Eight houses are flood risks. Bay County has a solution: buy and raze them

Nathan Cobb, The News Herald
·2 min read

PANAMA CITY − Bay County commissioners on Tuesday cleared the way for eight homes to be purchased through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity's Voluntary Home Buyout Program, which buys properties prone to flooding to help reduce the effects of future disasters.

With these eight homes, officials now have approved the purchase of a dozen properties affected by either Category 5 Hurricane Michael in October 2018 or Category 2 Hurricane Sally in September 2020.

Bay County commissioners on Tuesday approved for eight more homes to be purchased through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity's Voluntary Home Buyout Program.
Bay County commissioners on Tuesday approved for eight more homes to be purchased through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity's Voluntary Home Buyout Program.

"We're glad they did it, and the main thing is it's voluntary," Tommy Hamm, chairman of the commission, said of the residents who participated. "This is something they're asking for, and it becomes a win-win for them. ... It's a voluntary program that's been working very well."

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Hamm also said homes purchased through the program are appraised and then bought at market value. They are purchased using community development block grant disaster recovery funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The properties are then demolished and turned into green spaces or retention ponds.

"These are locations that have had reoccurring flooding," Keith Bryant, chief infrastructure officer for Bay County, said. "The program allows the county to purchase the homes, take them to the ground, and keep them going into the future as green space."

According to the meeting's agenda, the eight homes approved by the commission Tuesday sit at the following locations:

  • 6526 Zinnia St., Panama City

  • 6440 Pinetree Trial, Panama City

  • 7043 Vinson Road, Panama City Beach

  • 7104 Vinson Road, Panama City Beach

  • 4600 Schooner Lane, Lynn Haven

  • 1222 West 28th Place, Panama City

  • 5625 Bayou George Road, Panama City

  • 601 Pinetree Drive, Panama City Beach

Bryant noted they will likely be the last properties purchased through the program in relation to Hurricane Michael or Hurricane Sally.

"I believe this is going to finalize this program," he said. "We've had it open for some time. We did have some other applicants apply who backed out over time and decided to do different things with their homes."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Bay County taps eight more flood-prone houses for voluntary buyouts