Latest FEMA home rules still unclear

Homebuilders say the Federal Emergency Management Agency's building elevation guidelines have created as many questions as answers.As the New Orleans area struggles to rebuild eight months after Hurricane Katrina, builders say FEMA must clarify its new guidelines.FEMA issued new building elevation

guidelines April 12 for hurricane-affected areas. Louisiana officials and many property owners have said this is what they have been waiting for to start rebuilding.FEMA recommended substantially damaged buildings and new construction be raised either 3 feet or to comply with current federal flood maps, whichever is higher. Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco praised the new guidelines as the long-awaited answer for flooded-out homeowners.But the guidelines frustrate homebuilders who have questions FEMA officials haven't answered.Where in the world did 3 feet come from? (There) obviously was no scientific analysis done. It must have been a political decision. It just makes you wonder, said Randy Noel, state representative for the National Association of Homebuilders.The 3-feet provision is questioned by many homebuilders and other real estate professionals. Why not 2 feet or 4 feet, they ask.We were just trying to discern how do they come upon that number, 3 feet. To date, I don't know that we have the answer to that, said Jon Luther, executive vice president for the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans. Why did it take seven and a half months to come up with that? asked Arthur Sterbcow, president of Latter & Blum Cos.FEMA said the 3 feet- minimum elevation requirement is a reasonable standard given current levels of protection, the temporary nature of the risk and commitments by the administration to restore the system.Noel said a FEMA official told two homebuilders at a St. Bernard Parish Council meeting that the reason for raising homes 3 feet was to protect homes as floodwaters flow from high ground to low ground. The questions don't end there.I can add another hundred questions to it, none of which have any answers, Sterbcow said, who calls the advisories a confused mess.

Elevation questionsFEMA says structures need to be 3 feet above the highest adjacent existing ground elevation at the building site.Where is the existing ground? Noel said. I can't find it clearly defined in the FEMA regs.Bruce Layburn, senior vice president for JBL Properties, a New Orleans-area residential home builder, says FEMA needs to better define the nearest adjacent ground elevation, also known as grade. Landscaping, erosion and subsidence can change the grade, he said.Where will he (the surveyor) measure from? he said. How is it measured? They have to know to measure from what. And they have to know right now because people are asking for permits. The answers should come immediately.Paul Kocke, a land surveyor in Harahan, said homes have traditionally been built 18 inches above the curb in front of the lot or to base flood elevations, whichever is higher.The Louisiana Recovery Authority, the group Blanco appointed to develop hurricane recovery plans, can't define 3 feet above grade. LRA spokeswoman Catherine Heitman said she expected authority members to pitch the question to FEMA at an April 19 LRA board meeting.

Government decisionThe guidelines FEMA issued April 12, including the 3-foot provision, are advisories, meaning parishes and municipalities have the option to adopt them.It's likely they will adopt them or risk forfeiting federal rebuilding dollars.The state holds the purse strings for millions of federal dollars slated to provide housing grants of up to $150,000 to each property owner affected by last year's hurricanes. The federal funds are also slated to go to parishes and municipalities to make infrastructure and building modifications to prevent flooding.For local governments and homeowners to qualify for the funds, the FEMA advisories will have to be adhered to, according to the LRA.Diana Herrera, spokeswoman for FEMA, said once new flood maps are released, perhaps by early next year, that 3 foot advisory goes away. Then people will have to adhere to new elevations detailed in the maps. The hoopla over raising homes 3 feet underscores builders' and real estate professionals' fears of elevating the price of construction. To raise a home on a slab, it can cost at least $100,000, Noel said.Layburn doesn't understand why homes should be elevated in naturally high areas immediately adjacent to the Mississippi River. That does not seem logical, he said. Not all builders take issue with the new advisories.I agree with FEMA. If the wind had come 25 miles to the west, we would have flooded, said Jim Ward, president of Willow Inc., a Harvey-based homebuilder.Despite the barrage of questions, some builders say they are glad the advisories are finally out.As it's published right now, it's manageable and has a basis in the past. In other words, it's not earth-shatteringly different, Layburn said. This is what a lot of people have been waiting for. I would advise people to go get their (building) permits now.