‘Displaced by bureaucracy': St. Pete residents frustrated over permit delays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Five months since Hurricane Helene sent a deadly storm surge through many of Tampa Bay's coastal communities, St. Petersburg residents said they're still grappling with permitting delays.
City leaders said they're processing permits as fast as they can. Some residents aren't buying it.
'I'm still pillar to post,' Tiffany Ellis explained. 'I have no idea when I'm going to come home.'
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Months after Hurricane Helene hit, Ellis said she can't even begin to rebuild because of a delay in permits.
'I got one for the AC,' she said. 'I got one for the electricity.'
'They then came back and declined it and said, 'Oh, sorry, this all should have been on one permit,'' Ellis continued.
She said, if you have a question about permits, your answer from city staff will depend on who you talk to.
It's something she said has left her going back and forth for months.
'One of the gentlemen at the office determined that a permit from the '80s that talked about closing a porch is not the permit for that back space back there,' Ellis explained. 'Now I am faced with getting a post build permit (for) the space that I bought already apart of the house before I can even get a disaster permit opened.'
News Channel 8 reporter Nicole Rogers asked Ellis, 'If city leaders are listening right now, what would you want them to hear from you?'
'I would want them to hear that their citizens can't even live where we have put in our hearts and our taxes,' she responded. 'Where we call home, we're displaced by bureaucracy and paperwork and there doesn't ever seem to be any answers.'
Carolyn Mourey said she's facing similar challenges with the City of St. Petersburg.
'It's hard, and they don't see that,' Mourey said.
She explained that it feels like her plea to the city is falling on deaf ears.
Mourey said her general contractor applied for a permit to fix her home back on Dec. 9.
'I didn't hear from anybody until two weeks ago,' she explained.
Mourey said the city asked for more information and then a week later asked for different information.
Now she said she's left hoping one day she'll finally get a permit.
A representative from the city of St. Petersburg sent the following statement to 8 On Your Side:
Since Hurricanes Helene and Milton made landfall, the City of St. Petersburg has issued more than 7,300 permits and waived more than $1 million in permit fees to help private property owners recover. Permit applications are being processed as quickly as possible. In order to process the high volume of permit applications, the City has added additional permitting staff and is processing permit applications Monday – Saturday instead of Monday – Friday. Residents with permitting-related questions may email permits@stpete.org or call 727-893-7231. City staff will continue to work around the clock to assist private property owners with their hurricane recovery efforts. Additional hurricane recovery information can be found on the City's website here.
Samantha Bequer, City of St. Petersburg
'They don't know what this does physiologically to people, looking around every day living in this,' Mourey said. 'They don't see that.'
'It's hard,' she continued. 'You don't have your neighbors; you don't have your people you want around.'
'It's emotional,' she concluded.
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