Due to an increasing number of people moving to Charlotte County and the need for more workers, the county is a week behind on issuing permits, Community Development Director Ben Bailey said.
Appearing before the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, Bailey said the county issued 47,775 storm-related permits, and of those, 32,325 were for roofs and 3,388 were for screen enclosures.
He said the county seeks to employ more permit techs, plans examiners and building inspectors to help keep pace with the demand for building permits that has not abated since Hurricane Ian.
The county is conducting 1,200 building inspections per day, a 66% increase from 2022. This year, the county has conducted close to 270,000 inspections compared to 150,000 last year.
“As far as permits, we’re looking at 85,000. Last year there were 40,000, an increase of over 100% of permits issued,” Bailey said.
In September, there were 355 single-family building permits issued, but this fiscal year’s 3,229 total issued is down from 4,165 last year, marking a 22% decrease.
However, the demand is still high and warrants the hiring of more personnel, Bailey said. “I really wasn’t expecting this after the hurricane, but people are still coming here and building,” he said.
The monthly average for single-family building permits being issued this year is 269.
Bailey urged that anyone qualified to be a permit technician, plans examiner or building inspector to visit the Charlotte County Government website and apply for a position.
Hurricane Idalia, which caused substantial flood damage to some homes and businesses in the county in late August, added permit applications to the stockpile.
Just as the county was recovering from Hurricane Ian, more residents applied for a variety of aid and/or assistance, Emergency Management Coordinator Patrick Fuller said at the meeting. He said more than 350,000 residents applied for disaster recovery assistance, and of those, 221,000 residents had damages to their homes following Hurricane Idalia.
The county is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to set up a Disaster Recovery Center in the wake of Idalia. FEMA representatives have been canvassing neighborhoods and distributing information on how homeowners can get low, fixed-interest rate loans with terms of up to 30 years to pay. The teams were sent to county neighborhoods in the wake of Idalia and left literature with residents or placed it in their front doors if the resident was not home.
To apply and get answers to questions regarding disaster assistance, call 1-800-621-3362 or register online at DisasterAssistance.gov.
The Small Business Administration can be contacted directly for a disaster loan or to locate a Recovery Center at 1-800-659-2955 or visit sba.gov/disaster.
