money to repair their mobile homes.

“I am not alone in my opinion,” he said. “Most of the people in the park don’t want to put another dime in without a guarantee.”

A representative for park owner Pines Park Investors LLC who did not wish to be named said the LLC is still waiting for official information from the city.

At a Nov. 7 city commission meeting, Shawn Kaleta, one of the park owners, said: “I’ve made a commitment to the residents from our side to keep the park there whatever it can be inside the code. I think that’s a vital part of the community, having residents and having everybody in that community as it exists.”

Damage assessments continue in Bradenton Beach

Damage assessments continue in Bradenton Beach

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News, Featured.

BRADENTON BEACH – The team of 20 state inspectors of hurricane-damaged properties is expected to be finished with their assessments this week, and the city’s inspector is asking for help replacing them with at least one inspector.

“It is a slow, arduous process. The inspectors promised both Chief (John Cosby) and I this morning that they would be fin­ished with their work at the end of the first week of December,” Building Official Darin Cushing said at a Nov. 21 city commis­sion meeting. “They’re doing every single building in the city, whether it’s elevated houses that probably got very little damage all the way down to some that are destroyed.”

Cushing asked the city to ap­prove retaining another inspector to assist him when they leave.

“There’s me and one helper,” he said. “I’m going to request the commission to up the contract you have with our company to get an inspector here to help me, because I need somebody to just go do inspections while I can do all the administrative work.”

Cushing will be evaluating properties based on the FEMA 50% rule, which states that the cost to repair hurricane-related damage to a structure must fall below 50% of the structure’s value or it must come into compliance with current FEMA regulations.

“Ultimately if you know and you feel like you’re pretty sure you’re not anywhere near close to 50% of the value of your structure, just give me a call and I will come by,” Cushing said. “I will personally look at it, give you a thumbs up, and either say keep going or we better wait until these numbers come in. I don’t want people to throw good money after bad by doing a bunch of work to the house and then find out you’re over 50% and have to elevate.”

Cushing said every property’s FEMA-appraised value is posted ,on the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s website.

“It’s written in red right in the front. They did this because they know everybody in the county is going through a similar situa­tion,” he said. “That’s the number we use as floodplain managers to make our determination.”

Using the example of a struc­ture with a value of $500,000, he said the repairs can be up to $250,000 without triggering the 50% rule.

“I don’t think it’s going to cost anybody in this entire city $250,000 to fix what they have,” Cushing said. “There’s some that are going to be close, but I feel confident after all the driving around, all the looking, all the going inside and all the climbing over debris that I’ve done over the last month and a half, there’s not going to be a huge number of those.”

Cushing said permits are not required for replacing drywall, flooring and baseboards, but permits are required for electri­cal, plumbing and structural replacement of floors and walls.

“If you have things that need permitting, turn permit applica­tions in and I’ll come take a look,” he said. “I want people to get stuff back together.”

He said the city is turning permits around every day.

“We’ve already done a second run of those folks who were on an early part of those inspections and we’re trying to do more and more every day,” Cushing said.

“Darin asked for another inspector,” Cosby said. “Let’s get that on the agenda for next Wednesday’s emergency meeting so we can get this moving along.”

The following guidelines pertaining to residential homes, but not condos or commercial buildings, were posted on the City of Bradenton Beach Building Department Facebook page:

“You can replace your drywall if it did NOT go over your electrical outlets. (You do NOT need a per­mit for this). If it went over the electrical outlets then you need an electrician to do an inspection, to see if you need electrical work performed. If you need electrical work completed, you will need a permit for the electrical work. If the electrician says your electrical outlets are safe, you can then put your drywall back in (You do NOT need a permit for this).”