FEMA and Monroe County, FL failed to adequately enforce floodplain management regulations for nearly 25 years.  The people of the Florida Keys are now paying the price.  FEMA’s pilot program intended to fix the mistakes of the past has instead caused massive unintended harm: driving out thousands of low and middle income citizens, preventing residents from improving or repairing their homes, depresing home prices and crippling the local economy.  The pilot program should be terminated and Monroe County allowed the freedom to find a better way to fix this historical legacy.  

Background

Monroe County contains all of the Florida Keys.  Monroe County joined the National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”) in 1975.  Large parts of the County are classified as VE zones (high coastal velocity zones).  Homes in VE zones built after 1975 must be raised above the base flood elevation on concrete columns augured three feet down into erosion proof limestone rock. 

NFIP regulations limit the type of enclosures that can be built in VE zone houses between the bottom of the raised first floor and the ground.  Generally, such downstairs enclosures should only be constructed using breakaway or latticed walls and used for limited storage, a garage, or building access.  They cannot be used as an apartment or bathroom containing a toilet or refrigerator.

The government of unincorporated Monroe County had failed in the distant past to implement and enforce local regulations required under the NFIP.  The County even issued building permits for non-conforming downstairs enclosures (e.g., for a bedroom or bathroom) until 1986 and possibly thereafter.  In the event a non-conforming downstairs enclosure built without a permit was discovered, the County rarely engaged in any corrective action.  FEMA tried several times to have the County enforce the regulations properly and in 1995 threatened to put the County on probation. 

In 2002, as a result of years of lax regulatory enforcement, unincorporated Monroe County agreed with FEMA to initiate a unique, one-time-only pilot downstairs enclosure inspection program and becomes the only county specifically named in Federal flood regulations.  Under this program, codified at 44 CFR 59.30, Monroe County residents are required by FEMA to have their homes inspected for non-compliant downstairs enclosures or they will lose their FEMA flood insurance. 

 

In addition to this pilot program, the County requires as part of its FEMA mandated floodplain management plan an inspection before a home may be sold or any new construction is done on any part of the house.  Any non-conforming downstairs enclosure discovered as a result of these inspections must be destroyed or altered. 

The pilot program was set to expire December 31, 2007, but was extended, possibly illegally, without public notice, comment, or consultation to 2011.  An evaluation of the results of the pilot program to see if it could be applied elsewhere in the country was also promised, but no such evaluation has taken place.

Monroe County is now in Substantial Compliance with FEMA Regulations

The pilot program has made great progress towards its goals and is, therefore, no longer needed.  Despite the negative impacts described below, of the post-1975 homes that have been inspected as a result of the pilot program, over 80% are now compliant.  The County has a legal regime and enforcement system in place to make sure new non-compliant downstairs enclosures are not built.  Monroe County has cleaned up its historical legacy and will not cause any new problems for FEMA.

Major Negative Consequences

The pilot program has had significant negative economic and social impacts, disproportionately affecting the elderly, disabled, and low and middle income citizens.  Many of those affected had valid building permits issued by the County to build their non-conforming downstairs enclosures.  Similarly, innocent purchasers, who did not know about the code violations when they purchased their homes, are now being forced to pay for the mistakes of FEMA and the County government.

 

The unintended negative consequences of the pilot program include:

-Driving out thousands of full time residents, substantially contributing to a 9.2% decline in population since its inception. This population drop – the highest in Florida, which saw a 14.7% population increase over the same period, – has been caused in part by the exorbitant costs resulting from program requirements to destroy or alter downstairs enclosures.

-Forcing low and middle income families to sell their homes at reduced prices because they cannot afford the over $40,000 to destroy their downstairs enclosure; and costing other homeowners millions to demolish their downstairs enclosures.

-Causing safety risks and decimating the construction industry. Homeowners are living in fear, cancelling construction contracts to avoid a downstairs enclosure inspection. In many cases, home owners have hired unlicensed contractors to complete renovations and repairs, done the work themselves, or delayed necessary work, further damaging the construction industry and risking public safety.

-Imposing additional hardships on the elderly and disabled who rely on downstairs enclosures for easy access to their homes or as rest areas.

-Evidence also suggests that the pilot program has caused homeowners to drop their flood insurance policies in order to avoid inspections, which increases costs for FEMA (FEMA still has to provide the same disaster response and clean-up funds despite the shrunken premium base) and leaves citizens especially vulnerable.

 Support an End to the Pilot Program

On February 17, the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners, working in cooperation with Citizens Not Serfs, a major non-profit home-owners advocacy group with over 1000 members, passed a resolution declaring its intention to ask FEMA to end the pilot program.  Monroe County is asking that it be treated like the over 20,000 other NFIP communities and be given the freedom to design local solutions that address its unique historical legacy.

The effects of the program have been devastating – causing increased job and home losses at a time of national economic hardship.  If an experimental medical treatment was killing the patient, the doctors would end the trial.  The same logic holds here. 

We respectfully request your assistance in ending the pilot program.  It is time for its results to be evaluated as intended and its possible application nationally assessed.