The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners has been seeking Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approval to eliminate decades-old requirements and restrictions on the amount of square footage that can be enclosed for storage under stilted homes. The county provided written documentation of regulatory efforts in order to assure FEMA that the county is following federal regulations by requiring property owners to build all habitable space above the minimum required elevation to prevent flood impacts.
After providing this documentation, Monroe County received a letter from FEMA supporting the elimination of the county’s 2004 remedial plan for flood inspection and compliance. This decision allows the county to move forward with key code amendments, enabling property owners to have additional enclosed storage space below the required flood elevation under their houses while maintaining compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
With FEMA’s approval, Monroe County can now proceed with eliminating the maximum square footage limit for enclosed storage space below flood, which is currently 299 square feet; as well as the requirement for an inspection at the time of sale.
Code amendments will take eight months to a year to process.
The downstairs storage enclosures must remain limited to storage, parking or building access and cannot be used as habitable space. The prohibition against habitable living space in downstairs storage enclosures is based on federal regulations. A property owner who seeks a permit to expand storage enclosure must sign and record a non-conversion agreement, which will document the types of improvements permitted so future buyers can see what is legal and compare it to existing conditions when they purchase a home. This will allow purchasers to know whether there have been illegal improvements before they buy the house.
“This is a major step forward for Monroe County residents,” said County Administrator Christine Hurley. “The county has worked diligently to meet and exceed NFIP compliance standards over the past decade, and FEMA’s support now allows us to update our codes to serve the community better and be on par with the cities.”
The county agreed to the 299-square-foot limitation to avoid being suspended from the NFIP. The NFIP was enacted to provide affordable flood insurance to property owners at risk for flooding, and there are some 11,110 NFIP-backed policies in Monroe County. FEMA’s minimum elevation standards were adopted to minimize the loss of life, property and costs of cleanup that would be incurred if homeowners were allowed to convert their downstairs enclosures into habitable living spaces.
As part of FEMA’s ongoing oversight, its floodplain management team will conduct compliance reviews through visits for a random sample of structures at six-month intervals throughout the year to ensure enclosures remain compliant.
