FEMA + Storm Permitting · Pinellas County
Recover Correctly.
Rebuild Intelligently.
Storm-repair documentation, FEMA planning, permitting, inspections, and reconstruction for coastal properties.
Florida Certified Building Contractor
CBC1267559
A Clear Path After the Storm
Every repair decision can affect the property’s compliance path.
Coastal recovery involves more than damaged finishes. The repair scope, structure value, prior improvements, floodplain rules, and permit record must be considered together.
Controlled Recovery
Dry, document, permit, inspect—then rebuild.
Document the complete repair project, then separate included construction costs from excluded items using the jurisdiction’s worksheet instructions. The County package distinguishes construction work from certain cleanup and dry-out costs; the total recovery budget and the floodplain cost calculation are not necessarily the same.
Confirm the Property’s Floodplain Rules
The structure value—not the land value—sets the working limit.
Unincorporated Pinellas County uses a 49% threshold. Confirm the threshold, valuation method and any cumulative-improvement period with the municipality responsible for the property before relying on a budget limit.
Use the value accepted by the applicable jurisdiction for substantial-damage or improvement review.
Include required labor, materials, contractor overhead and profit, and other applicable improvement costs.
Projects meeting the substantial-damage or improvement threshold can require full floodplain compliance.
Required Cost Transparency
The FEMA worksheet must reflect the real cost of contracting the work.
Applicable substantial-damage and substantial-improvement worksheets account for contractor overhead and profit as part of the project calculation. Follow the reviewing jurisdiction’s instructions.
The Pinellas County cost-breakdown instructions specify a 10% minimum contractor profit/overhead entry for contractors. Use the current form and instructions for the property’s jurisdiction. That worksheet entry does not establish the fee in a contractor’s proposal; MDI’s pricing and responsibilities are defined in the project agreement.
The Recovery Sequence
From documentation to permitted completion.
Repairing a Coastal Property?