Looking for an emergency building permit on Fort Myers Beach after Ian? It’s complicated.
For those who own homes on Fort Myers Beach, town officials have one word: patience.
Cleanup is underway. Power and water lines are being restored. But it just can’t happen all at once.
“It feels slow because every minute after a storm just feels like an eternity,” city spokesperson Corey Dobridnia said. “You’re hot. There’s no power. There’s no water. There’s no air conditioning. But there is a lot of hard work going on, and that is a victory.”
Dobridnia said teams also have been going door-to-door to hand out resources to residents to help them navigate cleanup and recovery. Town officials have been sharing information daily on the Fort Myers Beach website and Facebook page.
Business owners and residents on Saturday were able to get a first glimpse of what was left of their homes after Hurricane Ian virtually demolished most of what was on Estero Island as the storm roared through with 150 mph winds and a powerful 12-foot storm surge Sept. 28.
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On Sunday, the Mantazas Pass Bridge was reopened to residents, property and business owners, insurance adjusters and others who have legitimate need for access to Fort Myers Beach.
By Tuesday, Estero Boulevard was jammed with work trucks and passenger vehicles full of anxious home and business owners wanting to get started on cleanup and repairs.
“We’re pleased with the progress so far,” Mayor Ray Murphy said. “Everything takes time, but everything is going in a positive manner and we are pleased about that.”
But getting information from Town Hall wasn’t easy, as the building itself sustained major damage and myriad tents and trailers were set up across the street for volunteers, emergency responders, work crews and town employees to get much-needed work done.
Fort Myers Beach officials announced it was setting up a tent for residents to get permits to begin making repairs. The operation was shifted to a trailer where homeowners could work one-on-one with employees ready to help.
There was a catch. Before a permit could be issued, homeowners need to provide reports from both a licensed structural engineer and licensed electrical engineer that show the home is structurally sound and is able to be reconnected to electricity.
“When you have a storm like this, everything looks dry,” Dobridnia said. “It got wet at one point so now you’re talking about salt. Salt corrodes electrical wires, things like that. We just want to make sure people are being responsible.
“We’re going to take it really, really slow in getting power to people’s homes because we want to prevent fires.”
Navigating the process is difficult without a town hall
It was frustrating for Chris Gandhi, who owns a rental property in Fort Myers Beach. She had been to “maybe seven” tents and trailers before finding the one issuing permits. Once there, she learned of the additional requirements and was turned away without a permit.
“It’s been a little challenging to find the temporary Town Hall,” she said. “I think they are just trying to get themselves organized."
Dobridnia, who was deployed to Fort Myers Beach from the Walton County sheriff’s office, said town officials are working on establishing a central location for town business, but they are just getting started.
“The town employees and their members are also experiencing significant loss,” she said. “We’re trying to get a place to go to get answers. We’re trying to get a working telephone number online.”
Gandhi estimates the home is about 70% livable since it is on stilts. She said the garage and other areas of the ground floor were destroyed.
She’s ready to get started on repairs, and is finding it difficult to get started.
“Now I’ve got a stack of papers, but I still don’t have a structural engineer or the electrician,” she said.
Debris removal moving slowly, methodically
Cleanup is proving a challenge for residents as well, since debris removal has been slow and methodical.
“Debris is one of our biggest priorities right now,” Dobridnia said. “We would encourage people to separate their debris with household and construction. That is critical to be able to pick it up.
“It’s a slow process. They have to go road by road by road.”
Some streets are impassable, she said, because of sinkholes and other issues.
As of Tuesday, town debris removal, starting at the south end and moving north, had reached Estrellita Drive and Lenell Road. Lee County is responsible for removing debris on Estero Drive.
“This is going to help make streets more passable,” Dobridnia said.
Resident Ron Benak said he is frustrated afthe hired a friend experienced in debris removal to help remove it from his property, but couldn’t find out where to haul the debris.
“We’ve been cleaning up our debris and we are ready to dump it,” he said. “You’ve got the governor of Florida telling us, ‘You guys, pick your stuff up and get rid of it.’ ”
His friend, Jeff Johnson of Omaha, is an expert at hurricane debris removal. Ian is the eighth hurricane he’s worked. He has Benak’s construction debris ready to haul.
“So we come down to the city to see where we can dump our debris and they are telling us, ‘You can’t,’ ” Johnson said.
Dobridnia said the town is picking up debris at no cost to residents, but if there are some who don’t want to wait, they can haul debris to a Lee County dump site off the island.
“Typically (a town) will set up dump sites where you can haul your debris,” Johnson said. “At this point we’re already piling debris, but there’s no dump site.”
Building permits
Fort Myers Beach property owners must submit reports from licensed structural engineers and electrical engineers to buildingpermits@fmbgov.com before a permit is issued.
The structural report must certify that:
The integrity of the structure has been maintained
The structure is currently in a condition to securely withstand the weight of its anticipated loads
The structure will continue to perform safely as intended for the foreseeable future
The electrical report must certify that the electrical system is safe to reconnect to electrical service.
Town officials cannot recommend service providers. Dobridnia says homeowners need to make sure the engineers are licensed and in good standing with the state.
Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers Beach building permits, debris removal: What to know
