For information on rebuilding or repairing your home or business after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, please see below.

Storm damage repair work has been approved to proceed from 7:00 am through 7:00 pm seven (7) days a week on the island, at this time, to allow maximum efficiency in getting everyone back to normal with occupying safe, livable structures. This has been authorized by the Town Manager as a Waiver to Town Code, Chapter 130.02, Sound Regulations for the next 30 days (until November 30, 2024, at which time it will be reevaluated) to help expedite property owners’ ability to repair their homes and businesses. This noise waiver applies to storm damage related repair ONLY.

Work can commence before the permit is issued. For initial assessment work, such as drywall removal  and/or exploratory work, a permit application will be required and will be accepted at the counter in the Planning, Zoning & Building Department or by email to permitdesk@longboatkey.org.  Following the initial assessment work and once you have determined the additional scope of work involved, a “Plan Revision” to your initial permit will be required and needs to include the project cost(s) and a copy of a floor plan indicating the location of the proposed work. 

NOTICE: Per Chapter 150, Section 150.30, Building Permit Required, of the Town of Longboat Key Code of Ordinances, "any drywall repair over 48 square feet is required to be permitted". Ther are no permit fees for storm damage, and while work is allowed to start before the permit is issued, the permit must be applied for within 24 hours after work has begun.  If you are found doing this work un-permitted, you will be given 24 hours to apply for a permit, OR A STOP WORK ORDER WILL BE PLACED ON THE PROPERTY. It is the property owner's responsibility to obtain all necessary permits required to make a structure habitable again.  Building Permit applications can be applied for at the Planning, Zoning & Building Department, 501 Bay Isles Road.  If you have any questions, please contact us at 941-316-1966.

PLEASE NOTE: PER THE FLORIDA BUILDING CODE, SINGLE-FAMILY HOMEOWNERS CAN PROCEED WITH WORK UNDER THE LIMITED EMERGENCY REPAIR LIST PROVIDED BELOW.  CONDOMINIUM UNIT OWNERS WILL BE REQUIRED TO HIRE A CONTRACTOR TO COMPLETE ANY REPAIRS TO DAMAGED CONDOMINIUM UNITS.

Contractors wishing to submit permit applications related to storm damage from the hurricanes, can now submit through our online portal.  To utilize our online portal, please click Online Permitting and Inspections | Town of Longboat Key, FL for an explanation on creating a BS&A Online Account .  When submitting through the online portal, please choose the permit type ‘Building – Repair – Helene’.  

What kind of work can be done without a permit?

Property owners can make emergency repairs without a permit.  Those emergency repairs include:

(a) Temporary roof repairs with plywood or plastic sheeting to make structures habitable or to prevent continuing damage due to rain and wind to building interiors and exteriors;

(b) Covering exterior wall openings with plywood or plastic sheeting;

(c) Temporary repairs to interior ceilings and/or walls to make buildings habitable or to drain accumulated floodwaters;

(d) Temporary repairs to steps; and

(e) Temporary stabilization measures to avoid imminent building or structure collapse.

For All Other Repairs & New Construction

Emergency repair work is allowed to proceed. However, within 24 hours of the work’s initiation, a permit application for the emergency work must be submitted to the Planning, Zoning & Building Department.

Contractors or owners seeking an Emergency Repairs Permit. Please complete a Building Permit application and make sure to check the box on Page 2 of the application form next to 'Building Project' to indicate the repairs are due to a storm event. Please note that a FEMA Substantial Damage/Improvement Form will need to be submitted with every building permit. To request a form email permitdesk@longboatkey.org with the subject line “Requesting a Copy of the FEMA SI-SD Form”. The application can be submitted in-person (501 Bay Isles Road), or via email (permitdesk@longboatkey.org ) at the Planning, Zoning & Building Department Office. Please include:

  • An indication of the emergency circumstances; and
  • Specific work to be performed; and
  • Property address; and
  • Contact information for contractor and property owner (must be legible);      
  • The Contractor must be licensed for the specific work they are performing;       and,
  • Contractor is required to submit the permit application for Condominiums

Important Information Regarding Floodplain Management Regulations

The Town of Longboat Key has floodplain management regulations that may affect how you remodel, renovate, or add on to your building. If your home or business sustained structural and/or interior damage, these regulations may affect how you rebuild. These laws are required by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to protect your lives and investments from future flood damages. The Town must adopt and enforce these laws in order for federally subsidized flood insurance to be made available to all Town residents and property owners.  Two important factors are:

SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE shall mean damage of any origin sustained by a building or structure whereby the cost of restoring the building or structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty (50) per cent of the market value of the building or structure before the damage occurred.

SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT shall mean any combination of reconstruction, addition, repair, rehabilitation, alteration, or other improvement of a building or structure where the cumulative cost of which equals or exceeds fifty (50) per cent of the market value of the building or structure before the improvement or repair is started. If substantial demolition is proposed, the structure shall be considered substantially improved. If the structure has incurred "substantial damage," any repairs are considered substantial improvement regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include any project for improvement of a building required to correct existing health, sanitary, or safety code violations identified by the building official and that are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions.

If a building is “substantially damaged” or “substantially improved” it must be brought into compliance with flood damage prevention regulations, including elevating the building to Flood Protection Elevation (FPE) (Base Flood Elevation(BFE) +1' or up to +3’ Town-wide and up to +5’ in areas that are at or below 3.5’ of elevation). Likewise, all electrical and mechanical equipment (heating and cooling, etc.), bathrooms and laundry rooms must be elevated as well or removed from the flood hazard area. Only parking, building access and limited storage is allowed below the flood level. Nonresidential buildings may be “dry flood-proofed” instead of being elevated. Building permits are required for elevating the structure, if necessary.

All repairs and improvements must be permitted through the Town of Longboat Key for properties subject to the Substantial Improvement/Damage review.

REVIEW PROCEDURE

The Town of Longboat Key, following National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements, has the responsibility to determine “substantial damage” and “substantial improvement” and has implemented the following procedures to do so:

If you plan to improve or repair an existing structure that is located within a special flood hazard area (i.e. Zones A, AE, VE) an Elevation Certificate or an elevation survey indicating the Lowest Habitable Floor or Finished Floor Elevation (FFE) of the existing structure shall be provided in order to determine if Substantial Improvement/ Substantial Damage regulations apply.

If it is determined that the FEMA 50% Rule applies, then we will estimate Market Value by using the tax assessment value of your structure (excluding the land and features). If you disagree with this estimate of Market Value, you may hire a state licensed appraiser and submit a certified property appraisal. The best approach to use is the cost approval to value appraisal which will include the depreciated value of the structure. The depreciated value of the structure will be used as the market value. The appraisal must be certified no more than 12 months from the time of application and its intended use must be for the Town of Longboat Key to determine market value for the FEMA 50% Rule. The appraisal can only include the building and not any accessory structures, docks, etc.

You must submit to us a detailed and complete cost estimate for the addition, remodeling, reconstruction or for repair of all the damages sustained by your home, prepared and signed by licensed contractor. The contractor must sign an affidavit indicating that the cost estimate submitted includes all damages or all improvements to your home, not just structural. The signed contract document must be submitted with your application. If the owner is acting as his or her own contractor, the owner is responsible for submitting the cost estimate, and providing documentation, including subcontractor bids, to document the cost estimate. Where non-reimbursed (volunteer) labor is involved, including homeowner labor, the value of the labor should be estimated based on applicable minimum hourly wage scales for the type of construction work to be completed.

All signed contracts, subcontractor quotes, material quotes, etc. must be submitted with application as indicated on FEMA cost breakdown sheets including all materials donated and/or bought that will be used for the structures improvement. We will evaluate the cost of improvements or repairs and determine if they are fair and reasonable. For damage repairs, pre-storm prices and rates will be utilized. The cost of improvements or repairs does not include items not considered a permanent part of the structure.

Dangers of Hiring Unlicensed Workers

Most contractors are hardworking, honest, skilled and dependable. The Town of Longboat Key recommends you always hire a licensed contractor BEFORE starting new construction or a remodeling project. Not doing so can put you at risk of the following:

Poor qualifications. 

  • Unlicensed persons typically do not have the education, insurance or qualification required of a licensee.

Poor Quality work.

  • Unlicensed contractors typically do poor quality work or do not finish the project, leaving the homeowner on the hook to repair or finish the project.        

Possible criminal background.

  • Unlicensed persons often have criminal backgrounds that may include fraud, theft, violent crime, sexual offenses and substance abuse.

Likelihood of being the victim of a scam.

  • Unlicensed persons often disappear after taking your money, and the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR) cannot discipline an unlicensed person, help get your money back or require the person to finish or improve the work done. Scams in the construction industry, especially home improvement, are sadly widespread. Con artists pose as contractors and often target vulnerable people and take advantage of homeowner’s need for urgent post-hurricane property damage. 

Limited resources for broken contracts.

  • When you have a dispute with a licensed contractor, you call the DBPR, which has the authority to discipline and even revoke the license. This gives the licensee more incentive to play fair. However, this type of action is not available against unlicensed contractors and homeowners often find the only answer is an expensive, and generally futile, civil suit.   

No insurance and liability for injuries to others. 

  • You may end up being liable for personal or financial injuries to others. An unlicensed contractor typically is uninsured and will have no way to pay you back for any property damage.    

No coverage under homeowner's policy. 

  • Most homeowner policies require that work must be done by a licensed contractor and provide no coverage for work that is not.               

Noncompliance with building codes.

  • Most projects, even small ones, require permits and inspections that unlicensed contractors ignore or are unfamiliar with.  If your project isn’t permitted or doesn’t comply with the building code, you may have to remove or repair the work at your own expense and be subject to fines.

Liens being imposed on your property. 

  • You may be subject to liens placed on your property by subcontractors or supplies.

 

To learn more and find additional resources from the DBPR, click here.